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October is the annual Youth National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, highlighting the vital role of substance abuse prevention in both individual and community health and to remember those who lost their lives to substance abuse.

In 2022, Monitoring the Future surveyed substance use and behaviors related to attitudes among 8^th, 10^th, and 12^th grade students in the United States. The survey is conducted annually by researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The results of the 2022 survey of illicit drug use showed the following:

•   8^th graders – 11 percent
• 10^th graders – 21.5 percent
• 12^th graders – 32.6 percent

These results largely held steady for almost all substances after a significant decline in 2021, according to the survey.

"The Monitoring the Future Survey is one of the best and most timely tools we have to monitor and understand changes in substance use among young people over time, including through historic events such as the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Nora Volkow, M.D., NIDA director. “It is encouraging that we did not observe a significant increase in substance use in 2022, even as young people largely returned to in-person school, extracurricular activities, and other social engagements.”

Risk of Accidents for Teens

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on the risks of accidents when teens are under the influence of drugs and other substances as the following:

• Driving while impaired by any substance is dangerous and illegal. This includes driving while impaired by alcohol, marijuana, other illicit drugs, prescription medications, and/or over-the-counter medications.
• Many types of drugs/substances have the potential to impair a teen’s ability to drive safely.
• After alcohol, marijuana is the most common drug associated with impaired driving.
• Marijuana has negative effects on judgment, motor coordination, decision-making, and reaction time—all of which are important skills for safe driving.
• Marijuana use before driving has been associated with an increased risk for motor vehicle crashes.
• Among U.S. high school students who drove, about 13 percent drove when they had been using marijuana during the 30 days before the survey, according to results from the 2017 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
• Declines in the ability to drive safely and risk for motor vehicle crashes may be greater when driving after using both marijuana and alcohol as compared with driving after using marijuana by itself or alcohol by itself. 

Teens ages 18 and 19 have the highest crash rates of any Florida age group. The Florida Teen Safe Driving Coalition reported that Florida teen drivers were involved in 84,052 rashes resulting in 350 tragic fatalities and 1,935 serious injuries in 2020 (most recent available data).

Fort Myers DUI Accident Attorney Assists Victims of Substance Abuse Vehicle Accidents in Florida

When a driver uses drugs and other substances before driving, accidents may happen. Injuries or even tragic deaths occur to passengers and other drivers on Florida’s roadways caused by these negligent drivers. If you or a loved one should be injured or tragically die because of the negligence of another, please contact Fort Myers DUI Accident Randall Spivey at Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. 24/7 after seeking medical attention. 

How Fort Myers DUI Accident Attorney Handles Personal Injury Cases

We represent people involved in numerous types of personal injury and wrongful death accidents throughout the state of Florida. Our firm provides personal contact and communication along with aggressive representation.

Contact Spivey Law Firm to receive a free and confidential consultation to understand your legal rights.  We have decades of experience and have developed a team to provide you with valuable tools and the experts necessary to build the strongest claim for compensation possible.  We will guide you through every step of the process. There are no costs or attorney fees until we receive a monetary recovery for our clients. 

Here is what one of our clients said about working with our firm:

They treat you with respect and compassion during a time in your life that is the most difficult experience you have ever been through. - RUTHANN G.

"Should you or a loved one be injured in an accident please contact us at 239.337.7483, toll-free at 1.888.477.4839, or online at SpiveyLaw.com,” said Attorney Spivey.