1,280 juvenile arrests in one year in Oklahoma were drug related

Do you ever wonder what your kids are getting up to these days? Perhaps you detect a faint hint of a strange smell in their room… Or maybe you’re moving your teenager’s car in the driveway and pick up a funky smell that’s lingering in the air…

Suspecting that a child is abusing illegal substances is an unnerving experience. Parents might be suspicious about their teen’s stand-offish behavior but unless they are open about it, it can be extremely difficult to figure out what’s going on – and even more tricky to find out exactly which substances they might be abusing.

Juvenile drug use is a massive national issue – the harmful effects of these substances drastically impact young people’s lives each and every day. In the United States alone, out of a total of 689,249 arrests of people under the age of 18 in 2017, 11.54% were linked to drugs (based on 79,580 drug-related arrests). GreenhouseTreatment.com, a rehabilitation treatment facility, analyzed FBI data to discover how juvenile drug arrests compare across the nation.

The study reveals that 1,280 juvenile arrests in one year in Oklahoma were linked to drugs, among the highest juvenile drug-related arrest rates in the country.

In the Sooner State, it was found that 14.63% of all juvenile arrests (8,750) in 2017 were drug related. In fact, this was among the highest rates in the country. The study also found that Oklahoma had a juvenile drug related arrest rate per 10,000 people (under the age of 18) of 12.86 – again, above the national average of 12.6. In 2017, general drunkenness comprised 211 of juvenile arrests in Oklahoma, while driving under the influence was the reason behind 72 arrests of people under the age of 18.

It was found that the state with the highest rate of drug related youth arrests was New Jersey at 22%, whilst Alabama had the lowest rate in the country – just 4% of all juvenile arrests were drug related.

Youth workers stress how important it is to keep a close eye on what children get up to in their free time. Parents should take note of any strange changes in social patterns – detecting drug abuse it in its early stages is key to recovery and avoiding a potential prison sentence.

For more information: https://www.greenhousetreatment.com/blog/juvenile-drug-arrests/