We have been listening to stories about drugs since we were born. We also learned about what kind of drugs exist and how dangerous they are. The word drug has always been a synonym for something forbidden and uncommon. However, years passed and cultures changed. Nowadays, the way of life and thinking look completely different. We cannot follow the development of drugs anymore, and the word drug is something normal and very common, especially among youngsters. If we take this under a microscope, we can see that drugs nowadays became somewhat trendy. How many teenagers smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol? How many teenagers smoke marihuana and do hard drugs like heroin? How many young people die because of drugs? How many times we hear that somebody was taken to a hospital from a big Rave party? Dance drugs, all kind of pills, heroin, crack, cocaine, marihuana, and so forth are all flooding the market, and we cannot control this. In this essay, I will explain why taking drugs became trendy and what causes more and more teenagers to do drugs.
Statistics shows that drug use has really increased amongst youngsters. In 2001, 34.5 % twelve year old and older teenagers tried marihuana, but in 2002 this number increased to 37 %. In 2001, 1.2 % of teenagers of the same age group tried heroin, and this number also increased to 1.5 % in 2002. These numbers show that more and more youngsters are becoming addicted to drugs. (Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003, pg. 136)
The Term Paper on Drug Abuse And Reprocussions Thereof
Facing everyday problemsin these recent years many people turn to drugs as an escape from the existance they hold. Drug use has rapidly increased in the last twenty years and has become a national crises. More people are experementing with different drugs at a younger age. Due to the rapid increase in drug abuse our government has looked to rehab as an alternative to jail. When a person thinks of ...
Let’s first discuss doing soft drugs. When kids go to Elementary school, they start observing what is happening around them. They are curious, and they like taking risks, so these traits lead them to want to try as many things as possible. They see parents, younger people, and also their sisters and brothers day by day, and somehow they want to be just like their older role models. So, when the parents smoke, and the older brother smoke, why should not the teenager try to smoke? Hence, the first cause involves influence from relatives and older people. It is true that parents warn against smoking, but if they smoke themselves, it is somehow funny to consider their advice. Also, when people go trough puberty, they feel older than they truly are, so they want to prove this to others. I know from my personal experience how mature I felt when I lighted up my first cigarette. Fortunately, I was smart enough to do this just once, and after this, I felt kind of stupid to continue this. However, many kids try and do this day by day, and than they become addicted to smoke.
A second cause involves the child’s company. If everybody around the child smokes, it is hard to say no. One would feel isolated and strange. It also may happen that one may not be treated equally if one does not do the same things his/her friends like to do. In these age groups, friendships are very important, and everybody tries to be the “cool guy,” so that others adore him/her.
At the end of the Elementary school years, teenagers start experiencing first problems with parents, love, school, and personal issues. The older teenagers go to their first parties and there, they meet alcohol. In some countries one cannot buy alcohol if one is under eighteen, but this is not a big problem for teenagers, as they get other drugs like heroin and marihuana, so alcohol is a piece of cake for them. Getting drunk and smoking cigarette is very popular. Also, the feeling one gets after drinking alcohol are unusual. One may feel braver, more self-confident, and more talkative. One feels more comfortable dancing and forgetting everything else. All problems, difficulties, and complexes disappear. It is the easiest way to escape from reality and everyday problems. Everybody does not have people to talk to, friends who help, and parents who give advice on how to solve problems. Moreover, youngsters are under more and more pressure, so it is hard to deal with all these things. In the past, teenagers did not have this kind of life styles and everything was easier and less laboriously.
The Homework on Teens Parental Friend Parents Who Give Their Teen
"It's okay what you do here. I'm a cool mom." That's a quote from the latest teen movie, Mean Girls. Most parents think that being their teen's best friend is something that will help them understand why teens do what they do. Unfortunately that's not the case. Parents who give their teens whatever they want at whatever cost are wrong. They are teaching their teen to spoil their own child in the ...
Finally, those who did not wade to deep and ruined their life, go to High School. Here things get more complicated, and drugs become easily available. All around are drug dealers who try to earn some money from youngsters. They know how sensitive and naïve teens are at this age. They try to convince them to try drugs just once and all for free. Friends or friends’ friends most often offer drugs. The first time is usually initiated by others. Most teenagers say no for the first time, but then when they do not see a way out, drugs are taken as help because people of that age most often face conflicts at school and in the family and cannot struggle with all the pressure.
There is another reason why young people do drugs; they have no occupation, and they are bored. This is very common for small towns where there is nothing to do. Following is a true example of how my home town became a center for drugs, and almost all my friends became addicted to it. All day we were sitting and jumping around. There were no funny or interesting things to do. I will never forget this moment that some guy came and asked us if we wanted to try heroin. It was like in the movies. He put heroin on foil, rolled a bank note and started to smoke. I stud up and some other went with me. However, about a month later, almost everybody smoked heroin. After that, things turned worst. It was hard to watch friends ruin themselves. Now Zalec, a city in Slovenia, is known as “junkie” town.
Youngsters also want to be independent from parents and have their own views and values, and drug taking is one of the ways to demonstrate this. Typical for teenagers is uncritical thinking and inability to foresee the real consequences of using drugs.
The Essay on People often complain about life in the U.S.
People complain when most of their needs are not met. The irony of it lies when complaints are just piled up without any further insights on how to solve such problems. In the long run, complaints become a part of the lifestyle of people who are good at pointing at the loopholes most especially of the government, and of the leaders. As there would always be a reason for every action that is done, ...
Drugs are also connected with life style, clothes style, and music. It depends on what the teenagers like. For instance, young people who listen to modern techno or rave music go to parties and are use LSD, Ecstasy, and Speed. One cannot dance and be awake all night and then also go to an after party without drugs. These kinds of drugs give energy and feeling of happiness, which is very helpful today if we take a look at how many teenagers are depressed. On the other hand, people who listen to rock, metal, rage, and so forth are absolutely different in their clothes and values. They also differ in their drugs of choice. They smoke grass and prefer peace.
Teenagers are exposed to all these things when they are really in their most sensitive ages. Sometimes, it is really hard to go trough life, but people have to think before they decide to do something that can ruin their life forever.
Human beings have been familiar with drugs for many years. Drugs were first related to religious customs, rituals, and traditions, especially in the areas where there are good conditions for the narcotic plants grow. For example, in South-eastern Asia there is opium or poppy. In South America cocaine, the Near East, Central Asia, South and North America, North Africa, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India there is cannabis. However, nowadays drugs use is one of the biggest social trends amongst youngsters. It is very sad how we live and how our society develops. During the nineteen sixties, people were connected with the culture of the “flower generation” when peace, love, harmony, and cannabis smoke could be felt in the air. Heroine became popular in the seventies, and today, drugs are an urgent social problem all over the world.
Bibliography
Drug use by type of drugs and age group: 2000-2001,Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU
