Researchers Find ‘Urban Hotspots’ for Opioid Abuse Among High School Students

Los Angeles, California -

Researchers have found that there are several cities and counties in which the proportion of high school students who have ever used heroin or misused prescription opioids is much higher than the national average. The new study identified these ‘urban hotspots’ for opioid abuse among high schoolers.

The study was conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who wanted to learn more about the spread of the opioid crisis to adolescents.

The data used in the study were from 21 cities or counties—20 of which had survey data on heroin use, and 20 of which had survey data on non-medical use of prescription opioids. National data made available by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that two percent of US high schoolers report having used heroin at least once.

The findings are based on survey data gathered in 2017 under the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, which includes school-based surveys of US students in grades 9 to 12. The researchers published their findings online in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

“These figures show that as part of the effort to address the opioid crisis, our public health planning and interventions should consider the needs of young people who have been caught up in the epidemic,” said Renee M. Johnson, PhD, MPH, associate professor in the Bloomberg School's Department of Mental Health and senior author of the study.

The opioid epidemic in the US can be traced back to about 20 years ago. It has been fueled by the misuse of medical opioids like Fentanyl and oxycodone, as well as heroin. More than 70,000 drug overdose deaths were reported in 2017. About 70 percent of them were related to opioid use. This is a significant increase from fewer than 17,000 overdose deaths in 1999.

The study also indicates that some urban areas have more prevalent heroin use. For example, among ninth to twelfth graders, 12.3 percent of Latino male students in Duval County, Florida, including Jacksonville; 10.9 percent of black male students in Baltimore; and 8.6 percent of black male students in Miami-Dade County reported having used heroin at least once.

Overall, male high school students were much more likely than their female schoolmates to have tried heroin.

Interestingly, the highest figures for non-medical prescription opioid use were among high school girls. The study noted the following statistics: Latina and white female students in Duval County, Florida (21.3 and 19.9 percent, respectively), and Latina female students in Shelby County, Tennessee, which includes the city of Memphis (18.3 percent).

“It is unusual in drug use prevalence studies to see girls using at the same or even higher rates than boys,” said Abenaa A. Jones, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the Bloomberg School and the study’s first author. “These data speak to the importance of ensuring substance use disorder treatment services address the unique needs of girls.”

The results suggest that heroin and medical opioid-misuse among high school students is concentrated at much higher-than-average levels in certain cities and counties.

“Our findings illustrate the complexities of the opioid epidemic, with some cities and subgroups reporting elevated levels of adolescent heroin use also reporting elevated levels of non-medical prescription opioid use while others did not,” Jones said.

If someone in the family is struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, it is important to seek help. A combination of medical detox and behavioral therapy can go a long way in the fight against drug abuse. But because every individual is affected by addiction differently, a comprehensive program tailored to their specific needs is necessary. Look for a nearby addiction treatment facility today and find out how drug treatment programs work.