Discussion week 8

Teens abuse drugs for different reasons. Most teens say they take drugs to get high. Others use drugs to escape stress related to school or family. They may even start drinking or using drugs because they are curious, because they want to fit in with others or because they don’t think drugs are risky. What are your thoughts on the subject?

Follow these Discussion guidelines:

Your initial post must be a response to the above question (minimum 100 – 150 words).
Read the posts of at least 2 of your classmates and respond to at least 2 individual classmates, post offering substantive feedback that adds to the discussion topic. Minimum response to each post should be 100 words.

My classmates post

Kenneth Conley

I agree there are many reason why kids turn to drugs and or alcohol use at young ages. From my own personal experience with alcohol, I can say it was peer pressure more than anything else, wanting to not look un-cool, wanting to be one of the guys. As I got older and had nieces and nephews, I saw my nephew starting to experiment with drugs, specifically, marijuana, when confronted with it he stated it was no big deal, everyone’s’ doing it from his friends to the people he looked up to in sports and movies, and that weed wasn’t addictive it just made them feel good. In todays society there is more pressure placed on kids to excel at everything they do whether it be school, sports or work. Kids look at drugs and alcohol as an outlet to relieve that stress, not realizing the long lasting effects it can have on them if its not controlled.

Kids today turn to drugs/alcohol as a coping mechanism to stress caused by abuse, mental health and un-healthy family dynamics. Parents need to educate their kids about the dangers associated with substance abuse, in hopes that when they do start to use alcohol ( which we all know is almost inevitable) or experiment with drugs, at least they will have a head start.

Gregory Joseph

I believe that kids use drugs for various reasons but mostly for recreational purposes and to cope with various sources of stress that they deal with school, family and social life. Kids also get into using drugs out of curiosity and peer pressure from other kids. Kids can be very impulsive in nature and gravitate to any activities that make them feel good no matter if there’s any danger associated with them.

A lot of kids have less regard for responsibility and safety so when they get used to drinking and using drugs, they don’t think about limiting their use. Lack of understanding of how to deal with emotional stress makes drugs and alcohol use very common for them. With the use of marijuana, a gateway drug, becoming more acceptable among Americans, people should expect more kids to get into hard drugs and have more problems with drug addiction.