Parents learn about local drug trends, "dabbing", and preventing teen drug use

Parents filled half of Nathan Hale High School's common area during last night's forum about preventing teen drug use.

Dr. Leslie Walker addresses NE Seattle parents at
Nathan Hale High School, November 3, 2014

The evening started with Dr. Leslie Walker providing an overview of teen drug abuse and what parents can do to prevent it.  One of the slides she shared showed the rates of current alcohol and marijuana use among students of Seattle's public neighborhood high schools.  She noted that students from the more affluent communities in Seattle report higher substance use rates than those living in less affluent communities.

Seattle Public Schools

10th Grade Substance Use Rates

Source: 2012 WA Healthy Youth Survey

Since an increasing number of teenagers who seek substance abuse treatment report "dabbing" (consuming concentrated forms of marijuana) and few parents knew what it was, Dr. Walker briefly provided a description of it.  A news story from last year provides a good overview of what dabbing is.