Drug Abuse

Drug Abuse: Teens in America
Maurielle Green
ANT 101
Gaylynn Smith
November 10, 2008

Drug Abuse: Teens in America

          With alarming increase, the rate of American teens using drugs is rising. This encompasses illegal and prescription drugs as well as common household products used for inhalant purposes. This is a problem facing all of America’s youth. If a teenager is not using the drugs himself, then most likely he knows someone who is. Furthermore, where and how quickly the teens are accessing these drugs is astonishing. Parents as well as educators need to be aware of telltale signs, and be willing to take action to intervene.
          Illegal drug use includes ecstasy, heroine, methamphetamines, marijuana, and others as well. Most teens, according to Brian Kelly (2007), are aware of the risks they are subjecting themselves to. Some views were distorted, meaning they thought that if they only took half of a pill of ecstasy at a time, then it would not cause brain damage. Teens will continue to take ecstasy in half pill increments in order to maintain the high through out the course of the night. A new practice that is popping up is for teens to test their pills to see if they have been altered. Teens can buy kits from harm reduction organizations, but they only test for one chemical (MDMA). They have no way of knowing the levels of all the chemicals in the ecstasy, just the presence or absence of one. Unfortunately, today’s youths are being dangerously naïve here. Another distorted belief is that if ecstasy is only used in moderation, once a month or only on special occasions, then the risks and adverse effects will be minimal. This is as big a myth as “you can’t get pregnant the first time you have sexual intercourse.” Using drugs can you’re your life after the first time.
          Here are some more beliefs young people are using to justify their drug use, Brian Kelly (2007) further found that teens using illegal drugs believed that by... [continues]

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