Opioid, Substance Abuse Among Teenagers Are Being Tackled As Recovering Users Help Their Peers

Opioid and illicit drug-related deaths continually increase as the years passed. Thus, countless foundations have been keen on rehabilitation of the people that are hooked on these substances.

Drug abuse was reportedly flourishing and The National Institute of Drug Abuse pointed out that opioid and prescription drug addiction significantly impacted the teenage population. Prescription drugs such as opioids, ADHD medication and anti-anxiety drugs were highly abused by young adults.

American Society of Addiction Medicine mentioned that teenagers from 12 to 17 are usually hooked on pain relievers. A statistics in 2015 revealed that 276,000 adolescents were caught abusing pain relievers for non-medical consumption and 122,000 were said to be addicted to prescription painkillers.

The fight to put an end to the increasing numbers of drug abuse is starting to pave way for recovering addicts to help their peers and move forward with their recovery. NPR features the recovery of Charlie Osen who started his substance abuse struggle during his teenage years,

"I went toward a bad group because those were the people that accepted me," Osen stated. "Drugs became a substitute for real friendships. I would just be wandering the streets of Lima at all hours of the night until I found somewhere, chilled, sat down, fell asleep in an alley."

Osen's journey towards recovery impacted people who struggled with the addiction as well. Charlie started working as a peer recovery coach where he would be an instrument for change as he guides people who go through recovery as well.

With the rise of opioid and substance abuse, parents should be cautioned when it comes to guiding their teens. In cases of substance abuse speculations, take the time to interfere and talk to your teen. It may be a rocky conversation but it is important to know the basics in dealing with them.