Introduction
The teenage years are filled with experimentation, searching, confusion, rebellion, poor self image and insecurity. If the above attributes are not well managed they lead to inappropriate cooping, hence causing problems such as drug dependence. Drug use amongst teenagers is a present and clear problem in this generation. Each and every New Year the annual report indicates that the proportion of teenagers using illicit drugs rises gradually. The use of alcohol and marijuana has rapidly increased amongst youths of this generation as compared to the previous generations.
Discussion
Most teenagers begin by trying alcohol when they go to parties. It all begins in parties because young adults and teenagers are usually obsessed with partying. Most teenagers who experiment with alcohol say that it helps them forget about their problems temporarily. Others say that, they consume alcohol because of peer pressure and the common believe that you must drink when you attend parties. However, it is obvious that teenage years are the time when human beings experiment and assert independence. It is a stage of transition from childhood to adulthood and often teenagers are usually tempted by adult activities. Most teenagers have the desire to be themselves and establish their own identities. Often teenagers drink when they are with their friends either in clubs or when they hold house parties.
Alcohol is the most abused substance amongst teenagers and according to the recent research about two thirds of students abuse alcohol. It is so unfortunate; teenagers are blind enough not to see the link between taking alcohol today and its consequence tomorrow. In fact, it has been noted that most teenagers drink to an extent that can put them at risk with their health and school performance. Some teenagers are usually at greater risks than others of having alcohol related problems. In the previous generation, women were not so much into drinking. In the current generation more than half of the teenage girls attend night club parties every weekend and they drink even more than boys. Alcohol abuse by teenagers has contributed to individual and family problems. Sometimes teenagers learn alcohol abuse from their parents and thus one parent may end up blaming the other for being a poor role model. Such blames sometimes lead to domestic violence and even breakups.
The other highly abused drug by the teenagers of this generation is marijuana. In fact, marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States. High school and college students have been abusing this drug at a very high rate in the recent years. Although marijuana’s relative dependent potential is less that of other substances of abuse, the large number of teenagers using the drug will yield high population rates of marijuana dependence. So many teens have engaged themselves in marijuana abuse because they believe that everybody else is doing it. Marijuana has destroyed the lives of many teenagers and in fact, it has made some teenagers to use other illicit drugs that are more dangerous than marijuana itself. For instance, research reflects that, many people who abuse cocaine have abused marijuana before. May be this happens because, when teenagers use marijuana they come into contact with people who sell other drugs.
They are teenagers who claim that they feel relaxed when they use marijuana. This is technically known as being high or being filled with pleasant sensations. However, it is evident that abusing marijuana has affected the decisions and judgments made by many teenagers. Many teenagers mess around when they are under influence of marijuana. For instance, a victim may engage in random sex, cause car accident, or even become violent. Such petty issues can end up destroying the life of a person completely. For example, a person can contact a deadly disease such as HIV/AIDS because of getting involved in random sex. Marijuana effects can also be very unpredictable because they vary from one person to another.
Marijuana is one of the drugs that affect the functioning of the brain especially after prolonged use and thus it completely destroy a person’s ability to reason in the right manner .It destroys the goals and ambitions of many teenagers because get destructed from their academics. Many teenagers who use marijuana believe that they cannot become addicts but around ten percent of marijuana users become addicted to it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, marijuana and alcohol abuse have destroyed the lives of many teenagers. There are teenagers who have already dropped out of school while others perform so poorly in school. Many teenagers are forced to engage in immoral activities which have very serious repercussions when they are out of control. Such consequences make them regret for the rest of their lives. Teenagers should envy people who have good moral values instead of being influenced by peer pressure and other prominent rebels who think hat drug abuse is a lifestyle. You also look good when you are yourself.
Works Cited
Clinard, Marshall B, and Robert F. Meier. Sociology of Deviant Behavior. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.
Neinstein, Lawrence S, and Lawrence S. Neinstein. Adolescent Health Care: A Practical Guide. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008. Print.
