The Epidemic of Teenagers Using Drugs

Adolescences and young adults begin using drugs including prescription drugs, illegal drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. It’s hard to understand the reasons why adolescences and adults abuse drugs. New experiences are sought out by adults and adolescences and they will give and administrator many reasons for doing so to have that experience of new highs. It is so shocking to know that almost 3/4 of the seniors in high school have tried drugs, and have tried alcohol as well. Then almost 1/2 have tried illegal drugs and have smoked cigarettes, and about 1/3 have tried prescription drugs and it was not for medical reasons either. It is a risk factor that adolescences try drugs thinking

Many teenagers between the ages of 12-18 are exposed or already on their way to addiction to substances that are not good for our mental or physical health. Many teens experiment with drugs but aren’t addicted. According to addictioncenters.com “teen drug abuse can have long term cognitive and behavioural effects since the teenage brain is still developing.” A study also shows that half of all new drug users are under 18. This is because our brains are still seeking the “thrill” and temptation of substances. Other common reasons are curiosity, peer pressure, stress, emotional struggles and wanting a escape. Thankfully drug use among teens, despite popular opinion are significantly decreasing. The teenage brain is very immature. By doing drugs as a teen you are at a greater risk for being an addicted adult.

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.

You might find it difficult to read the data related to teenage drug abuse and addiction. Based on recent stats, the picture is not pretty and the information indicates that Americans are not doing enough to combat the problem of teenage drug

Read Parts 1 through 4 of Dirty: A Search for Answers Inside America’s Teenage Drug Epidemic. These sections follow three children - Mike, Tristan, and Zalika - who have descended into drug and alcohol abuse, and adults’ attempts to intervene and help them turn their lives around.

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

When I read that the United States has a “drug problem”, I immediately thought of the obvious culprits like heroin or cocaine. What most people fail to realize, however, is that substances like alcohol and nicotine are considered to be drugs as well. Throughout my first year of college I have gotten to know more about drug abuse than I ever knew before. I realized that the way in which most young people cope with disorders like depression or anxiety is through substance abuse. While some people look at this as a helpful form of self-therapy, others look at it as a gateway to addiction and immorality.

The talk of substance abuse has been a long and serious one. With an over stimulated society, it is not uncommon to see the countless reports and hear the chatter among peers expressing concern about the “drug epidemic.” With how prevalent the talk of drugs are it starts to influence younger and younger crowds. Especially young adults. With the ever changing times, young adults are becoming more and more open to the world around them. However, with the spiraling numbers of substance abuse among young adults, it is time for outside intervention. The main way to rectify this growing issue is to understand what these substances are, the staggering statistics within correlation to them, and what measures can be taken to help those currently

Substance use disorder, misuse, and dependence are among the most prevalent causes of adolescent morbidity and mortality in the United States (Brannigan, Schackman, Falco, & Millman, 2004; Newcomb and Bentler, 1988a; Sussman, Dent, and Galaif, 1997). Substances of all types are being widely used or misused by teens and emerging adults in the United States (Johnston et al., 2004). Adolescent substance misusers experience numerous social, economic, physical, and legal consequences, for example, truncated development (Newcomb and Bentler, 1988b). Substance use–related disorders are associated with such problems as poor academic performance, job instability, teen pregnancy, and the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases. Crimes such as stealing, vandalism, and violence are associated with “heavy drug use” in adolescence. Adverse immediate consequences occur (e.g., overdoses and accidents). Also, drug-using youths are more likely to develop disorganized thinking and unusual beliefs that may interfere with problem-solving abilities and emotional functioning and may lead to greater social isolation and depression (Sussman and Ames, 2001), though the prevalence of dysfunctional thinking is not known. Substance dependent adolescents endure consequences of additional problems such as drug tolerance effects, withdrawal symptoms, and preoccupation with using a drug to the exclusion of other activities.

Abusing prescription drugs commonly called "pharming"--is the fastest-growing drug problem in the United States, particularly among teens. About 7 million Americans abused prescription drugs in 2007 more than used cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, Ecstasy, and inhalants combined.” Pharming is a form of drug abuse that is using pharmacy drugs to get high. They use drugs such as oxycontin and other over the counter drugs.These drugs can be easily obtained by getting a prescription by a doctor. Drug abuse is a big problem in America due to the fact that it ruins people’s lives and negatively affects others around them. If people were more educated on drug abuse it wouldn’t be a problem. Knowing the negative effects could change the mind of a teen

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

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.

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

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.

Project Know released an article regarding adolescent drug abuse. The author(s) write in an authentic and unbiased manner driven to annul the negative connotations behind drug addiction such as stating the fact of how addiction can trap even the most responsible and intelligent students. Instead, they get real with readers by normalizing addiction as a contractible disease to any teen. Furthermore, the article is cleverly aimed to help non-drug users understand the intensity of drug usage and why people get into drugs in the first place by explicitly depicting the highs and lows a drug user experiences. Overall, this is a useful resource that can aid society to understand the true essence of addiction to help addicts and resources are cited