Introduction
The paper will examine the effects and solutions of substance abuse among the teens in America. A brief history of substance abuse in America is analyzed to give the audience the present situation in America. The preceding section involves examining how substance abuse has led to the lives of American teenagers. Drugs cause nausea, liver damage, and malfunctions the damage. In addition, teens that abuse drugs lose concentration, and compel them to miss classes and these results in high school dropouts. American youths under the influence of narcotics are deceived that the crimes may be a potential opportunity to win their goals and objectives.
Background
According to Volkow, Compton & Weiss (2013), substance abuse refers to the use of drugs for non-medical purposes. It encompasses the practices of using substances such as illegal substances and the abuse of illegal drugs for the purpose that the substance was not intended. Most of the times, these substances are consumed in large quantities. Volkow, Compton & Weiss (2013) asserts that addiction is typically a condition of physical or psychological reliance on substance. For instance, drug addiction encompasses the tolerance and withdraw symptoms that happen when the addict halts consuming the drug and disappear when an overdose of the drug occurs. Volkow, Compton & Weiss (2013), views that substances such as illegal drugs, tranquilizers, analgesics are regarded as abuses when they are used for the wrong purpose. People abuse the drug or several reasons and a precise comprehension of the individual who is abusing the drug. The pulling factors of substance abuse and addiction will rely on the type of drug being abused (ibid).
Research Question
How the substance abuse does lead to increase in teen school dropout rates in America?
What is the relationship between substance abuse and criminal behavior?
What are the health problems that are incurred as drug abuse?
What is the impact of teens drug addiction on the family life?
What aspects is substance associated with than can interfere with professional jobs qualifications?
Body
Substance abuse and school dropouts
The teens that abuse drugs score low grades have a higher truancy rate and an increased likelihood of dropping out of school. Hall (2015) argues that the drugs affect the student's ability to concentrate and study in classes. In case that the student who abuses drugs fails to take a dosage for sometimes, the withdraw effects become apparent. These drugs tend to lower the IQ that the student had before abusing the drugs. Proper concentration is sufficient to allow the students to pass well in class. Hall (2015) contends that any changes in the human brain alter the brain function. The brain depends on transmitters to convey messages from one section of the brain to another. Every neurotransmitter attaches itself to its appropriate receptor. The messages shift on the brain via the right path. Hall (2015) discusses that in the period that these teens consume the drugs, it disturbs the normal patterns that the neurotransmitters follow. The chemical in the drugs deceives his receptors, hinder their path and interfere with the activity of nervous cells. The disturbance can lead the messages going in the wrong direction and control how the brain should work. The teens who abused drugs are likely to drop out of school than those who don’t consume drugs (ibid).
Substance abuse and increase in crimes
Substance abuse among the teens in America contributes to the increase in criminal activities. Johnston et al., (2012) says that there are commonly three forms of crimes that result as a result of drugs abuse. The teens under the influence of illegal drugs think for a less time stalking their victims and investigating the crime sites. Johnston et al., (2012) claims that these students perceive that their crimes are most probable criminal activities of opportunity and that they have a challenge drafting the plan on how to conduct the criminal activity successfully. These addicts can overcome the vulnerable people in the society. Several occasions, the drug abuse, enables them to become more susceptible to apprehension.
Substance abuse and health degradation
The effect of drug addiction on health is evident among the American teenagers. Owens (2014) proclaims that the drug abuse weaken the immune system of the body, and this exposes the teens on infections. These teens become affected by common diseases because their white blood cells find it difficult to react to bacteria in the body. Owens (2014) reveals that substance abuse leads to heart-related diseases. The teens that use drugs such as heroin use injection as the mode of consumption. During the time of injection, the teens inject the drug into the veins, and this blocks the veins. Consistent blockage of the blood vessels forces that the blood should be pumped at the highest pressure to convey to the different body parts (Owens (2014). Additionally, drug abuse is associated with stroke and brain damage because it triggers problems with memory, concentration and decision-making comprising of mental confusion and brain damage. Drugs such as alcohol disrupt the initial process of liver. The liver may find itself difficult to deliver the functions on time (ibid).
Substances abuse and family disintegration
Consumption of drugs among the American teens tends to destroy the social cohesion that existed before. Furthermore, Johnston et al., (2012) claims that it creates an environment of stress, anxiety and misunderstanding that leads to the influence of the state and welfare of the family unit. The younger siblings of the teen become more exposed to the environment of drug addiction. The parents may have different approaches on how to solve drug addiction for their teens. The drug addict is given more attention than other children that aren’t addicts. Sometimes, the siblings become convinced that drug use is not a bad practice (ibid).
Inability to qualify for professional jobs
Perucca & Frank (2012) postulates that drug addiction is associated with aspects that are not favorable for teens to qualify for jobs. Professional jobs necessitate concentration, perfectness, and rapid flexes. However these teens possess none of these virtues, and it may result in severe accidents and incompetence in the job performance. Teen’s drug addicts experience hangover and withdraw that affects the job performance. Sometimes these hangovers may compel; the teens to be absent from his workplace and this leads to decreased productivity (Perucca & Frank, 2012).
Recommendations and solutions
Counseling
The teens under the drugs influence should be counseled on the effects of substance abuse on their body and family. The addicts should be enrolled in rehabilitation centers to understand the intensity of drug abuse as an ethical issue
God
The children should be nurtured under the religious norms and values that believe that drugs are against the ethics.
Medication
Applying medication is useful for the patients who have started using drugs or have increased their potential of using drugs. The modes of treatment will be based on the specific drug a person I was consuming. The most significant treatments for drug abuse cater for medical, relationship, workplace and psychological needs. Moreover, the treatments will encompass an integration of behavioral therapy interventions and medications to decrease the individual’s needs for the drug and offer the person the skills to refrain from substance abuse consumption.
Discipline
The children should be nurtured under ethic principles to allow them to perceive drug abuse as a social problem rather than a recreational activity. Sometimes, these people who are discipline to an extent that they may convince these American teens that drug abuse is a catastrophe in America.
Conclusion
Substance abuse has become an emerging social issue in America. Even though the drugs affects the individuals and family negatively, their effects can be curbed effectively. This paper analyzes some of the effects associated with teen drug abuse in America and suggests some solutions to the problems. Addicts degrade their health, and they become less immune to the diseases. The effect of drugs leads to withdrawing effects that result in decreased job performance. Moreover, persons who abuse drugs become less concerned of the criminal activity and this leads to increase in crimes. Though, the threat of medications can be solved by solutions on the perspective of God, counselling and medications. The children should be counseled I school on the dangers associated with drug abuse. The youths need to have an awareness of the consequences of drug consumption to able to dodge this social issue. Though the problem is nearly impossible to be eradicated in the short period, there are sound measures to reduce the effects it has subjected on the modern American youths.
References
Hall, W. (2015). What has research over the past two decades revealed about the adverse health effects of recreational cannabis use?. Addiction, 110(1), 19-35.
Johnston, L. D., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2012). Monitoring the Future national results on adolescent drug use: Overview of key findings, 2011. Institute for Social Research.
Owens, D. C. (2014). A guide to the extrapyramidal side-effects of antipsychotic drugs. Cambridge University Press.
Perucca, Piero, and Frank G. Gilliam. "Adverse effects of antiepileptic drugs." The Lancet Neurology 11.9 (2012): 792-802.
Volkow, N. D., Baler, R. D., Compton, W. M., & Weiss, S. R. (2014). Adverse health effects of marijuana use. New England Journal of Medicine, 370(23), 2219-2227.
