For years, peer pressure was recognized as the most common factor that precipitated youth drug use, particularly first-time drug use. However, a recent study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has cited stress as now eclipsing peer pressure as the primary reason why young people experiment with mind-altering substances.

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What began as a seemingly innocent cough medicine is now increasingly known for its mind-altering and addictive properties. People should understand what codeine is, and they should also know that the Food and Drug Administration changed how it monitors codeine. Codeine is addictive, evidenced by the people who’ve become hooked on it.

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Despite a decline in overall drug use among teenagers, fatal drug overdoses among teens have spiked. Why has this happened? Drug trafficking organizations first discovered how easy it was to manufacture illicit fentanyl and then learned to press it into tens of millions of pills for the American market.

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Synthetic cannabinoids are a relatively new drug of concern, a man-made substance similar to cannabis but made in a lab. Such drugs often produce very different effects than one might expect from cannabis, and users can rarely predict what chemicals will be in any given batch of synthetic cannabinoids.

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This article defines what synthetic drugs are, focusing on synthetic cathinones, synthetic cannabinoids, and synthetic opioids. The article also presents evidence showing how these substances have become increasingly popular in the 21st century, especially among young Americans in their teens and twenties.

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Club drugs refer to a category of drugs often associated with nightclubs, dance parties, music festivals, and raves. The drugs became prominent in the 1990s, and the use of such substances is still quite common. Some studies report an increase in interest in club drugs, especially among young people. Americans should educate themselves on club drugs and their effects. They should avoid such drugs and help their loved ones avoid them.

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Methamphetamine addiction has been a problem plaguing Americans for decades. However, it has only been in recent years that meth overdose deaths began to outstrip usual figures by alarming proportions. The spike in meth-related deaths has coincided with the addition of potent synthetic opioids like fentanyl into the drug supply, putting all people with a meth addiction in extreme danger of a lethal overdose.

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This article defines what heroin is, lists the many side effects users experience, and shows the trajectory of heroin addiction over time. Heroin is one of the longest-lasting drug problems in the country, and it is still a serious issue today.

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Cocaine experimentation and addiction have been a problem in the U.S. for several decades. The drug received a significant amount of media attention in the mid and late 20th century, but it has since been relegated to the background with the onset of the opioid epidemic. Unfortunately, cocaine use is still prevalent and very harmful. And today, more people are dying from using the drug than ever before.

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The article examines the aftermath of Oregon’s Measure 110, which decriminalized personal quantities of drugs with the aim of redirecting funds toward addiction recovery services. There are many signs the law has failed to meet its objectives, with few individuals seeking help despite citations, increased crime and drug use, and a surge in fentanyl-related deaths. Now, the state has begun to shift its opinions and actions toward recriminalization.

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