Teenagers, Drugs , and Peer Pressure Essay

Some of the psychological effects are paranoia, depression, or suicidal thoughts. Some physical effects are rapid heartbeat, sleepiness, HIV, hepatitis from sharing needles, and respiratory problems. “Once you get started, it can be very hard to stop”. (Calabria et al., 2010, as cited in Cooner & Mitterer, 2016, p. 181). For example, I know someone that decided to try marijuana for the first time. What he did not know was the person had put cocaine in with it. After trying it that first time he did eventually become addicted to drugs and he even started doing heroin. Drugs affect three parts of the brain the cortex, limbic system, and the brain stem. Drug addiction affects the way the brain communicate and the way neurons send, receive, and process information. “Addictive drugs increase dopamine activity.” (Boyd, Harris, & Knight, 2012, as cited in Cooner & Mitterer, 2016, p.

As a counselor in training and an advocate for individuals’ mental health and wellness, I chose to become an official member of the American Counseling Association (ACA) and create an advocacy project to enhance adolescent mental health and wellness by advocating for more available protective factor to reduce substance use and abuse among this population. The purpose of this paper/project is to address and improve the rate of substance use and abuse among adolescents in Pitt County, more specifically in Greenville, North Carolina. This paper goes into great detail of the description of the population (adolescents), providing statistical evidence of adolescents’ use of drugs in Greenville. An increase in youth involved community activities, community service work and parental involvement will be discussed as ways to create a healthy, anti-drug, and stable environment for adolescents in Greenville, North Carolina.

The effects of drug addiction make up an infinite list but its greatest effect is on the brain. Drug addicts experiment with substance abuse depending on the side effects of the drug used. If the drug is an opioid or painkiller, then the subject might be in a sleepy and stoic state. If it was a catalyst then the person is going to exhibit an excited and emotional behavior (i.e. talking a lot, laughing at nothing, babbling, and going through extreme emotion changes.) Depending on the type of drug the subject might even experience hallucinations that can cause them to even commit suicide (“Gwinnell, Esther, and Christine Adamec”). Some superficial indicators that a person is abusing these types of substances are bloodshot eyes, rapid weight lost, needle tracks, runny nose, and even poor personal hygiene. The side effects of drug abuse, as previously mentioned are magnified when it comes to the family. If the abuser is one or both of the parents/ guardians, the child might end up being mistreated and/or not taken care of. Furthermore, if the mother is pregnant, the baby might be born premature or underweight, have mental or physical problems, or have a disruptive later on in life.

     In today’s society, teens are a common target of anti-drug campaigns and government advertisements. The goal of these campaigns is to make teens and young adults aware of the dangers associated with drug use. While these campaigns are generally effective, teens are still greatly tempted by the dangerous, exciting, and fast-paced world of club drugs. Despite the information they are constantly receiving from their teachers, parents, and government media, some teenagers will still adamantly pursue drugs in hopes of finding “a good time.”

Adolescence is a time where adolescents grow and mature at a rapid rate. It is also a time where adolescents are more vulnerable to taking risks, such as using and becoming addicted to illegal substances, due to raging hormones. Whether or not an adolescent chooses to engage in drug use and abuse depends on their home environment and those they choose to associate themselves with. Adolescents are confronted with an enormous amount of pressure to participate in risky behaviors by their peers. According to Broderick and Blewitt (2015), “risky behaviors are behaviors that constitute a departure from socially accepted norms or behaviors that pose a threat to the well-being of individuals or groups” (p. 389). One such risky behavior is drug use and addiction. Some adolescents use cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and prescription drugs in order to get “high”. Adolescents who engage in drug use are likely to become addicted, and thus, their addiction will negatively affect their brain development.

However even though there is no instant addiction with the first try, teens usually try more dangerous drugs in time.

The existence of a myriad of social problems among teenagers that both parents and states have to deal with is a factor whose weight ought not to be treated lightly. The increasing level of drug use among the adolescents constitutes one of the ever increasing situations in the society and may, as a matter of fact, be a representation other underlying issues. The level of the situation in the contemporary world, though not discussed as much as it ought to be, has reached alarming levels. There seems to be an increasing predisposition among the use to take the drugs as it's reflected in the escalating trends of drug abuse among this generation of individuals (spooner, 1999). The ever deteriorating levels of this situation coupled with the widespread permissiveness in the society and the absence of attention from appropriate caregivers at different institutions only means that the need to address the problem is paramount. Different avenues of solutions can be applied in reducing the level of the problem and averting the massive negative consequences that come with the phenomena. Dealing with this issue is not a matter of instance as the different parameters of the problems, its causes and possible workable solutions have to be discovered. As such, research on these dynamics is a mandatory undertaking.

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)

These numbers reveal that teenagers face an apparent exposure to drugs, and have little trouble getting a hold of some if desired. This article concludes that drug use and its consequences are not stressed enough in the current high school curriculum. The statistics prove that more needs to be done to identify and educate students at risk for drug use.

Students in each high school seek into trying drugs or they've already tried. Taking drugs in high school or anytime throughout your lifetime will affect the way you live,think about things, personal behaviors and the way you look. As a student you are supposed to succeed in high school, finish your homework and have a mindset about what you're doing in life but of course there are these negative object's or things that you want to try but you know that it will affect your life such as drugs. Students will try drugs with their so called “friends” and after they try a certain drug they get addicted to get that great feeling of pleasure. Getting addicted to the drug will stop you from having a great mindset and you will start having a negative

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.

Teenage drug abuse is an issue that can result from a wide variety of social influences, stressful events, and mental disorders. Drug abuse among adolescents is a troubling issue because it decreases focus, increases the chance of consistency in behavior during adulthood, increases the chances of developing emotional issues, permanently damages the brain, and damages tissues in every system that can lead to death. Previous scientific research has identified that social factors, including the media and peers, play an important role in psychological development and impact the adolescent's decision to start experimenting with substances (Botvin 888). Appropriate solutions for the teenage drug abuse issue already exist, but the only remaining

Casa Palmera Staff (2009) explained that drug abuse towards marijuana, Vicodin, amphetamines, cough medicine, and sedatives are a growing problem in teens. Various types of drugs are used by teens for numerous reasons, including recreation, relaxation, relieving pain, or because the teen population has depicted the use of drugs as “cool”. Drug abuse in teens is a behavior that can cause many consequences to develop in one’s life. Casa Palmera Staff (2009) pointed out that drug abuse in teens can cause severe health effects, emotional and behavioral issues, drug dependency, and major brain damage; many strategies can be implemented to eliminate these negative effects and possibly a long-term addiction to drugs. The impelling behavior

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

The following essay will examine the factors involved in young people’s involvement in drug misuse. The essay will pay particular attention to adolescents aged between 11 and 19 and discuss both micro and macro levels of risk factors. I will give focus to three factors that are arguably of equal importance namely, peer pressure; poverty and family issues.