An Investigation to Critically Assess the Effects of Drug Abuse Among Youths Between Ages 10-25

     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.

In the present times, drug abuse is a major cause for concern and has an adverse effect on society in general. Although students comprise of a large section of drug abusers, grown-ups also capitulate to drug abuse. In fact among the middle-aged people there is an inclination to abuse prescription drugs.

All around the world anyone can find people that are addicted to some form of drug. Drug addiction is a huge issue that has been occurring for about thirty years now and is occurring to this day for many reasons. Some of those reasons may be that something is going on back home and they have had enough, or because of stress, peer pressure, biological reasons and the list goes on. However, there has been law enforcement due to drugs since the mid 1980’s. People have many viewpoints to when it comes to drug use and addiction. There are three perspectives people have that view the use of drugs and drug addiction which are structural functionalism, conflict, and symbolic interactionist.

According to Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Study, conducted among high school students, over 70% tried cigarettes, 25% smoke daily for at least a month and over 80% of students have used alcohol at least once5. Many factors impact the likelihood of adolescent substance use. One risk factor for adolescent substance use is perceived ease of access to substances4. Also, the type of substances being used by adolescents varies by geographic location. Students living in rural areas report higher perceived access to alcohol, smoking tobacco, chewing tobacco and steroids while students living in urban areas report higher levels of perceived access to marijuana, cocaine, inhalants, ecstasy, methamphetamine and hallucinogens4. Depression during adolescence is linked to substance abuse. Students who did not have many peers of the same racial/ethnic group in their school reported poorer school attachment, which in turn is related to depressive symptoms3. Positive relationships among peers tend to have an impact on substance use in

The methodology was described with the data collection method. Quantitative and qualitative questionnaire which consisted of closed questions with a choice of fixed answers and free text to enhance qualitative data were sent out in the form of mailshot, followed by telephone call to non-respondents and it was repeated for more wider sample results to gain more evidence to reduce bias (Parahoo, 2006).

An Overview for Substance Abuse, is an article that focuses on whether the use of any kind of substance is recreational use or is it classified as abuse. The purpose of the article is to inform people on whether they are abusing the substance or not. The article lists the most common illegal drugs used and also tells you what legal drugs are addictive. Some of the information is to tell you how many people in the world is addicted and how many people got help. The article talks about why our country has put laws on this situation and it is because of our society. The information for the article was gathered from The World Health Organization, John Hopkins Medicine Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration,

Substance abuse has become a notable public health threat to today’s adolescents. Substance abuse is associated with an array of behavioral and psychological consequences that can jeopardize the future of the young people. Lifelong dependence is another possible consequence of drug abuse among adolescents. Ultimately, counselors are supposed to come up with effective programs to address addiction issues among the adolescents to prevent them from relying on drugs in future. Counselors rely on direct counselling, group counselling, community collaborations and parent participation to make a difference in the lives of adolescents abusing drugs. Nonetheless, counseling adolescents with substance abuse is challenging and in order to make a difference, counselors must be prepared to handle those challenges.

To date, there are five large and important areas of research that have been either neglected: (1) the sequence of drugs used and the development of different drug-using patterns; (2) the individual, group, and cultural factors influencing low-risk and high-risk outcomes among equivalent drug users; (3) the changing attitudes of both users and nonusers toward psychoactive drug use; (4) the impact of the media on drug use and drug choice; and (5) the process of socialization as it applies to patterns of drug use (http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/lsd/zinberg7.htm). I feel that we should also focus on studies: how drugs influence individual health and behavior, what use is being made of drug research, and how its findings influence public policy decisions.

Among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, 9.8 % are estimated to be current users of illicit drugs, with 4.9 % using drugs other than marijuana. Nearly three quarters of students have started to drink alcohol and nearly half (47%) have tried using an illicit drug (not including alcohol or tobacco) by the senior year of high school.” (Hassan, Harris, Sherritt, Van Hook, & Brooks, 2009)

The survey is the most familiar and ever-present method used to collect demographic information, feelings, and opinions, and to learn about a defined population (Graziano & Raulin, 2010). Also, use of a web-based survey will allow for immediate distribution of data (Greenlaw & Brown-Welty, 2009). In addition, to get a feel for the type of question to best use on the questionnaire, a focus group will also be used. Questions will on the survey will be related to the following information needed, i.e., 1)

Drug abuse is a major public health issue that impacts society both directly and indirectly; every person, every community is somehow affected by drug abuse and addiction and this economic burden is not exclusive to those who use substance, it inevitably impacts those who don't. Drugs impact our society in various ways including but not limited to lost earnings, health care expenditures, costs associated with crime, accidents, and deaths. The use of licit or illicit drugs long term, causes millions of deaths and costs billions for medical care and substance abuse rehabilitation and the effects of drug abuse extend beyond users, spilling over into the society at large, imposing increasing social and economic costs.

This leads to an increase in criminal activity such as neglect of familial duties, robberies to fund their dependency, and violence to defend their habits. The ‘drugee’ becomes a nuisance to society. Some become homeless and exhibit poor health habits such as malnutrition and tooth decay. Other negative effects include the transference of diseases because of needle sharing. Though drug use is a personal choice, the effects on the rest of society are undeniable. The best intentions are formulated on a personal level, but this is overcastted by its negative effects. This argument, however, is a bit one-sided because the reason for using and dependency varies between users.

The use of drugs is a controversial topic in society today. In general, addicts show a direct link between taking drugs and suffering from their effects. People abuse drugs for a wide variety of reasons. In most cases, the use of drugs will serve a type of purpose or will give some kind of reward. These reasons for use will differ with different kinds of drugs. Various reasons for using the substance can be pain relief, depression, anxiety and weariness, acceptance into a peer group, religion, and much more. Although reasons for using may vary for each individual, it is known by all that consequences of the abuse do exist. It is only further down the line when the effects of using can be seen.

The strength of questionnaires is it can give an insight into respondent’s thoughts and opinions and also cost efficient as it is inexpensive.

“I’m in love with the coco” (a song depicting a love for cocaine song by O.T. Genasis), just one of the most recent songs to have explicit usage of drugs. Referring to drug usage and sales is a popular trend in today 's hip-hop and rap lyrics. As a society where do we draw the line with censorship of this material? Not only are the lyrics being said, but the drug usage is also being portrayed in the music videos; all the way from marijuana usage to cocaine and popping pills. There 's no doubt that this type of music has a negative effect on today 's youth, but by censoring, this variety of music are we in effect censoring the culture and reality that sings it.