Youth Substance Abuse Summit Hopes to Spark Conversation
A presentation being given by Dr. Connie McNamara at the Youth Substance Abuse Summit.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- With school right around the corner, educators are getting prepared for the challenges they will face.
One of those challenges they will face is outside influences affecting their students.
The Hamilton County and Tennessee Health Departments teamed up today for first ever summit on the topic of youth substance abuse.
Both health care professionals and recovering addicts say that uncomfortable conversations need to be had about the state of this issue.
A former addict, Andy Miller, said, “I would say listen to people who have been there and done that, it’s not worth it.”
Despite the young age of Miller, he has already had to overcome the power of drug addiction.
Miller says he first consumed alcohol at 15, and subsequently became addicted to fentanyl.
He said, “I knew what it was when I was doing it, I didn’t know the extent of how dangerous it was. It was honestly easier to get than anything else.”
For organizers at the event, they are attempting to prevent more kids from experiencing similar outcomes.
The Overdose Prevention Manager for the Hamilton County Health Department, Lacey Goolsby, said, “Right now, the THC is one of the biggest issues, and a lot of the teachers responded during that session about what they are seeing in schools and the kids using marijuana, THC, edibles, things like that.”
One of the big takeaways of the summit is social pressures that cause teenagers to try substances.
Dr. Connie McNamara says that 41 percent of 12 year olds who try alcohol are likely to develop alcoholism, compared to only 11 percent of those who wait until 18 or older.
She said, “Once you start to use substances, and then your academic decline might occur, maybe your social relationships are affected, then you turn to those substances more. All of those factors help to exacerbate the problem when it happens early on.”
For those who spoke, they hope that the experiences and data provided will spark conversations to help curb this substance abuse.
The Regional Director for the Southeast Region of the Tennessee Department of Health, Glenn Czarnecki, said, “One of the most impactful was hearing from someone who had a life experience with substance abuse and hearing how one teacher at his school who could identify with him, who themselves had a similar issue, had that one teacher made a difference.”
Dr. McNamara also shared that over half of TV shows popular with teenager depict alcohol use in a trend she calls problematic.
Miller is in recovery for his substance abuse and is now working to help others in that situation.
Organizers hope to make a yearly event as several vendors from health services to law enforcement joined in to support their mission.
