Substance Abuse
Today, many teens and college students are experimenting with alcohol, and many different kinds of drugs. There are many different drugs available, but these are the most commonly used by adolescents.
Intravenous (I.V.) drugs are drugs that are injected into your veins. There are also the gateway drugs: cannabis (marijuana), mescaline, acid and psilocybin. Gateway drugs are the first drugs most people experiment with. After Gateway drugs, most will go on to the harder drugs.
Harder drugs include: heroin, morphine, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Alcohol and nicotine could also be considered as hard drugs because of their addictive substances and health risks. Drugs in this group are generally described as being physically addictive, easier to overdose when used, and can pose health risks, including death.
Hallucinogens are sometimes considered to be hard drugs, but most hallucinogens are non-addictive. They are also known for not causing deaths. Hallucinogens are as harmful by the nature . For more information on Hallucinogens, please visit the following website: http://teens.drugabuse.gov/mom/mom_hal1.asp
Another substance (or drug) out there is called steroids. Most steroids come in either liquid or tablet form and can be VERY harmful to your body. Steroids are taken orally (taken by the mouth) or injected (like an I.V. Drug), and athletes and other abusers take them typically in cycles of weeks or months, rather than continuously, in patterns called cycling. Some steroid users frequently combine two or more different types of steroids to maximize their effectiveness while minimizing negative effects, this is known as stacking. Athletes use steroids to enhance their athletic performance.
Teens everywhere are trying drugs for the first time. Drugs are life altering and can ruin any family. For example, Jennifer, a mother of two girls, began her methamphetamine abuse when she was first married.
She started abusing meth with other users not knowing the dangers of it. She even liked the effects of it. It didn’t take Jennifer long to develop an addiction. Eric Stone did not know the dangers of meth until he realized he had a full-blown methamphetamine addiction. His mother tried to stop him, but, he would not listen. He was thrown in jail because he was caught for possession of marijuana and stealing. His mother bailed him out, but he never regained her trust because of what he had done in the past. He said, “After losing her trust, stealing from her, and lying to her face, my mom tried to kick me out numerous times, but finally resorted to filing a restraining order against me.” For more stories like these, please go to http://checkyourself.com/. This website is known for its stories about family’s tragedies due to drug abuse and other hard hitting stories about kids’ and adolescents’. Go check it out.
These are examples of families splitting apart and fighting or losing one another because of one person using drugs. The affects are huge, but many people are already working hard to stop it. People say that they won’t ever let drugs pull them in, but there are many good people who have ruined their lives due to drugs. Don’t be one of those people. Say no to Drugs.