Introduction
Drugs abuse is serious problem in the United States, especially among teenagers. According to National Drug Intelligence Center (2003) 7.5 million American adolescents aged 12 to 17 used drugs at least once during their lifetime. Teens start to experiment with drugs from a young age and do not think about drugs’ negative consequences. Butler (2010) claims that drug addiction will lead to problems at university or school and loss of alertness, which can cause to injury. Also it will affect mood, change system of values and lead to depression. As a result, teenagers who use drugs have a risk for suicide. Nowadays, they abuse both legal and illegal drugs. Also drug accessibility is one of the causes of adolescent abuse. The majority of teenagers aged 12-17 get it easily from friends or relatives. (Office of National Drug Control Policy 2007). Moreover there are other possible factors, such as pressure from friends, low self-appraisal, stress, relationships with parents. This essay will look at drug abusing problem among teenagers in the United States and analyse in detail possible reasons and solutions for drug addiction.
Background
Teenagers abuse a variety of drugs. Any of them both legal and illegal can have immediate or long term health consequences. As reported by NIDA in 2003 year 40.2 percent of high school students had used marijuana. Majuana is the illegal narcotic. Youths who used it before 17-years-olds indicated smaller brain and they are smaller in height and weight than teens who used marijuana after age 17. In addition, marijuana adversely affect on memory, distorts the perception of sound, time, touch for short term. American teens use inhalant as well. Adolescent find it in spray paint, glue and shoe polish. TeenDrugAbuse.us states, that regular use of inhalants can result in heart disease, liver and kidney damages. Also the most common drugs among youth in United States are ecstasy, cocaine, crack, speed and heroin. Legal drugs such as prescribed medications and alcohol is popular today. Moreover, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy in 2005 year 2.1 million teenagers abused prescription drugs and these drugs are the most common among 12-13-years-olds. Also American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry claim that drug use is increased risk poor judgment which may lead to accidents, violence, suicide and unplanned, unsafe sex, which may cause HIV.
Factors That Influence Teenagers to Drug Abuse
Firstly, home and family are major factor.
About one out of five 10th graders and about 1 out of four high school seniors used marijuana in the past month (Facts for Teens, 1). It is the second most popular drug among teens in the US (Encarta, 1). Teens, ages 12-17, that use marijuana weekly are nine times more likely than non-users to experience with illegal drugs and alcohol (Fed. Study, 1). More 13 & 14 year olds are using drugs, fifteen pe...
While many teens abuse prescription drugs to feel a sense of euphoria and calmness, the short term and long term effects that come along with abusing the medication are not worth it. In the short term, commonly abused drugs such as narcotics
There are many contributing factors and political issues that address substance abuse. Throughout the years, many researchers have designed many interventions and social policies designed to treat people who have used, abused, and became addicted to substances. Today, there are many new studies that address substance abuse at the individual, group, family, and community or policy levels. Today, there are many services that are effective for decreasing recidivism in youth who have completed a substance abuse program. A substance abuse treatment program or center is the best way to treat individuals who have abused substances.
Young people are using mood-changing substances at an increasingly younger age. Persistent substance abuse among youth is often accompanied by a plethora of problems, including school related hardships, health-related problems, poor family relationships, mental health issues, and run-ins with the justice system. There are also significant consequences involving the community, and society in general. Studies show drug use at a young age increases the desire to abuse as you get older. Society looks at drugs as being a taboo, which is the norm for our country. However other countries see drug use as a way of connection with oneself and others in another realm. Now whether drug use is harmless or harmful is a matter of your personal preference.
“Marijuana: Facts for Teens.” The Science of Drug Abuse & Addiction. National Institute on Drug
In many countries, drugs are becoming more common. In the history of the US, drug abuse and drugs have a long history. Nowadays, people are so much into drugs. Most drugs affect the brain and drug use is harmful. Every society and every family has been touched by the devastating effects of drug addiction.
Drugs cause an overall disturbance in a subjects’ physiological, psychological and emotional health. “At the individual level, drug abuse creates health hazards for the user, affecting the educational and general development of youths in particular” (“Fresh Challenge”). In youth specifically, drug abuse can be triggered by factors such as: a parent’s abusive behavior, poor social skills, family history of alcoholism or substance abuse, the divorce of parents or guardians, poverty, the death of a loved one, or even because they are being bullied at school (“Drugs, brains, and behavior”) .
The increase of marijuana use among teens and adults has risen substantially. Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the United States and is slowly rising as more and more teens and adults start using the drug. According to the Health Service Administration, 7.3 percent of Americans over 12 reported using marijuana last year. Proponents of Marijuana want to legalize the plant for medical purposes, but opponents claim that weed is a dangerous, addictive gateway drug that poses significant health threats to users. While its not completely legal everywhere, teens and adults use it for many purposes, like medical purposes, the effect of the THC in the drug, to relieve stress, and because the opportunity presents itself.
The use of drugs and mind-alternating substances has been a part of society for decades. The ‘high’ that people attain from the use of such substances is very attractive and exciting however, the effects of this use are minimized. Particularly for youth, a group of individuals who are seeking independence and experimentation, drug use represents the balance between taking risks and taking responsibility for one’s actions. However, the developmental processes of adolescents are known to not encompass the maturity required to fully think through such decisions. As such, the use of a ‘smaller-scale’ drug like marijuana is even more minimized. The purpose of this paper is to discuss what the risks of using marijuana are for youths, why they are the most affected, how this problem has progressed over the last three decades, and what preventative measures and treatment options are in place. It will also discuss what schools, parents, and government agencies could be doing to help improve the issue, and the impact that this issue is having on society.
Adolescences in particular can be easily influenced to abusing a drug or multiple drugs. I believe this happens because teens often lack education, live in an environment where drugs are readily available, are peer-pressured and the lack of proper growth of the frontal lobe. Many factors contribute to adolescences experimenting with drugs. As side from being a child, the adolescence stage is of great importance. Healthy habits and activities are supposed to be instilled within this stage of life. The adolescence stage can be very perplexing and what is made into a habit then is easily carried on into adulthood. Our genes act together with our environment to contribute to the addictive behaviors we are motivated to develop. If addiction is left untreated it can ultimately lead to de...
They begin to be social and making new friends. After being around a certain friend for so long, they will do anything to remain friends will them. If they fail at a certain point, the teenagers start to imitate them. Then the teenagers will develop low self-esteem. That is where drugs, alcohol, tattoos and disrespect are put into effect. Amy Bobrow, of the Child Study Center at New York University School of Medicine stated in the Davis’s article, “Even fewer teens regularly use illegal substances -- less than 25% of those who try them -- which means the majority do not.” Teenagers without supervision can cause them to do plenty of horrible things such as coming in late at night, sneaking out, and illegal substance use.
After interviewing my teenage cousin whom has been in several altercations at home and school, enlightened me on the ways that teenagers in her age group gets involved in drug use. Kids start as young as ten years of age using, selling, and experimenting with drugs. My teenage cousin was expelled from public schools when she started experimenting with drugs. She was surrounded by many challenges when she enrolled in the alternative behavioral school. Many students, whom attend the alternative behavioral school use drugs, sell drugs, are on probation, have been arrested, engage in sexual activity and drink alcohol.
People take drugs, tobacco and alcohol for different reasons and some is a result of their background, for leisure and so forth. These uses pose a threat to the health and well-being of adolescents. Adolescents and young adults in their 20s are at the highest risk for illicit drug use. For some drug users, use that begins in adolescence continues well into adulthood. “Addiction is a developmental disease; the earlier an adolescent begins drug use, the more likely their use will progress to become serious abuse or addiction (Johnston, 2012)”. There for earlier exposure is the major impact in addiction and dependence to some extent.
Few people deny the dangers of drug use, while many teens are curious about drugs. They should stay away from drugs because drugs affect our health, lead to academic failure, and jeopardizes safety. Drugs are used from a long period of time in many countries. The concentration of drugs has increased from late 1960’s and 1970’s. Drugs can quickly takeover our lives. Friends and acquaintance have the greatest influence of using drugs during adolescence.
Drug abuse is an illustration of the dangerous effects that peer pressure has on adolescents. There are many problems with substance overuse, but the biggest one is addiction. When a group indulges themselves into substance overuse, the new members have to do the same. However, when it comes to addiction, no one is responsible for anybody else. According to Lamsaouri, “the cause of substance over use among peers is that everyone else is using it and there is no problem to use it” (qtd in Jayanthi 184). This is the answer for all the adolescents that are caught overusing drugs and other banned