Drug Abuse Among American Teenagers Drug abuse in America is a major problem. Especially among teenagers. Drugs have hurt the lives of nearly 40 percent of all teenagers in America. Either with health problems, DWIs, highway crashes, arrests, impaired school and job performance. These drugs that teenagers use range from Alcohol, LSD, Marijuana, and even Cigarettes. Most of the teenagers that are involved in drug abuse have either, broken families, parents that are drug abusers, a unstable environment where they are constantly moving from place to place, or there parents aren't exactly making a lot of money and they are never around because they are trying to make enough money for them to survive. But even to most ordinary teenager can have a drug problem depending on there friends, and relationship with there family. These teenagers turn to drugs because they have no where else to turn. There family members aren't ever around, or hardly ever around. Some teens may have there parents around, but they too are involved with drug abuse, giving little or no attention to there children. They may have dropped out of school, or aren't meeting the standards set for them to meet, giving them a sense that they aren't worth anything. So what do they do? They turn to drugs, thinking that it will take all there problems away. They soon discover new friends with the same outlook on drugs as they have. And now they have a place to turn, a place where they will not be rejected or put down, a place where nothing matters, everyday is a good day. Until they finally just fall apart. The reason most teens get involved in drugs is because they have what's called a low inner and outer containment. Inner containment is what people believe is right... ... middle of paper ... ...ervices, 1996). 2. The Gallup Organization, Consult with America: A Look at How Americans View the Country's Drug Problem, Summary Report (Rockville, Md.: March 1996). 3. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Preliminary Estimates from the 1995 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. 4. Rand Corporation, Modeling the Demand for Cocaine (Santa Monica, Calif.: Rand Corporation, 1994). 5. W. Rhodes, P. Scheiman, and K. Carlson, What America's Users Spend on Illegal Drugs, 1988-1991 (Washington, D.C.: Abt Associates, Inc., under contract to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, 1993). 6. National Narcotics Intelligence Consumers Committee, The NNICC Report 1995: The Supply of Illicit Drugs to the United States (Washington, D.C.: Drug Enforcement Administration, August 1996). 7. Office of National Drug Control Policy, Pulse Check
Liehr, P, Marcus, M, Carroll, D, Granmayeh, K L, Cron, S, Pennebaker, J ;( Apr-Jun 2010). Substance Abuse; Vol. 31 (2); 79-85. Doi: 10.1080/08897071003641271
Drug abuse has changed over the years due to the trends that Americans face from the encouragement of different cultures. The abuse of substances creates many health problems. The following will discuss the past and current trends of drug use and the effects these drugs have on the health of the individuals who abuse the drugs.
Robison, Jennifer. “Decades of Drug Use: Data from the '60s and'70s.” 2 July 2002. Gallup, Inc. 28 March 2011.
Years ago, the common image of an adolescent drug abuser was a teen trying to escape from reality on illegal substances like cocaine, heroin, or marijuana. Today, there is a great discrepancy between that perception and the reality of who is likely to abuse drugs. A teenage drug abuser might not have to look any further than his or her parent’s medicine chest to ‘score.’ Prescription drug abuse by teens is on the rise. Also, teens are looking to prescription drugs to fulfill different needs other than to feel good or escape the pressures of adulthood. Teens may be just as likely to resort to drugs with ‘speedy’ side effects, like Ritalin to help them study longer, as they are to use prescription painkillers to check out of reality. Pressures on teens are growing, to succeed in sports or to get high grades to get into a good college (Pressures on today’s teens, 2008, theantidrug). Furthermore, because prescriptions drugs are prescribed by doctors they are less likely to be seen as deleterious to teens’ health. A lack of awareness of the problem on the part of teens, parents and society in general, the over-medication of America, and the greater stresses and pressures put upon teens in the modern world have all conspired to create the growing problem of prescription drug abuse by teens.
Teens who use drugs and alcohol have declining grades, miss more school, and are more likely to drop out of school. When teens are in highschool and middle school it is important to stay in school and pay attention to get good grades. If teens end up using substances it could affect their academic ability. Teens are using drugs and other substances more and more now, causing bad grades, family issues and many other problems. If parents and school would keep better eyes on the teens and let them know more about the consequences of using substances it could help decrease the number of teens who use drugs and alcohol.
“Office of National Drug Control Policy.” The White House. USA, 1 Dec. 2011. Web. 8 Dec. 2011. .
As the world today continues to increase in different technology, which is said to make a better and also safer society, but are they leading to road of destruction? According to the CASAColumbia organization “More than 1 in 7 Americans ages 12 and older have addiction involving nicotine, alcohol or other drugs (2014).” Meaning at 12 years old one CHILD out of seven would have an alcohol or drug addiction. Substance abuse in America is widely spread, and is definitely getting out of control. The sadness about a substance abuser is that they probably never even dreamed of using any type of drug, but when doors are closing they would kill for a way out, even kill themselves.
Among teens in the United States, some of the most commonly abused drugs are prescription drugs.
Why do teens use drugs? Many reasons contribute to adolescent drug use. It may be stress, peer pressure, or even the difficulty coping with the ills of school life. Teens use drugs because they have no true guidance. The absence, of certain vital components such as, someone to talk to, morals, values, or even responsibility forces teens to use drugs. One major contributing cause of adolescent drug use and abuse is a dysfunctional family, a family that does not provide all of the above.
"Illegal Drugs in America: A Modern History." DEA Museum & Visitors Center. Web. 14 Dec. 2010.
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...
The "War on Drugs" Palo Alto: Mayfield, 1986. Kennedy, X.J., Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Jane E. Aaron, eds. The Bedford Reader. 6th ed. of the book.
Once someone notices that their friend and/or loved one is doing drugs, they never take into full consideration the reasons why that person started doing the drugs in the first place. One reason why young people take the drugs they do is because it lets them forget or escape their problems. At the teenagers home, there may be a lot of screaming and yelling, or there is too much stress in their life or maybe that teen is being forced to do something they do not want to do and they see no way out of it. As it is said in "Causes of Drug Use Among Young People" by Jill Nicholson: “T...
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.
Another problem is use of illegal drugs by teenagers and young adults. As usage of drugs such as ecstasy and marijuana become more popular on "underground" scenes, people seem to find it acceptable to engage in casual drug use. Many young people do not realize the harmful effects of these substances until it is too late. The lives of America's y...