Promoting A Drug Awareness Program For Teens

Throughout schools in the United States, there is a growing issue in our elementary through highschool aged students. Drugs and alcohol have begun to overtake childrens lives as young as twelve years old. There are many types of drugs involved from prescription drugs, which is the number one drug, to alcohol, marijuana, meth, cocaine, heroine, or inhalents.

Drugs can result in teens not doing well in school, which can lead to lower academic opportunities and career options.

If we want to stop the alarming rise in the number of high school and college kids abusing alcohol, we have to figure out first why they 're doing it. (Ruth Ann.). There are many reasons of teens drinking, such as: enjoyment, stress, social groups, etc. In countries where socialization to drinking is the norm, teens learn how to drink with moderation and avoid to get drunk. Imagine a young boy who started drinking on his early

Children and teenagers also face dangers when they use drugs, often beginning to experiment with drugs in grade school. According to a recent USA Today article, children between the ages of 12 and 17 who use marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol are 266 times more likely to use cocaine than those who do not use those three substances. Children who use drugs learn less, are absent from school more often, quit school more frequently,

Alcohol use: Although the numbers have fortunately decreased in recent years, teenage alcohol and drug use is still a serious problem. It can affect the mental and physical health of an adolescent whose body is in a vital stage of growth. Use of drugs and alcohol has often been linked to serious injury, homicide and suicide.

Suicide, Anxiety, Anger, Depression and constant disobedience can all be a part of drug usage. Along with brain damage and lung damage. Countless teens around the world use drugs for social advantages.The United States represents 5% of the world's population and 75% of prescription drugs taken. 60% of teen who abuse prescription drugs get them free from friends and relatives. Doctors are already training to find ways to help.If teens smoke to much it can cause them to die or overdose.

Hannah is a fifteen year old girl who was recently sent to a rehabilitation center for the result of abuse of prescription medication. 6.1 million high school students currently use addictive substances, and like Hannah, 1 in 3 of them are addicted (“National Study Reveals,”2011). Although the number of teens using these drugs are decreasing, the numbers are still dangerously high. Due to it’s high risk of addiction, dangerous consequences, and growing availability, substance abuse among teenagers is a serious trend being presented among all United States adolescence.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), alcohol is the most abused drug by adolescents, followed by marijuana and tobacco. Statistics show that approximately 39% of high school seniors’ abuse alcohol, while 23% use marijuana and 16% smoke cigarettes (HHS, 2016). The startling substance abuse figures among adolescence shows that many adolescents are now addicted to drugs.

During my extensive research, the very first statistic that grasped my attention was found on drugabuse.com. In an article entitled Popular Drugs by Demographic, the following statement was made: “Unfortunately, teenagers make up the largest group of drug users in the country.” (2016) Illegal drugs being used by young people include marijuana (including synthetic), inhalants (hairspray, markers, spray paint, etc.), and bath salts. It is also found that teens have also abused prescription medications such as: pain relievers, tranquilizers, and ADHD medications.

Drug use is an increasing problem among teenagers in today's high schools. Most drug use begins in the teenage years, these years are the most crucial in the maturing process. During these years adolescents are faced with the difficult tasks of discovering their self identity, clarifying their sexual roles, assenting independence, learning to cope with authority figures and searching for goals that would give their lives meaning. Drugs are readily available, adolescents are curious and venerable, and there is peer pressure to experiment, and there is a temptation to escape from conflicts. The use of drugs by teenagers is the result of a combination of factors such as peer pressure, curiosity, and

It has been discovered that most people who struggle with drug addiction began experimenting with drugs in their teens. Teenage drug abuse is one of the largest problems in society today and the problem grows and larger every year. Drugs are a pervasive force in our culture today. To expect kids not to be influenced by the culture of their time is as unrealistic as believing in the tooth fairy (Bauman 140). Teens may feel pressured by their friends to try drugs, they may have easy access to drugs, they may use drugs to rebel against their family or society, or they may take an illegal drug because they are curious about it or the pleasure that it gives them.

Teens have emotional reasons for drinking alcohol. Teens choose to drink to relax and allow their bodies to unwind after a stressful day. Teenagers also choose drinking as a way to escape the harsh realities of the world such as, problems at home and

Why are some teens tempted to experiment with drugs?`The common reason teens experiment with drugs include curiosity, peer pressure, stress, boredom, emotional struggles and a desire to escape. According to the Addiction Center (2018) the majority of adults with an addiction first experiment with drugs before they turned 21. The Addiction Center also states that the good news is that the rates of teenage drug abuse have been declining.

Teenagers drink alcohol and take drug often from pressure or rebellion. Many teenagers believe that the turning to drugs and alcohol is the answer to all their problems, but they just end up is a very deep and dark hole that is hard to come back from. Some teens that think that their parents don’t understand them or put too much pressure on them are more likely to fall into these terrible habits. Drug and Alcohol use of adolescents cause severe health and brain damage. 86.2% of 14 year olds have drunk alcohol one or more times in their lives. That is such a young age to consume alcohol especially because the human brain doesn’t full develop till the age of 25. Alcohol consumption is in the top 3 major causes of teenage deaths. You can obviously see that teenagers are in crisis, and we as the older generation need to put a stop to this.

Drugs between teenagers is one of the most serious problems, because it causes a change in the behavior of any teenager and a physical change too. Most of the teenagers use alcoholic drinks as a way to escape