Drugs And Drug Use

To illustrate the magnitude of the research problem and provide a frame of reference, this section begins with a brief overview of the increased use of pharmaceuticals and prescription drug abuse in the US. The section continues with the relationship between illicit drugs and prescriptions, adolescents’ abuse, personal and social factors; then concludes with the theoretical approach. The Social-Ecological Theory, will be applied in researching prescription drug abuse, possible influences and protective factors in adolescents in relation to prescription drug abuse, to develop focused intervention strategies and educational programs for this population, similar to other substances such as tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana.

In "Identifying Students at Risk for Drug Use" the web site's author lists factors in a teen's life that can make him or her more susceptible to drug use and its immediate problems, such as low academic achievement, poor class attendance, and dropping out of school. Students coming from a family history of alcoholism, criminal, or antisocial behavior, are at a higher risk for drug use than students who do not have family structure and management problems. Students who have long periods of time without adult supervision and those who have bad school attendance also tend to have a lack of motivation to do school work. This means that they have alternate things to do with their time, so they are not performing as well as they could be as students.

Three decades from now, T.L.O., a student at a New Jersey High School was caught smoking in a school restroom, and was brought to the assistant principal’s office. The 14-years-old teenager denied smoking, so the assistant principal persisted in searching her purse and found cigarettes, and rolling paper which is associated with marijuana (T.L.O. vs. New Jersey). Nothing has changed since then. If you look a little closer, you can see teenagers lying around doing drugs here and there. They are no longer determined to succeed in life; instead all they can think about is where the next supply of cocaine will come from. What has our future come to? Research done by scientists and other professionals provide evidence that substance abuse by teenagers is an ever-growing problem due to teen’s poor judgement, it’s irreparable damage, and inability to compete with drug addiction.

There is a huge connection between adolescent substance abuse, and delinquency. As far as the law on legalization depending on the age and mental state of a person, it is illegal no matter what; Even if the kid is underage. The legal consequences of substance abuse are arrest, adjudication, and intervention by the juvenile justice system. In most cases, delinquents usually have the same common factors of school and family problems, negative peer groups, and a lack of being social in their neighborhood and community. Substance abuse also generates violence, and crime, which has been bringing much fear to their community and its residents. Gangs, drug trafficking, prostitution, and youth homicides are also other problems that link substance abuse and delinquency together.

This particular age group is meant to receive support and motivation to explore their surroundings, however this can become problematic by use of illegal drugs. Families can have a dominant influence on how attitude, values, and behaviors of children is shaped. Peers tend to have a stronger influence than parents during the early stages of an individual's life. Research shows that marijuana use among adolescents was due to the fact that their friends and parents were drug users. Asides from that, family factors that escalate drug use include harsh discipline, failure to communicate on an emotional level and parental use of drugs, which serves as a poor role model for children.

Prescription drug abuse is an ongoing problem in rural teens. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health suggests that 13% of teens between the ages of 12-17 have experimented with nonmedical prescription drugs at some point in their lives. Researchers have identified several factors linked with nonmedical prescription drug use such as their school enrollment status, history of depression, and a two parent household presence (Gever, 2010).

“Being high” can lower inhibitions against involvement in criminal acts (a psychopharmacological explanation), and/or committing crime might be a way to obtain funds to support substance use (an instrumental explanation) (White et al., 2002; Goldstein, 1985). The influence of the peer group and/or neighborhood (social context) might determine the co-occurrence of substance use and offending. A large proportion of serious delinquent acts in mid- and late adolescence are committed in groups (Zimring, 1998), and substance use might be a particularly potent component of the group process (Mason et al., 2007). Certain drugs, such as crack, can produce excitable, irrational, and violent behaviors. Some drugs also create confusion, lower inhibition, impair judgment, or make youths more susceptible to peer influence. Still other drugs can cause paranoia and edginess that in turn can lead to violence (Inciardi et al., 1993). These drug users often suffer from what psy- chiatrists call "drug-induced psychosis" (Ewing,

Drugs are types of pills that cause your body to be unhealthy or healthy. In general, no one is suppose to do drugs that may harm or kill you when taken. In some cases, drugs are also types of medicines that cure diseases. This argumentative essay explains children attending juvenile justice because of their addiction to bad drugs, which is a crime. Juvenile crime that is related to drug use has a chronic effect on violent crimes, poor family relationships, illness, cognitive problems and poor attainment in education.

Among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, 9.8 % are estimated to be current users of illicit drugs, with 4.9 % using drugs other than marijuana. Nearly three quarters of students have started to drink alcohol and nearly half (47%) have tried using an illicit drug (not including alcohol or tobacco) by the senior year of high school.” (Hassan, Harris, Sherritt, Van Hook, & Brooks, 2009)

There are many bad outcomes to abusing drugs. Some teenagers just waste away their lives. Others hurt the ones they love by stealing from them or treating them horribly when they are coming down off their high. Some teens become very violent and out of control towards everyone around them. Some teens run away and disappear for life. Other teenagers get raped not even knowing it unless someone tells them what happened unless they were awake during the rape. A rising problem among teens and drug use is teen

The D.A.R.E program attempts to alleviate a youth’s propensity to use drugs or engage in other detrimental behavior. The program is a stringent advocate of the gateway drug theory, which states that the use of less deleterious drugs precedes and eventually leads to the use of more illicit drugs (Ennett et al., 1995). Moreover, the theory states that the use of less harmful drugs increases the likelihood of one engaging in crime and other negative behaviors that are not characteristic of a productive member of society.

Even though it is illegal if the drug abusers have not been caught they will continue to use the drug and use others. Many adolescences experiment with marijuana due to curiosity and peer pressure studies have shown that the use of marijuana at a young age causes the adolescences to want to try more dangerous narcotics such as cocaine and heroin. An article titled “Evidence That Marijuana Is a Gateway to other Illicit Drug Use” by Joseph Gfoerer, Li-Tzy Wu, and Michael Penne states that, “the highest prevalence of use of heroin, cocaine, and psychotherapeutics in the lifetime was noted among those who initiated marijuana before they were 15 years old. With many young people trying strong narcotics illegally it is no surprise that other young people will also become more apt to try these heavier drugs. The article, “Marijuana is a Dangerous Drug for Teens” by Joseph Calfifano discuses why marijuana is so dangerous for teens and how the gateway effect plays part in this problem. The article states that marijuana use is a “signal of trouble”, the troubles include lack of growth, focus, and motor skills. He also brings up the gateway effect in the article the statistics he uses include, “Twelve to seventeen year olds who smoke marijuana are eighty five times more likely to use cocaine than those who would not.” These statists are very strong in

Drugs can have mind altering effects that will allow the user to feel more peaceful as well as provide the stimulant that encourages the activity (Philips & Lawton, 2004). Those users who are intending to commit a criminal activity will sometimes abuse legal or illegal substances in advance of the crime to heighten their nerve to commit the act (Levinthal, 2012). The third hypothesis explores the possibility that drug use and crime share some common causes that are not directly related to their activity. This theory is established based on the drug user’s disadvantages that they experienced in childhood and continued as they aged into adulthood (Levinthal, 2012). In some cases where the child have parents working more than one job to make ends meet or have a one parent household, there is little supervision. Due to lack of socialization skills, these children are often susceptible to peer pressure that could potentially lead to a life of drug use and crime (de Miranda, 1999). With no consistency of adult supervision, the children are left to raise themselves at a disadvantage with no real guidance to how they should live and are often left with no other means but drug use and crime to receive the acceptance

It has been discovered that most people who struggle with drug addiction began experimenting with drugs in their teens. Teenage drug abuse is one of the largest problems in society today and the problem grows and larger every year. Drugs are a pervasive force in our culture today. To expect kids not to be influenced by the culture of their time is as unrealistic as believing in the tooth fairy (Bauman 140). Teens may feel pressured by their friends to try drugs, they may have easy access to drugs, they may use drugs to rebel against their family or society, or they may take an illegal drug because they are curious about it or the pleasure that it gives them.

According to National Institute on Drug Abuse, iIn 2013, a survey reported that an estimated 24.6 million Americans aged 12 or older had used an illegal drug in the past month. The first time someone uses a drug, it is usually voluntary. This first use is usually to mask certain emotions that they are currently going through. Repeated use can lead to changes in the brain that challenge an addict’s self control and interfere with their ability to resist the temptation of a drug, this addiction makes them feel better about themselves and forget about the problem they are dealing with at the time. According to the Mayo Clinic, drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a dependence on a legal or illegal drug or