Substance Abuse Among Youth

Many troubled people typically teens and youth's are resorting to substance abuse. There are many different situations that result in different reasons why teens struggle with drug and or alcohol abuse. Today's teenagers cry out continuously for their own personal freedom but in many ways they have thrown out their responsibilities as well as their right to these personal freedoms with their increasing turn towards drugs. Many negative factors can come into play from substance abuse. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in 1997 nearly fifty percent of high school seniors have used the drug called marijuana. As this can be a shocking statistic to some, it not as shocking as the fact that this percentage has been on a steady increase since 1992 and has shown no sign of leveling out or slowing down anytime soon. The youth of today have not only started to use illicit drugs in more frequently, but drugs are reaching a greater number of adolescents and teenagers each passing year.

One big problem with today's youth is that the majority does not fear the consequences of drugs and or may not be well enough informed about the substance. In addition, they are increasingly using illicit drugs and almost regard drugs as the popular thing to do. There are countless movies out where today's youth is portrayed as drug users. Even if it is not a drug based movie, there is at least one comment on, reference to

teens and or youth's using some form of substance. This can be attributed to the popularity of the substances. With all these factors taken into play teens become more attracted to the lifestyle of drugs and alcohol. Alcohol is also one of the most deadly drugs available to the youth today. The leading cause of death among teens in this country is alcohol-related traffic accidents. Alcohol also causes heart disease, high blood pressure, liver damage, brain damage, and many other health problems. Teen's themselves don't really see the all