Here is an interesteing article submitted by one of our web site viewers, James W.
Teens and Drugs: What you need to know about the deadly combo
Drugs have always been an issue in our society. However, over the years drug abuse has grown to be a significant problem.
The real issue today is that our youth has relatively easy access to many dangerous substances, and they are taking advantage of that. In light of National Drug Facts Week, below you’ll find the information you need to know about the popular teen drug Molly.
One in twenty people between the ages of fifteen and sixty-four use some form of illegal drugs each year. To break those numbers down: there are 177 million marijuana users, 35 million amphetamine users, 16.5 million opioid users and 17.5 million cocaine users.
To top it all off, about one out of every one thousand illegal drug users die each year from substance abuse. A Method For Coping Over the past ten years, teen drug abuse for recreation has decreased, while the use of drugs to cope and solve problems has increased. 73% of teens have identified that heavy school stress is the main reason they use drugs.
That massive number is sad because only 7% of parents believe that teens would use drugs to cope with stress. In other reports, 65% of teens stated that they use drugs because they make them “feel cool” or popular. In yet another poll, 65% of teens reported that drugs boost their self- esteem and make them feel better about themselves. As you can gather from those statistics, our youth is turning to drugs in order to alleviate problems and self-esteem issues. 27% of teens mistakenly believe that using prescription drugs irresponsibly is safer than using street drugs. Over 30% of teens believe that it’s acceptable to use prescription drugs that were not prescribed to them for an injury, illness or physical pain. In other words, substance abuse is quickly getting out of hand.
We need to educate our youth about how dangerous drugs are, prescription or otherwise.
Video by Clarity Way Rehab Molly Leads to Depression Molly or ecstasy is becoming ever more prevalent amongst teens. This is due to its rampant use in the media, including references from music artists like Miley Cyrus and more. When taken, the drug will give the user feelings of happiness and euphoria for approximately 3 hours, but it comes at a cost. Molly is the powder form of MDMA, and frequent use can cause neurotoxic damage to your serotonin receptors. What this is means is that after long term use of the drug, the serotonin receptors in your brain no longer work properly causing you to experience severe feelings of depression.
Molly essentially ruins one’s natural ability to feel happy. To prevent such things from happening to our youth, we need to cut down on substance abuse. Cutting off supply lines is a great way to prevent future abuse in teens, but first you have to figure out where the drugs are actually coming from.
Believe it or not, the most common sources of alcohol, marijuana and cigarettes are school friends. 34% of teens polled said they could get alcohol from friends, 29% said cigarettes and 24% said they could get marijuana. Even more alarming, 13% of teens said they could get marijuana at school, while 6% said they could get prescription drugs. Not only do we need to educate teens about the harmful effects of doing drugs but we also need to change the perception that doing drugs is “cool”. That is why it is important to raise awareness about the problem.
The more we spread the word, and the more parents are aware that their teens are susceptible to these issues, means more opportunities to prevent substance abuse from getting out of hand or even into their teen’s hands.
