DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE AMONG TEENS IN NEVADA

Nevada Teen Drug Rehab

Adolescence (12 to 17 years) is a critical and vulnerable stage of human development, during which males and females experience different biological, social, and cognitive changes. During this life stage, millions of adolescents experiment with substance use and engage in behaviors that can affect healthy neurological and psychological development. Understanding the behavioral health differences between adolescent males and females can help to inform public health policy and build prevention and intervention programs that strategically target the different needs of adolescent males and females.

HIGHLIGHTS: ADOLESCENTS IN NEVADA

• Approximately 22,000 (10.9 percent) adolescents in Nevada used an illicit drug in the past month; 17,000 (8.3 percent) used marijuana, and 9,000 (4.4 percent) used an illicit drug other than marijuana.

• 16.7 percent of adolescents (33,000) used alcohol in the past month, and 11.3 percent (23,000) engaged in binge drinking.

• 33.2 percent (1,739) of the total adolescent admissions reported methamphetamine use; 24.0 percent of male admissions and 50.4 percent of female admissions.

• 33.2 percent (1,739) of the total adolescent admissions reported methamphetamine use; 24.0 percent of male admissions and 50.4 percent of female admissions.

• 8,000 adolescents (5,000 males and 3,000 females) needed but did not receive treatment for past-year drug problems.

• 7,000 females and 6,000 males needed but did not receive treatment for alcohol problems.
Adolescent females in Nevada were more than twice as likely as adolescent males to have
experienced a major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year (13.9 v. 6.1 percent).
The data described in the Adolescent Behavioral Health reports derive principally from national surveys conducted by the Office of Applied Studies, a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Sources for all data used in this report appear at the end.

ILICIT SUBSTANCE USE

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. According to the
combined 2003–2006 NSDUH:

• Approximately 22,000 (10.9 percent) of the 199,000 adolescents in Nevada used an illicit
drug in the past month; 17,000 (8.3 percent) used marijuana, and 9,000 (4.4 percent) used an illicit drug other than marijuana.

• There were no significant differences in illicit drug use between adolescent males and
females in Nevada.

The misuse of pain relievers among youth is also a major public concern

• In Nevada, 7,000 adolescent males and 9,000 adolescent females used pain relievers
nonmedically in the 12 months prior to the interview.

• There was no significant difference in rates of nonmedical pain reliever use between females and males (9.1 v. 6.7 percent).

ADOLESCENT ALCOHOL AND ILLICIT DRUG DEPENDENCE OR ABUSE IN NEVADA

According to the 2003–2006 NSDUH:

• Nationwide nearly 1.5 million adolescents were dependent on or abused alcohol in the past year and more than 1.2 million adolescents were dependent or abused illicit drugs.

• Overall, the rates of past-year abuse or dependence on alcohol were significantly higher for females than males (6.0 v. 5.4 percent), but rates of past-year abuse or dependence on illicit drugs were similar between males and females.

• In Nevada, rates of alcohol and drug dependence or abuse were similar between males and females; 10,000 males and 9,000 females abused or were dependent on alcohol or drugs in the past year.

ADOLESCENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT IN NEVADA

State treatment data for substance use disorders are derived from two primary sources:(1) National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS), an annual 1-day census of clients in treatment and (2) the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), which provides information on annual treatment admissions.

According to the 2006 N-SSATS survey:

• Nevada showed a 1-day total of 7,248 clients in treatment, the majority of whom (6,747 or 93.1 percent) were in outpatient treatment. Of the total number of clients in treatment on this date, 469 (6.5 percent) were under the age of 18.

According to 2003–2006 TEDS data:

• Adolescent males accounted for 65.3 percent (3,425) of the 5,241 total adolescent substance abuse treatment admissions.

• Of the total male admissions, 44.4 percent were drug treatment admissions, 48.0 percent were alcohol and drug treatment, and 6.8 percent were alcohol treatment.

• Of the total adolescent female admissions, 48.3 percent were drug treatment, 43.3 percent were alcohol and drug treatment, and 8.3 percent were alcohol treatment.

Among adolescent admissions, marijuana and alcohol were the most prevalent substances of abuse.

• Of the total adolescent male admissions, 84.1 percent (2,881) reported marijuana use, and
54.8 percent (1,877) reported alcohol use.

• Of the total adolescent female admissions, 68 percent (1,235) reported marijuana use, and
51.7 percent (938) reported alcohol use.

• Further, 33.2 percent (1,739) of the total adolescent admissions reported methamphetamine use, 24.0 percent (823) of male admissions and 50.4 percent (916) of female admissions.

• Similarly, 7.5 percent of total admissions reported cocaine use, 6.7 percent (231) of male
admissions and 8.9 percent (162) of female admissions`.

UNMET NEED FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT IN NEVADA

NSDUH 2003–2006 estimates that more than 1.16 million adolescents needed but did not
receive treatment for illicit drug problems and more than 1.3 million needed but did not receive treatment for alcohol problems. NSDUH defines “unmet treatment need” as an individual who meets the criteria for abuse of or dependence on illicit drugs or alcohol according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV), but who has not received specialty treatment for that problem in the past year.

In 2003–2006:

There were no significant differences in rates of the unmet need for treatment between
Nevada males and females.

8,000 Nevada adolescents (5,000 males and 3,000 females) needed but did not receive
treatment for past-year drug problems.

7,000 females (7.3 percent) and 6,000 males (6.1 percent) needed but did not receive
treatment for alcohol problems.

Sources:
Facility Data: National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS)–2006 is available at: http://www.dasis.samhsa.gov.

Center for Mental Health Services Uniform Reporting System Output Tables 2006 is available at: http://mentalhealth.samhsa. gov/cmhs/MentalHealthStatistics/URS2006.asp

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