The Opioid Epidemic in Adolescents: Why It Needs to Be Talked About
Emma Vernick
I chose to focus my capstone project on exploring the opioid epidemic and other drug abuse in adolescents. The goal of my project is to spread awareness of the impact of teenage substance abuse at Moorestown Friends School and share the findings of my research with the community.
My Inspiration
As a ninth-grade student, my father told me a story of his friend's sons, who had both passed away due to opioid overdoses. I asked myself how this could have happened to two children from the same family. Why them? Why did nobody help them? But, what I didn't realize then was that these boys were given plenty of support from their family and were even encouraged to get help. It seemed as though there is no clear explanation behind addiction, and I wondered how addicts were being universally helped if each experience is different.
Moved by the unexpected opioid overdoses and deaths of these brothers, I decided to concentrate my project on examining the psychological and physical impacts of the opioid epidemic in adolescents, employing both journalistic techniques and scientific investigation methods.
Research
When I began my project, I knew little about the Opioid Epidemic. I had a general understanding of the impacts of addiction but needed to research both the statistics and psychology behind it. I read article upon article, lost on what direction to take; most of what I read seemed to contradict each other. However, as I began to annotate individual prints rather than collecting information in one document, I soon found connections and learned what I wanted to focus my writing on.
From there, I decided to focus my research on prevention and beginning measures rather than post-addiction.
Here is an example of an annotated article:
Adam Wenner, Kristin Hittle Gigli (2016). Opioid Addiction in Adolescents: A Background and Policy Brief, Journal of Pediatric Health Care
Interviews
Using the information I learned from my research, I interviewed a variety of students and teachers to get an idea of the community's overall knowledge of drug addiction in teenagers and if they are able to spot signs and symptoms of those abusing drugs. Most interviewees could not identify a single sign of addiction and acknowledged that it was an issue.
I also interviewed addiction experts and recovered addicts to further my understanding of opioid addiction transpires.
Interview Highlights
"For me, it started as ‘let's go out and party and drink and get fucked up and do it over.’ That's the initial war. It just became a need on a daily basis because of what it did for me. It was a psychological problem and eventually turned into something much bigger than just drinking."
"There are kids who overdose on fentanyl, and, usually, people in your age group like 12 to 20 don't understand the purity of what they've bought. They are using drugs on purpose thinking they’re trying ecstasy or cocaine, but they're actually using opiates. That’s how people are dying.”
Article
With the research and interviews I compiled, I wrote an article to be published on the MFS Wordsworth blog.
The Opioid Epidemic is certainly discussed when concerning adults. When regarding adolescents, however, addiction is dismissed as many don't think there is an issue. I believe adolescent addiction is just as pressing, especially considering the recent increase in opioid-laced substances.
I hope my article will inspire discussion regarding adolescent opioid abuse.
Training Course
Along with the article, I organized and wrote a proposal for a staff and faculty training course. The proposal consists of drug education as well as Narcan training.
Students and parents at MFS are provided with sufficient resources to learn about substance abuse. Teachers, however, are not being taught on the matter. In order to create a safer environment at MFS, I believe the staff and faculty need to be educated on adolescent opioid abuse and trained to handle an overdose in the case of an emergency.
Backed up by the information presented in my article, my training course proposal shares the importance of education. My proposal will be shared with the MFS administration in hope that it will be implemented and occur annually.
What's Next?
I have always been particularly shy, especially when surrounded by large groups of people. I can't imagine myself delivering grand speeches or encouraging crowds in protest, and, for the longest time, I feared that this would stop me from doing something great. Throughout my project, I learned that I can still use my voice, but in a way that feels right for me.
The purpose of my capstone was to bring awareness to and open discussion at MFS, but an issue of this magnitude goes far beyond just one school. The stigma around addiction has become a large societal flaw in that many of those struggling would rather hide their addiction at the risk of losing their lives than seek out help at the risk of losing a college scholarship or respect from their friends and family. In the future, I want to take the work I did in this project and expand it to the rest of the world. I want to use my voice through writing to destroy this stigma, open up honest discussions about addiction, and encourage others to prioritize their health and safety above all else.
A special thank you to my capstone advisor, Ms. Jazzmin Holmes, and Daniel, for supporting me throughout my project!