Impacts of Drug Addiction on Teenagers

 

Teens that are addicted to drug:

            There are negative ways that drugs can affect teens, some of the main ways it effects teens are education, career, and health.

There are many forms of drugs that are used by teens in the USA that has a big effect in their life and also lead to addiction. The five most commonly used drugs by teens according to the National Institute of Health (NIH) are Marijuana, K2/Spice, over-the-counter- medications, Alcohol, and Methamphetamines. According to the National Institute of Health marijuana is “a mixture of the dried and shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of Cannabis sativa-the hemp plant.” According to the same source, K2/spice “is a mix of herbs (shredded plant material) and manmade chemicals.” Also over-the-counter medicine are medicine that has been made legal but are being misused for the wrong purpose. Alcohol is a type of drink that is considered a depressant type drug. Finally, according to NIH Methamphetamines “is a manmade, white, bitter-tasting powder. Sometimes it’s made into a white pill or a shiny, white or clear rock called a crystal.” These are some of the most common used drugs by teens.

Education is one of the biggest part of teen that gets effected because of drugs. “Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States Its use is widespread among young people.”  When under the influence of Marijuana teens will tend to have hard time paying attention in class. When they aren’t focus in class this cause the teens to miss important information the teacher is giving to them. This will cause them to perform bad in class and unable to learn the information. That will ultimately lead the teen to be making bad grades in class, because of the influence of the drug. Marijuana can also cause memory loss when constantly being used. According to a research “smoking marijuana daily may affect short-term memory and that even casual use of marijuana can lead to brain changes.” As teen use the drug the education they having been gaining will start getting lost because of memory damage. That leads the mind to not be functioning properly.  The drugs can also impact the teens emotions toward their education. As they are using the drug constantly it becomes addictive because of the temporarily pleasure they are feeling. Once addicted the teens will continuously need that particular drug or else their mood will not be satisfied and that can lead to an increase of anxiety and stress. Due to the negative feelings they are facing they will also reach to a point where they will not care for their education. They will feel that education is adding more stress to all the negativity that they are going through. The teens that use drugs more often will have the attitude of feeling like education doesn’t have a meaning in their life. That same attitude will mess up their mind and make them believe that drug is the only way to solve any problems they go through in life. “A recent analysis using data from three large studies in Australia and New Zealand found that adolescents who used marijuana regularly were significantly less likely than their non-using peers to finish high school or obtain a degree.” The use of drugs is the leading cause of teens not to obtain degree from high school or will also cause them to drop out school. When the teens do drug they are not really interested in education. They will become really addicted to it and the only thing they will care about is using the drug.

Teens health is another way that drugs can be a big threat to them. As teens are using the drugs we start to notice and see the short terms effect of it; but the main danger to the teens are the long terms effect it can cause. When marijuana is being used a short term affect that can be notice is that the user will be reacting really slow to situation that is happening around them. That behavior can cause a teen to harm themselves when they are exposed to a danger environment. This drug can also cause paranoia a situation where the user is fearful his/her own self and their surroundings. There can also be long term affect such as respiratory problems-like more mucus, a chronic cough, and bronchitis giving the user a hard time breathing. Another long term that Marijuana can cause is fertility issues according to research “studies suggest that using a lot of marijuana might be linked to decreased sperm count in men and delayed ovulation in women. Women who use marijuana when they are pregnant may be more likely to have babies with developmental and behavioral problems.” “Most drugs could potentially harm an unborn baby;  ” Another drug that is commonly used that is a big danger to the teens is K2 also known as spice. The drug has some similar effects as marijuana but also has its unique effects. K2 short terms effects on teens can be that it will increase heart rate when being used. Which can cause problems to health of the teens in the future in their elderly age. This drug can also cause seizure to the younger generation as part of its short term. K2 teen users are at the risk of facing a long term effects such as kidney failure. The user can face a long term depression that will lead them not caring about their health and life. As most teen users will be having the thoughts of wanting to kill themselves.

The use of drug can lead to a teen future career being put into a jeopardy position, because of the bad influence from the drug. When teens are caught using marijuana or any drug it will be put in as a criminal record in their background. In order for a teen to obtain a decent career or job a background check is required in every position they apply and also most of the times some kind of a degree will be asked. The management does this to make sure that the teen has a clean record and they are educated; because the management don’t want someone with bad record at job and doesn’t know what they doing. Once a drug abuse is in the record it can make it hard for teens to find a job or get into a college. At jobs these particular teens will also be have a hard time being trusted by the people around them. If teens are caught using drug at work, they will get fired from their job making it harder for them to be financially stable. Like in most cases the user of the drug will lose interest in their work and building their career. Once that happen the drugs will start being used more often causing the teen to start performance poorly at work. The effect of poor performance will also lead to fire and if the teen was to try work at another place the previous management will tell about that individual work ethic. Also in college because of drugs teens will lose the opportunity to get a degree that will give them a better career. If they are guilty of using drugs they will potentially be put in an academic suspension and also expelled from the college campus. Teens in college mainly use alcohol for pleasure and because of that it comes with consequence. According to a research” About 1 in 4 college students report academic consequences from drinking, including missing class, falling behind in class, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall”. This can lead a student to perform poor and disrupt in their pursue to a higher degree on the career path they are studying. Teens future plans and career will be effect big time because of drugs.

Teens are heavily effect because the drugs they use and continuous use of it can even have an impact in the life of the teens. The drug can influence the teens education life, also it can have a serious effect on the health of the teen, and finally because of those two reasons it will impact their career for the future.

Works Cited

Abuse, National Institute on Drug. “How Does Marijuana Use Affect School, Work, and Social Life?” NIDA. NIH, Jan. 2017. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.

Abuse, National Institute on Drug. “Marijuana.” NIDA. NIH, Jan. 2016. Web. 09 Mar. 2017.

Carstensen, Melinda. “Frequent Marijuana Use Associated with Long-term Memory Loss.” Fox News. FOX News Network, 12 Mar. 2015. Web. 09 Mar. 2017.

Koob, George F. “NIH.” National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Feb. 2017. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.

Prescription Drug Abuse, and NIDA for Teens. “ReachOut.com.” ReachOut Blog RSS. Ed. The U.S Department of Justice. Reach out, 27 Feb. 2013. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.