

Teenage Substance Abuse

A lot of young people, especially teenagers become addicted to abusing substances. They can vary from alcohol to inhalants, from popular street drugs to diverted prescription drugs. Their usage may cause a life-long addiction, when any of those drugs become increasingly dangerous.

Some teenagers may have short experience of using drugs, because every time can be their last one. Adults, who are interested in prevention of risky behavior of their children, should examine most common reasons that force youth to live such life.

Reasons for using various drugs can be different: from genetic to social.  Scientists state that genetic factors influence drug addiction, but they cannot identify exactly these specific genes. The teens, which have genetic reasons for any substance abuse, may desire to use a drug again. Teens expect to get more pleasure out of it and use the drug every day.

Other factor which may be the reason why teenagers use dangerous substances is family. If a person grows up with people, who do not object using any legal and especially illegal chemical substances, can result in thinking that using drugs is allowed. Problematic families may be one of the impelling forces of initial experimentation with drugs or alcohol. Even family members, which use substances or pills to ease their pain, can cause a teenager to copy them, but even ordinary pills might become dangerous. It’s never too late to introduce healthy family traditions for children as they imitate parents’ and relatives’ behavior.

Teenagers use drugs because of “high” feelings they want to get, experience thrills and adrenaline rushes. Some of young people think they get positive feelings from using substances that cause them to prolong their usage. Another reason why young people use drugs is stress. They think that using drugs is a solution to  the problem, which may relieve stressful situations. Therefore, stress level may trigger some teenagers to use drugs.

Almost all teens, who start using drugs, believe in their immortality and impossibility of any addiction they might have after it. Some teenagers use drugs to improve their academic performance, sport or other achievements. All students and sportsmen should understand that their parents will be proud of healthy painstaking children, but not of those, who are always involved in dangerous situations while using drugs.

Consequences of using drugs will appear soon, almost after one’s first dose. Young people look for unusual feelings such as euphoria, joy, elation etc. After all, addict feels severe physical dependence. Teenagers continue to take drugs not only to prolong euphoric condition, but also to relieve pain. The last one is a general physical condition, which occurs after the first use of substances. When a person suddenly refuses to use drugs, he or she feels terrible pain in the joints, muscles, cramps, chills, palpitations, depression, and insomnia. In accordance with such physical and psychological conditions, addicts look older, body weight is significantly reduced and veins are often thickened. Moreover, eyes become red and pupils are dilated.

Generally, long-term drug and alcohol abuse can cause different effects from violent crimes to teenager’s pregnancy. One can group these effects as biological, social, psychological and criminal. Biological problems include teenagers’ mere interests any any activity, loss of energy, decrease of biological needs (food, sleep etc.), and exhaustion of individual’s body.

The social and psychological effects generally may be characterized as mental and ethnical degradation of teenagers. All their interests and needs except for addiction to drug use decrease and then gradually lose its original value. Social environment is only seen as opportunity to find drug for the addict. Teenagers, which become addicted to any substances lose friends, cannot work and study. They can achieve satisfaction only by taking necessary dose of the drug.

Drug addiction causes a tide of criminal behavior as well as brings negative biological, social and psychological consequences. The mechanism of this relationship starts from forcing an individual to use drugs, who will definitely look for them when needed. Teenagers which use drugs cannot stop even when they need to kill somebody to get a drug. Drug and alcohol abuse are often interrelated, which accelerates teenagers’ degradation and complicates medical treatment.

Consequently, teenagers’ substantial drug abuse becomes one of the most popular and serious problems nowadays. The most common causes and effects of substantial abuse must be carefully examined because long-term addiction causes irreversible body and mind changes. It is a problem not only for healthy older generation, but for future “heads” of the society - young people. The best way to prevent different addictions and their effects is informing children, teenagers and their parents. People must know not only the “good” side of using drugs (euphoria, joy, elation), but also about previously mentioned results. Maybe then people will forget about various diseases or criminal records of the young generation.
