Drugs in Our teens.

Essay by ajmisfitangelHigh School, 10th gradeA+, October 2005

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Almost every teen experiments with drugs. The normal age to experiment is 12 to 13 years of age. Most teens start off by trying marijuana and 60% of them go on to use cocaine. Teens start using drugs for many different reasons: to be cool, problems at home, peer pressure or just to try them. Most parents worry that their teenage children might be using or might start using drugs. Sometimes the use of drugs can have disastrous consequences on their health. School performance may be affected with long-term effects on future careers. The emotional and social cost of drug use can also be high. Most teens before taking drugs have a long term goal with what they want to do but as soon as they start taking drugs they lose the ability to interact with other people who are not taking drugs.

Drugs are generally defined as anything that alters a person's mood, feelings, perception, or emotion.

There are obviously many different types of drugs, including not only illicit drugs but also alcohol and tobacco for young people. When people talk about drugs they usually mean illegal substances such as amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, heroin and so on. It is important to remember that the legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco are still the greatest cause of drug-related harm in our society. More than 100,000 kids enter treatment each year for marijuana and other illicit drugs that are between the ages of 12 and 17.

FAST FACTS:

Prescription Narcotic drugs are the most used and abused medicine. In 2002, almost 30 million people 12 years and older in the United States had used prescription pain killers non-medically in their time.

The smoke from cannabis contains all the toxic constituents of smoke including irritants, tumor initiator, tumor promoters and...