Drugs and Pre-Teen Drug Abuse

Introduction As a 12 year old pre-teen, I started experimenting with marijuana. I started because of the same reasons that most kids start, because my friends were all doing drugs. My drug abuse started really getting bad at about fourteen years of age. At 14, I was using marijuana about three times a day and I was using LSD at least once every two days. By the time I was 17, I was no longer using marijuana and LSD. I had moved on to harder and more destructive drugs. I was using amphetamines and cocaine on a daily basis by the age of 17 years of age. I was abusing drugs behind my family’s backs for years. I stayed clean for about eight and a half years, until one day I started using amphetamines once again and eventually started using crack, as well. I abused both drugs for a year and a half, until I realized how I was destroying my family. With drug abuse on the rise, everyone should know about the six most popular drugs on the streets, the signs of drug abuse, and about the research of pre-teenage drug abuse. Popular Drugs Today {draw:frame} According to the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration Web site, the six most popular drugs on the streets today are Amphetamine, Cocaine, Crack, LSD, Marijuana, and Opium/Heroin. Amphetamine, also known as Methamphetamine, is second in line as the most frequently used drug, next to alcohol and marijuana. The seizure of the laboratory materials has been increasing dramatically in some states. This drug is highly addictive as a potent stimulant to the central nervous system. This drugs main ingredient is mostly a pharmaceutical product. In 1971, it was added into the Schedule II of the Controlled Substance Act (CSA). Amphetamine has many street names, but the five most popular are speed, meth, ice, crystal, and crank. The short-term effects are an increased sense of wakefulness, physical activity, and decreased need to eat. There is a brief sensation reported from people who smoke or inject this drug, but people who

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