AskEssays.com - Discover essay samples

Drugs and Teenagers

4.9 of 5.0 (212 reviews)

Contains
700 words
Category
Politics

Drugs and Teenagers Page 1
Drugs and Teenagers Page 2
Drugs and Teenagers Page 3
The above thumbnails are of reduced quality. To view the work in full quality, click download.

Drugs and Teenagers


Drug use is the increasing problem among teenagers in today's high schools. Most drug use begins in the preteen and teenage years, these years most crucial in the maturation process. During these years adolescents are faced with difficult tasks of discovering their self identity, clarifying their sexual roles, assenting independence, learning to cope with authority and searching for goals that would give their lives meaning. Drugs are readily, adolescents are curious and venerable, and there is peer pressure to experiment, ad there us 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 availability. Drugs addiction among adolescents in turn lead to depression and suicide.



One of the most important reasons of teenage drug usage is peer pressure. Peer pressure represents social influences that effect adolescents, it can have a positive or a negative effect, depending on person's social group and one can follow one path of the other. We are greatly influenced by the people around us. In today's schools drugs are very common, peer pressure usually is the reason for their usage. If the people in your social group use drugs there will be pressure a direct or indirect pressure from them. A person may be offered to try drugs, which is direct pressure. Indirect pressure is when someone sees everyone around him using drugs and he might think that there is nothing wrong with using drugs. Person might try drugs just to fit in the social norms, even if a person had no intentions of using drugs one might do it just to be considered "cool" by his friends. Today drugs are considered to be an acceptable social phenomenon by many teenagers. Here is a personal example of drug use from a teenager, " When I started using, was only on weekends, at parties. I used drugs 'recreationally' and therefore thought I had no addiction problem. I used drugs like nicotine, marijuana or LSD to be happy or to have fun. I needed drugs. I kept using drugs; I used drugs like marijuana to fit socially. I had problems in my life, emotionally, that drugs only seemed to solve. Drugs made my problems worse. I started snorting cocaine. I injected heroin into my veins. I almost died. I was addicted"



In today's highs schools the availability and variety of drugs is widespread. There is a demand for drugs and the supply is plentiful. Since drugs are so easy accessible, a natural interest in them may develop. A person may hear about drugs experiences, on reactions of drug usage, such as " Hey the weed that he sold us was cool, I got stoned man". This response will create a sense of curiosity and may convince the person to try drugs themselves. Many teenagers today believe that the first use of drugs is safe. However even though there is no instant addiction with the first try, youngsters tend to experiment further. Soon a person could actively seek the euphoric effects of drugs. Drug addiction is the result of intense preoccupation with the dicer to experience the mental and bodily changes with drug use. The final and the most disastrous stage are when a person needs drugs in order to function adequately. Therefore availability, curiosity and experimentation could result in drug addiction among teenagers.



One of the most devastating side effects of drug addiction and abuse is depression. Depression is the result of chemical imbalance, environmental influence, or a combination of both. Using heavy and very highly addictive drugs as heroin, cocaine, opium and many other will cause sudden mood changes, deterioration of the immune system, nervous breakdowns, unusual flares of temper and many other side effects. Besides physical side effects, drug addiction can create problems in a person's social circles. The person may run into many conflicts with his family and friends, resulting in desire for isolation. This in turn will create more problems since the person will have no social support. Furthermore, drug addiction is a financial strain especially for teenagers. When a person is ...

You are currently seeing 50% of this paper.

You're seeing 700 words of 1399.

Similar essays


Cellphones At School

Cellphones? At School? By: Ashley Chamberlain Cell phones should be banned from rural schools. There is no reason for them in rural schools, they are a distraction, and finally they could aid in violent doings. First, there is no reason for them. There are ways of getting ahold of whoever you need(parents). If you need to call your parents;...

76 reviews
Download
Atomic Diplomacy

The emergence of the United States as a dominant party in balance of power equations is a relatively new phenomenon in world history. New military technology coupled with increased global integration has allowed the United States to reinvent the fundamental assumptions of international diplomacy while propelling itself to the top of the h...

18 reviews
Download
Salaries of Professional Athel

By: Johnnie Hally E-mail: madhater@airmail.net In the past there were and are many disputes over the high salaries of professional athletes. I think that these athletes should receive the high salaries that they deserve. One reason why I think professional athletes should receive such high salaries is that they are highly skilled. Profess...

58 reviews
Download
Babies Having Babies

By: Tianna Lindsay E-mail: Shopdog76@aol.com Lindsay 1 Tianna Lindsay Mr. Fick Composition II Honors, Period 3 7 February 2000 Children Having Children As today's family values slowly decline, the teen pregnancy rate slowly increases. Each year teenage girls are getting pregnant at a younger and younger age with no guarantee of a father b...

5 reviews
Download
Tobacco in Malaysia

Tobacco is one of the leading preventable causes of death in Malaysia. Under the current law, smoking is banned in all public places. These include amusement centres, theatres, hospitals, clinics, public vehicles and air-conditioned restaurants. Likewise, anyone under age of eighteen is not allowed to buy cigarettes or any tobacco products. If...

174 reviews
Download
Atsisiųsti šį darbą