...Teens and Drugs Robert Lorenz COM/156 May 13, 2012 Patrick Misiti Teens and Drugs At the age of 12 I picked up a gun and shot and killed my sister’s best friend. I chose many things to try to cover up this pain that was created. I was building a wall around me as I was moving into my teenage years. At this time in my life my mother thought I should start learning about responsibilities, without thinking about what I had just went through. She wanted me to try to keep my brother and sister from doing things that they should not do. With all this placed on my shoulders, my teenage years flew by so fast; I had no time to figure out who I was. In today’s society we all live in a fast pass world, including our children. With this in mind it takes both parents to work to get all the bills paid on time and be able to save for retirement. What this has created is teenagers are held responsible for their younger siblings and left home alone. With this much responsibility, teenagers are growing up to fast and have too much freedom. With this freedom come more problems. Teenagers today are finding ways to deal with these problems and escape from the responsibilities placed on their shoulders. Young people are looking for anything to escape the reality of these responsibilities. Even though street drug use is down, drugs are easy for children and teenagers to get even from their own home. With the problems that teens face today, such as maintaining grades, finals, not...
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...truly understand the gravity of their violent actions | By: Davion Logan | 3/15/2012 | Right now there are many young teens going around causing problems to the environment around you. But what really causes kids to act this way? Teen violence is caused by one or more teens bullying another teen. It can be over clothing, friends, or grades. Teen violence can include weapons or fist fights or name calling. They might not know it but there is someone always watching, because everyone has a role model and the next generation will follow in their footsteps. If younger kids see the teens now doing all different types of violent actions, how will that effect our future and not just ours but also theirs? People tend to do what they see, and if all they see is shooting and robberies, what will that cause them to do? If our generation knew the damage they were causing would they stop? Or would they continue to see what their little brothers and sisters will become? All it takes is a little time for people to see what they have done to make this environment so violent. I am writing this to show you my view about young people of my generation, and to see if they care about what they do. I am a student a Pontiac High school; I see violence go on every day. Some students do it for attention to be recognized, but do they really know what they are doing? They are hurting another student for their own amusement, and for what reason? For a few laughs they can hurt another person’s...
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...relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences” (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014, p.1). Addiction can be several things, two well-known addictions are drinking and doing drug. When addiction starts to change the brain it leads to long terms affects which is usually abuse. Adolescents can and will go a little further with abuse by adding things like pill popping and smoking. “Many adolescents who abuse drugs have a history of physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse or other trauma” (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014, p.2). Abuse begins when adolescents start to do things like steal and lie to friends and family members to get what it is they want. How does abuse or addiction affect the developing brain of an adolescent? Drug abuse can cause serious progressive problems within the adolescent brain.”Memory loss, ability to concentrate, motor skills and coping skills are all affected by drug and alcohol abuse. Adolescents tend to make decisions that are irrational when under influence of drugs and alcohol, they may think they are making the right decisions but they are actually they are doing more harm to themselves then they realized. For adolescents, this can be even more significant as the brain is still developing and changing and any damage to sensitive nerves or brain matter can be permanent” (Alcohol rehab, 2015,p.1). Adolescents when doing things like alcohol tend to make irrational decisions that...
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...tried drinking, sex, and recreational drugs. Underage drinking is very popular among teenagers. Research has shown that 70% of parties held by a teenager serve alcohol. Many times these parties have no adult supervision, which can result in a disaster. When a teenager is new to drinking he/she can possibly overdose on alcohol. Drinking too much will impair their thinking process which will then lead to horrible decisions such as drinking and driving. Today’s teens are willing to do almost anything to fit in and become popular. If a teenager drinks then drives he/she not only risk his/her own life but the life of the others. He/she choose to drink to fit in with the crowd, not thinking of the consequences. Many teenagers try drugs out of peer pressure and curiosity. They think it will make him/her look cool and fearless. Many teens are actually afraid to try drugs but do it anyway because they are in an environment where others are doing it as well. Drugs can become very addictive and if they like the “buzz” they get the first time, then they will continue to use and form a deadly habit. Doing drugs raises heart rate and blood pressure which can easily lead to a very serious situation and sometimes even life-threatening situations. Many teenagers are involved in recreational drugs and become dependent on the drugs. This dependency can result in becoming involved with selling drugs to make money. There is no positive outcome to forming a drug habit. Many teenagers are having...
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...Marijuana abuse today is a major cause for concern in juveniles and has a negative effect on society at large. Teenage marijuana abuse is the symptom of many other problems in a teen. Marijuana abuse in teens is often not recognized when something can be easily done about it. Parents need to be more involved in their children’s lives and make them aware of what marijuana does to their body and the consequences of having/smoking it. In this paper I’m going to explain why teenagers use drugs and what the major consequences for using it are and also how it can affects a person life. What is marijuana? Marijuana is a green, brown or gray mixture of dried, shredded flowers and leaves of the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa). You may hear some people call it by street names such as Mary Jane, pot, weed, gangster, or chronic. Marijuana is used in many ways. The most common method is smoking it rolled into a cigarette called a “joint” or “nail”. It also can be use in a water pipe called a bong. One can even use it in tea or mix it with food. It was stated in a 2009 survey called Monitoring the Future, about 7 percent of 8th graders, 16 percent of 10th graders, and 21 percent 12th graders had used marijuana in the month before the survey. Marijuana use declined from the late 1990s through 2007, with a decrease in past-year use of more than 20 percent in all three grades combined from 2000 to 2007. I never knew how many teenagers are using these drugs and they and most are just entering...
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...Random Teen Drug Testing The Rodziwan family lived a block over from my family in Hempfield township PA. They had a son named Jeremy, he was a great kid, straight A’s, all-star football player, active in Eagle Scouts, and worked in the family business. A child any parent would be proud of. Until one Wednesday night he went out with some friends and over dosed on heroin, there was no reviving him. What no one knew was that he became addicted to heroin eight months ago; if only his parents would have suspected something they could have tried to help him. Unfortunately, there were no signs with Jeremy; he just seemed like such a great kid. The schools in our area have begun to randomly drug test students whose parents allow it starting in 6th grade. Many parents are in an uproar about this, “not my kid” they say. I think every parent should take advantage of this amazing opportunity that the school district is providing them. It’s time to wake up, open our eyes and realize that 33,000 teens die each year because of drug over dose. If your child’s school is offering at home random drug testing, take it, even if you think your child never would. I believe that there are great benefits to this and they outweigh anything that could be viewed as a downfall. The average age to try drugs for the first time is thirteen or 7th grade. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2009) almost two-thirds of all teens have tried drugs by this age. I think it is pretty much common...
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...countless adolescences drugs and alcohol are the first things that are experimenting with. The most popular drug of choice among adolescences is marijuana. Teens don’t see this drug as a real “drug”. Many believe that marijuana is consisted an acceptable drug, to try because it comes from the earth. Accord to some research it does not have addictive component’s. Adolescence tends to build relationships with drugs based of using for recreational use, peer pressure, and as an escape from everyday life (Feldman, 2011). Marijuana can be consisted a gateway drug; mean that it can lead to the use of more addictive drugs. “Addictive drugs are drugs that produce a biological or psychological dependence in users” (Feldman, 2011, p.372). Addictive drugs cause the body to be unable to function because the body begins to crave for the drug. Being additive to drugs changes your physical appearance and also causes damage to your nervous system (Feldman, 2011). Alcohol is also a popular thing for adolescence to experiment with. Most people would think it would be hard for adolescence to have access to alcohol, however it is not. Adolescences who have parents who drink have easy access to alcohol at all times. Most parents don’t keep track of how much alcohol is kept in their house. Some adolescence has older friends or cousins who are willing to purchase alcohol for them. The reasons that teens experiment with alcohol can be the same reason that teens experiment with drugs, which is because...
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...The first cause is simple curiosity. Many teens have heard about drugs, and they are curious to experience them for themselves. They have heard that drugs can be fun, or make a person feel and act different. Maybe they have seen their friends or family members behave differently while on drugs, and they want to see how it really feels. We see drugs on TV and movies every day. Many young people encounter them at school, at home or in their neighborhood. It is not unusual to be curious about something you see and hear about so often, so many people first try drugs because they are curious about them. Another reason young people take drugs is to escape their reality. Maybe their home life is not very happy. Maybe they have a boring job, are not doing well in school, or are just not happy with their life for whatever reason. For many people, drugs are a way to escape that unhappy reality. They can feel a little braver, stronger, a little smarter, more beautiful or more important. Of course this doesn't last long, but that doesn't matter. For the brief time that the drugs are taking affect, the user can forget about the problems, responsibilities and limitations of everyday life and escape to a fantasy world. It is no secret that drugs change the way you feel; this is why they are so attractive to young people despite their dangers. Young people also take drugs to feel cool and impress their friends. If your friends all smoke marijuana, you will probably be expected to smoke it, too...
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...knows bad things can happen to drug users. They become addicted. They can have serious or even fatal health problems. They can ruin their personal, social and professional lives. They may even end up in jail. But why do young people start taking drugs in the first place? What are the causes of drug use among young people? Curiosity, escape from the reality, the peer pressure. The first cause is simple curiosity. Many teens have heard about drugs, and they are curious to experience them for themselves. They have heard that drugs can be fun, or make a person feel and act different. Maybe they have seen their friends or family members behave differently while on drugs, and they want to see how it really feels. They see drugs on TV and movies every day. Many young people encounter them at school, at home or in their neighborhood. It is not unusual to be curious about something they see and hear about so often, so many people first try drugs because they are curious about them. Another reason young people take drugs is to escape their reality. Maybe their home life is not very happy. Maybe they have a boring job, are not doing well in school, or are just not happy with their life for whatever reason. For many people, drugs are a way to escape that unhappy reality. They can feel a little braver, stronger, a little smarter, more beautiful or more important. Of course this doesn’t last long, but that doesn’t matter. For the brief time that the drugs are taking effect, the user...
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...Teens at Risk By Robert Morris My book is about teens at risk in life. It talks about the violence, pregnancy, what happens to them when there is no father, and drug and alcohol. I have a lot of friends who go thru this in life. Its mess up that’s teens go thru this in life. All they need is mentor, somebody that will talk to them about the bad stuff in life. . First, pregnancy is really bad in teenage life. A lot of them have babies in their teenage life. Most teenage mothers are single and receive no support from the father. They might end up having another baby and not thinking and make another mistake. Most of them don’t finish high school cause of all the work they have to do with the baby and it be stressing them out all the time. Then sometimes people don’t get help from the family and they get really mad. They should have had second thoughts before they did it. If they just wait until they get out of school and get a good job they will be ok having a child. Second, then you got drugs and alcohol. This is also bad for teens and have of them don’t know what they putting their self into when they do drugs and alcohol. Then when teenagers start smoking cigarettes then they will go to a store and buy some without showing proof of age. All stores should always ask for a id when somebody buy stuff like that because you don’t know who you selling them things to. Sometimes teenagers will have someone that’s older go in the store and have someone buy them some...
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...genders, all ages, and any background. People once believed that teens never went through any form of severe depression. Some still believe this to be true, but if it were why are teens homicidal and suicidal? This report should give support for the fact that a teen’s depression deserves attention, not the shrug of the shoulders or the turn of a back. Depression is defined as the point or points is ones lifetime when they are mentally unstable and the emotional state marked by sadness, discouragement, and loss that can occur during the teenage years. Depression causes changes in behavior, thinking and especially changes in ones everyday life. “Depression amongst teens generally starts when a child hits puberty, but could possibly begin the day they were born if chemically inbalanced (heredity).” Dr. David Kalkstein, psychiatrist at Penn Foundation. Depression can effect anyone, anytime, and anywhere. Teens, children, and adults are all effected, some even have the same problems in common, the causes too. Depression is experienced mostly by teens even though it is mistakenly classified as an “adult illness”. “Twenty percent of high school students are deeply unhappy or have some kind of psychiatric problem.” The causes for depression in teens are sometimes more harsh than the causes in adults. In a teen’s lifetime they have to face many problems and sometimes they have to face these problems more than once. Teens have to deal with peer pressure problems at school, problems at home...
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...Teen Activity Persuasive Essay By: Eduardo Gutierrez Teens in todays society are often at risk of abusing substances, getting into trouble, and causing violent scenes. They also are still trying to discover who they are, what interests them, who to hang around with, and just discover themselves. But an issue people debate about is the actions that teens choose to do. Many teens often hangout in groups at a variety of locations such as houses, parks, the mall, and other places such as a recreational center. Although teens may not see harm in being out and about with friends, adults may think otherwise. Some parents may be worried where there kids are or what they're doing, other parents may just say, "Let them be kids", and others may just completely against kids being out in groups doing whatever they do. A possible solution would be to build a recreational center, but would building a recreational center make a difference to teens in the community? Today teens have factors that can give them a high risk of abusing drugs, alcohol, or even tobacco. These factors are the amount of money they have, stress, and boredom. A recreational center could easily iliminate these factors. There could be snacks and drinks that teens could purchase, the activities could get there mind off of things reducing stress, lastly the activities and people will let teens be more social and give them something to do. Aside from just having activities to do they could also have sports teams...
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...students using drugs or drinking alcohol during the school day. Not only that, but in this day and age high-school and college students are taking steroids, growth hormones, caffeine and ADHD pills, or stimulants....
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...Teen substance abuse can cause many problems in a young person’s life. The tragedy can cause breaking up of families and relationships, health issues/overdoses, and unwanted pregnancies. But what happens if the teen is still abusing substances while carrying a child? Drugs and alcohol can have an unbelievable affect on an unborn child, and the more the mother is irresponsible about it, the worse it will be. It is important for nurses to know how to handle this situation, whether it is protecting the health of the pregnant teenage mother, or the health of the newborn baby with complications. This paper will address the many symptoms and malfunctions that can occur when a teenager continues to use alcohol and drugs, even while carrying their child. Scope Statement The first database that was used was Nursing and Allied Health, which provided most of the information that is used in this paper. Typing in “teenage substance abuse and pregnancy” came up with a lot of results, but putting the cut off limit at around 10 years definitely helped with decreasing that number. Also, looking to see if the article had the full PDF text online was helpful. Keywords that were looked for when scanning an article would be pregnancy, any kind of substance that was abused, and statistic or graphs included was an attention grabber. After finding the three main scholarly articles very easily on Nursing and Allied Health, the next browser that was used was Google. After typing in the main topic, which...
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...Prescription Drug Abuse among Teens | Prescription Drug Epidemic Among Teens | Walden University | | Reasons and Prevention Strategies for Prescription Drug Abuse among Teens Overview Increasing abuse of prescription drugs among teens can be attributed to psychological, environmental, or behavioral conditions.Drug abuse in teens can be linked to other disorders or conditions which lead to drug abuse. Teens who abuse drugs are likely to become adults who abuse drugs. It is necessary to understand and address these underlying issues if successful prevention is to happen. First it is necessary to understand the magnitude of the problem 2.3 million Teens were abusing prescription drugs in 2003. (Controlled Prescription Drug Abuse at Epidemic Level, 2006) This is a very large number of teens abusing potentially addictive and deadly drugs. These numbers indicate a major problem with the potential to rapidly grow out of control if not addressed appropriately. In fact recent studies have found there has been an increase in prescription drug abuse among teens at an alarming rate. From 2005 to 2008 there was a 12% increase in prescription drug abuse among teens. (Elliot, Souder, Privette, &Richardson, 2008) This is a very large increase in a very short period of time. An increase such as this calls for further explanations on why this increase occurred so rapidly. Prevention methods need to be developed to avert teens from a life time of addiction. Teens who abuse...
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