Teen Drug Use

             

When it comes to drug use among teenagers education plays a huge factor, the more education one has the less likely one will use drugs like: cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana which are known to be gateway substances. Not all drugs are good or bad per se, but using drugs is not a victimless crime. For the most part people start using drugs at a very young age whether it is due to peer pressure or dissatisfaction with life, the truth is most people have at least tried a drug once in their life time. Too many Americans drugs are considered to be a threat to public safety and believe it has a negative impact on U.S. society. Numerous believe drugs are not a victimless crime and those who disagree are just closed minded and are unaware of the impact that drugs have on our youth. 

            As our future generation continues to grow and adapt to the new ways of life our youths are introduced to drugs at a much younger age, therefore the number of teenagers who have tried drugs has skyrocketed in recent years. “According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2009, 16.7 million Americans aged 12 or older used marijuana at least once in the month prior to being surveyed, an increase over the rates reported in all years between 2002 and 2008. There was also a significant increase among youth aged 12-17, with current use up from 6.7 percent in 2008 to 7.3 percent in 2009, although this rate is lower than what was reported in 2002 (8.2 percent)” (1). Unfortunately many teens that use drugs feel indestructible and immune while on drugs especially when it comes to any negative health affects or accidents that may occur. Teenagers are beginning to believe that drugs like marijuana are harmless and will not affect them in the long run when in reality drugs like marijuana will lead them to other drugs and eventually crime. “While some teens will experiment and stop, or continue to use occasionally, without significant problems.  Others will develop a dependency, moving on to more dangerous drugs and causing significant harm to themselves and possibly others. It is difficult to know which teens will experiment and stop and which will develop serious problems. Teenagers at risk for developing serious alcohol and drug problems include those:

• with a family history of substance abuse
• who are depressed
• who have low self-esteem, and
• who feel like they don't fit in or are out of the mainstream” (3)

            When the number of teens increases in the streets the odds they will be around drugs and gangs are much higher, especially if they are hanging out with the wrong crowd. There are millions of crimes that happen each year because of youth drugs and violence. “In 2007, law enforcement agencies in the United States made an estimated 2.18 million arrest’s of persons under age 18. Overall, there were 2% fewer juvenile arrest in 2007 than in 2006, and juvenile violent crime arrest declined 3%, reversing a recent upward trend” (2). It is unfortunate that the number of teens who have tried marijuana at least once has increased from previous years. According to the chart below in 2009 an outstanding 42% of 12^th graders have tried marijuana at least once in their lifetime.

Marijuana Use by Students - 2009 Monitoring the Future Survey

8th Grade 10th Grade 12th Grade Lifetime 15.7% 32.3% 42.0% Past Year 11.8 26.7 32.8 Past Month 6.5 15.9 20.6 Daily 1.0 2.8 5.2

Percentage of 8th-Graders Who Have Used Marijuana:

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Lifetime 19.9% 23.1% 22.6% 22.2% 22.0% 20.3%  20.4% Past Year 15.8 18.3 17.7 16.9 16.5 15.6 15.4 Past Month 9.1 11.3 10.2 9.7 9.7 9.1 9.2 Daily 0.8 1.5 1.1 1.1 1.4 1.3 1.3

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Lifetime 19.2% 17.5% 16.3% 16.5% 15.7% 14.2% 14.6% Past Year 14.6 12.8 11.8 12.2 11.7 10.3 10.9 Past Month 8.3 7.5 6.4 6.6 6.5 5.7 5.8 Daily 1.2 1.0 0.8 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.9

Percentage of 10th-Graders Who Have Used Marijuana:

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Lifetime 34.1% 39.8% 42.3% 39.6%  40.9% 40.3% 40.1% Past Year 28.7 33.6 34.8 31.1  32.1 32.2 32.7 Past Month 17.2 20.4 20.5 18.7 19.4 19.7 19.8 Daily 2.8 3.5 3.7 3.6  3.8 3.8 4.5

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Lifetime 38.7% 36.4% 35.1% 34.1% 31.8% 31.0% 29.9% Past Year 30.3 28.2 27.5 26.6 25.2 24.6 23.9 Past Month 17.8 17.0 15.9 15.2 14.2 14.2 13.8 Daily 3.9 3.6 3.2 3.1 2.8 2.8 2.7

Percentage of 12th-Graders Who Have Used Marijuana

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Lifetime 41.7% 44.9% 49.6% 49.1% 49.7% 48.8% 49.0% Past Year 34.7 35.8 38.5 37.5 37.8 36.5 37.0 Past Month 21.2 21.9 23.7 22.8 23.1 21.6 22.4 Daily 4.6 4.9 5.8 5.6 6.0 6.0 5.8

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Lifetime 47.8% 46.1% 45.7% 44.8% 42.3% 41.8% 42.6% Past Year 36.2 34.9 34.3 33.6 31.5 31.7 32.4 Past Month 21.5 21.2 19.9 19.8 18.3 18.8 19.4 Daily 6.0 6.0 5.6 5.0 5.0 5.1 5.4

            Understanding that drugs play a huge role in today’s society is crucial, the sooner we recognize and admit the problem the sooner we can reach out to our new generation and help them live a drug free life. In order to help bring down youth drug use and crime we must crack down on drug dealers, set up more neighborhood watches, create more after school programs, teach kids about gangs and drugs and set up more youth programs. Drugs are a threat to public safety and have a negative impact on U.S society and those who say drugs are a victimless crime are just plain ignorant, simply using drugs for recreational purposes in itself is a crime.

Sources:

"Marijuana - InfoFacts - NIDA." National Institute on Drug Abuse. Nov. 2010. Web. 5 Mar. 2011. <http://www.drugabuse.gov/Infofacts/marijuana.html>.

Puzzanchera, Charles. "Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention." Juvenile Arrests, 2007. Web. 12. Print.

"Teens: Alcohol And Other Drugs." American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. May 2008. Web. 6 Mar. 2011. <http://aacap.org/page.ww?name=Teens:

Alcohol and Other Drugs&section=Facts for Families>.