You probably know someone who has been affected by drugs, directly or indirectly. The most commonly used and abused drug is alcohol. Alcohol-related automobile accidents are the second leading cause of teen death in the United States. The most commonly used drug worldwide is marijuana. According to a United Nations 2008 World Drug Report, about 3.9% of the world’s population between the ages of 15 and 64 abuse marijuana. Teens today are exposed earlier than ever to drugs and alcohol. Based on a survey by the Centers for Disease Control in 2007, 45% of high school students nationwide drank alcohol and 19.7% smoked pot during a one-month period.
Why Do People Take Drugs?
Teens typically will use drugs because they want to change something about their lives. Some of the reasons given for using drugs include:
- To fit in
- To escape reality or to relax
- To relieve boredom
- To seem more grown up
- To rebel against authority or family
- To experiment
They think drugs are a solution. But in the end, the drugs become the problem. Tough as it may be to face one’s difficulties, the consequences of drug use are always worse than the problem itself. The real answer is to get the facts about drugs and not to take them in the first place.
How Do Drugs Work?
Drugs are in fact poisons. The amount taken determines the effect that they have. A small amount acts as a stimulant (speeds you up). A greater amount acts as a sedative (slows you down). An even larger amount of the substance can lead to permanent brain damage or even result in death. Many drugs have another danger: they directly affect the mind. They can distort a person’s perception of what is happening around them. As a result, the person’s actions may be abnormal, unreasonable, inappropriate and even destructive. Drugs modify most feelings, the desired ones with the non-desired ones. So, while providing short-term help in the relief of what a person is feeling, they also alter one’s emotional well-being. Prescription medications are drugs that are intended to speed up, slow down, or change something about the way your body is working so that it works better. Sometimes they are necessary, but sometimes they are not. Prescription medications are still drugs; they can act as stimulants or sedatives, and like any drug, they can kill you too. If you do not use these medicines as they are intended to be used, they can be just as dangerous as illegal drugs.
Drugs Affect the Mind and Creativity!
Normally, when a person remembers something, the mind is very fast and thoughts come to them quickly. Drug use can distort a person’s thought process, and potentially cause blackouts in a person’s memory. When a person tries to get information through this fogginess, they can’t do it very easily. Drugs can make a person feel slow, forgetful and can cause them to have hardships in their life. As life gets harder and more difficult to handle, the need for drugs to help them cope could get greater. Someone who is unhappy might use drugs to get a feeling of pleasure, but it is a temporary feeling. Drugs can lift a person into a fake kind of happiness, but when the drug wears off, they crash even lower than before. Each time, the emotional plunge gets lower and lower. Eventually, drugs will completely destroy all the creativity a person has. If you or a teen you know is in need of assistance dealing with drug and/or alcohol use, please contact Destinations to Recovery at 877-466-0620.