The Question Of Teens And Drug Abuse Needs Our Utmost Attention
Drug abuse among teens has reached epidemic proportions. It Doesn’t matter how vigilant you are, your teens will definitely be introduced to drugs at school, the very place you believe to be a safe environment. Mrs. Reagan’s ‘Just say no to drugs’ campaign was a complete failure. The truth is that teenagers view adults as old stupid people that don’t know their head from a hole in the ground. Parents, try as they may, face a bitter war in protecting their kids from the ravaging effects of drugs.
The battle is made tougher by the fact that most of us have prescription medications in our bedroom drawers. When confronting the issue of teens and drugs, you have to present a rational argument that differentiates between necessary prescriptions and illegal drugs. This isn’t easy. Some well known prescription medicines are being peddaled in schools as a way to catch a buzz. Teenagers don’t realize that these prescriptions are issued in duplicate or triplicate, as a way to control the use of certain narcotics. Not having experienced a legitimate need for such drugs themselves, they could well conclude that their parents are experiencing and liking some buzz that they are for some reason being forbidden.
One more problem with educating children on the issue of teen drug abuse is that our society does not show any differences between drugs. Some medicinal drugs are needed, but when it comes to teenagers and drugs, we tell them that every drug is bad. This is patently false. Some teens need prescription medication for actual problems. Used improperly, that medicine can produce a high in a kid who doesn’t need it. Sometimes, that medication can have lethal consequences when taken as a ‘recreational’ drug.
Children are not capable of making those distinctions. For example, a patient with extreme pain due to arthritis or cancer, may be prescribed codeine or another opiate to manage the pain. Children don’t comprehend that this person doesn’t get high. That drug only eases the pain. However, in the world of teenagers and drugs, this narcotic becomes an opportunity toenjoy a different reality. They don’t realaize the difference.
One big lie that encourages teenage drug use is the fable of weed. This street drug is posited as the first step to drug addiction, thrown in the same bag as pcp and mescaline. The second that middle school kid tries weed, the kid sees that even though it gets them high and they like it, they can hide this new habit from their parents and it doesn’t make them crazy. They make the conclusion that the rest of the warnings about kids and drugs are lies. That’s why they step into the grip of the really dangerous drugs.
As a nation, we need to teach our teenagers. Teach them the effects of drugs. Meth, crack, heroin and drugs like ‘ecstasy’ can ruin their lives or kill them. Be honest. We can defend our teens.Addiction is a serious problem in our society today but with the “proper” education we can teach our future generations the realities of addictions and drug abuse.
