Survey shows high rates of drug experimentation among students in New Mexico
When Jane, a junior in high school in Santa Fe, underwent a spinal fusion for scoliosis, her doctor prescribed her oxycodone. That’s how it started.
Like millions of students across the United States, Jane Doe became addicted to a substance in high school. For Jane, who asked that her real name not be used, this was a short stretch.
“It lasted about three months, about a month off prescription,” she said.
Nonetheless, in that span, oxycodone had upended her life.
“Well [oxycodone] made me really mad all the time, and I would have these enormous mood swings. I even kicked a hole in my door once. It also made me really antisocial and so I couldn’t see my friends as much,” Jane said. “As for withdrawal, it was actually the worst. I felt awful all the time, and when I didn’t take oxy, it felt like my stomach was falling out. Doctors actually thought I had appendicitis at one point. And at school, the days would be awful. I missed so many classes and I was at the nurse so much.”
According to a University of Michigan research project, Monitoring the Future, more than 28 percent of high school students in the U.S. had used an illicit drug, including marijuana and inhalants, during 2017. That figure was up from 26.3 percent the previous year. Over the past 15 years, the study shows, the rate of drug use among teens has stayed relatively stable.
The effects of this substance abuse have widespread implications for New Mexico, where, according to a survey of teen behavior, students report using illicit drugs more often than teens in most other surveyed states. According to the Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey, which tracks self-reported behaviors of students across the U.S., more than a third of New Mexico students have reported smoking and other behaviors that are considered a gateway to drug use.
In addition, the Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey tracks other, “harder” drugs. About 4 percent of teens reported using methamphetamine sometime in their lives, 9.4 percent reported trying cocaine, 3.4 percent reported using heroin, 7.1 percent reported using ecstasy, and more than 16 percent of teens reported using nonprescription pain medication at some point. In all of these categories, excluding heroin and methamphetamine use, New Mexico ranked among the top five states in terms of prevalence of illicit behavior.
Both the 2017 Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey and the Monitoring the Future survey are self-reported. While the surveys add valuable information when discussing national and statewide trends, the mindset of students reporting these statistics can impact the data, Sophie Andar, the community prevention coordinator for Santa Fe Public Schools, said that teens might not always feel comfortable admitting their substance abuse.
“My concern is that substance-use disorder — just like the experiences of violence or adverse childhood events — is hard to actually measure,” Andar said. “Often people have a substance-use disorder that is unidentified and untreated. Because there is so much stigma, family, community and society often view people who need help as just ‘addicts.’ We tend to blame people who are dependent on substances to cope. So a lot of people don’t end up admitting they have problematic substance use.”
Police, researchers and school officials say drug use is characterized a bit differently than in the past. Sgt. Jimmie Montoya, chief narcotics officer with the Santa Fe Police Department, said social media is helping teens access drugs in a way they couldn’t before.
“I would say it’s more of a widespread problem,” Montoya said. “We’re seeing more people use social media to get access to and purchase these substances. It’s important for parents to stay aware and be cognizant of what their children are accessing.”
Richard Meich, a research professor and co-investigator for the Monitoring the Future study, said his main concern with teen substance abuse isn’t related to hard drugs but to smoking.
“My main concern is that vaping will normalize smoking and smoking-like behaviors,” Meich said. “I certainly hope smoking doesn’t return to the levels of the late 1970s, when 39 percent of 12th-grade students in the U.S. reported smoking a cigarette in the past 30 days, as compared to 10 percent today.”
This issue of substance abuse is also impacting the schools themselves.
Carl Marano, principal of Santa Fe High School, said teen substance abuse is a constant problem on campus.
“Illegal substances continue to be a prominent issue on campus, especially when it comes to possession of marijuana and electronic cigarettes, as these are the most pressing matters,” he said. “These incidents have been pretty consistent and have become more frequent as they make up 90 percent of our disciplinary infractions.” Mariah Runyan, principal of Capital High School, thinks she’s seen an opposite trend.
“I think incidents at school have been less frequent over the past seven years I have worked at Capital,” she said. “As a school community, we also have increased our support services, with programs like Communities In Schools and the Teen Health Center on campus, which serve both our students and the community at large.”
So, what is being done?
Jennifer Jevertson, who serves as the school prevention coordinator for the Santa Fe school district, pointed to student wellness action teams at schools as a way to help prevent substance use, bullying and suicide, among other things. These teams work to combat substance abuse by using peer-to-peer advocacy, as well as other youth-led programs, that help students support one another.
But based on the national studies and projected enrollment, an estimated 4.27 million high school students will have experimented with an illicit drug in 2018.
“I don’t know why anyone would do that to themselves purposefully,” Jane Doe said.
26.2 percent of New Mexico high school students are currently using alcohol regularly or semiregularly.
26.2 percent of state high school students said they had offered, given or sold drugs while on school property.
27.3 percent of New Mexico teens reported current marijuana use, and 15.7 percent said they had tried marijuana before age 13.