TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2018//
TI  - Teens, drugs, & Vegas: Toxicological surveillance of illicit prescription and illegal drug abuse in adolescents (12-17 years) using post-mortem data in Clark County, Nevada from 2005 to 2015
JO  - Journal of forensic and legal medicine
A1  - Paul, Anthea B. Mahesan
A1  - Simms, Lary
A1  - Mahesan, Andrew A.
A1  - Belanger, Eric Charles
SP  - 20
EP  - 24
VL  - 58
IS  - 
N2  - Illegal drug abuse, particularly prescription drug abuse is a growing problem in the United States. Research on adolescent drug abuse is based on national self-reported data. Using local coroner data, quantitative prevalence of illegal substance toxicology and trends can be assessed to aid directed outreach and community-based prevention initiatives. Retrospective analysis was conducted on all cases aged 12-17 years referred to the Office of the Medical Examiner, Clark County from 2005 to 2015 (n = 526). The prevalence of illegal opioid use in this population was 13.3%. The most commonly used drug was tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in 29.7%. Illegal-prescription opioids and benzodiazepines were used approximately 1.7 times as much as all other illegal-drugs, excluding THC combined. The largest proportion of illicit prescription drug users were accidental death victims (p = 0.02, OR = 2.02). Drug trends by youth are ever evolving and current specific data is necessary to target prevention initiatives in local communities.<br><br>Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1752-928X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2018.04.002
ID  - ref1
ER  -