Adolescence and drug abuse

Extract

[...] Using alcohol and tobacco at a young age increases the risk of using other drugs later. Some teens will experiment and stop, or continue to use occasionally, without significant problems. Others will develop a dependency, moving on to more dangerous drugs and causing significant harm to themselves and possibly others. For example, teens who smoke are three times more likely than nonsmokers to use alcohol, eight times more likely to use marijuana, and 22 times more likely to use cocaine. [...]

[...] Consequently, new drugs experience sharp use increases for months or even years. Meanwhile, gathering information about the drug's risks takes time, but when specific evidence is gathered and aggressively distributed either via the media or friends and family, the results are dramatic. However, while we fight against teens and drugs, the Monitoring the Future survey “reports that from 1996 through 2005 more than half of the students in the United States tried an illegal drug before they graduated from high school. [...]

[...] Unfortunately, the number of adolescents using drugs is increasing every day. Statistically, it has been said that “almost every teenager in the United States tries one or more of the gateway drugs; by high school graduation, most have tried all three” (Berger). It is a growing problem that must be handled immediately. As teens grow up into adults, they must mature and make difficult decisions. They must move on and adapt to life, and that is not possible if they are under the influence of a drug that is dangerous and addicting. [...]

[...] Adolescence and Drug Abuse Adolescence is a very important time during the course of one's life. It is a time of change, a time of self-realization. While the body undergoes many changes, adolescence is also the time when kids grow up and mature into adulthood. Because adolescence is such a difficult period in life, many teenagers turn to drugs and alcohol for help during these vital years of development. What these kids do not consider is how badly the choices they make today will affect their future. [...]

[...] The report points out that “almost 38 percent of youth ages 12 to 17 who were heavy drinkers also took part in group against group fighting. About 22 percent of youth who were heavy users of alcohol had attacked someone with the intent to seriously hurt them” (SAMHSA). There are many ways to try to help an adolescent build his or her self-confidence or self-esteem. By building self confidence, the young adult will believe in themselves and their own self worth to the point that they will not have the temptation to high” in order to fit in or just make it through the day. [...]