In today’s time there are over 7 million Americans that battle with drug usage. Today’s age involves the daily glorification of law-breaking activities such as the use of drugs and illegal substances. What teens don’t understand is the horrible reality of such substances and the effects it can have on your family, well-being, and even overall life. 

There are many people who view drugs as a problem that they will never have to suffer or fight through, but the use of drugs has become an ever-growing problem in the lives of those most would not expect. Overdosing, an excessive and dangerous use of a drug, very commonly leads to the death of the abuser. The hazards that are often over-looked by teens or any person exposed to drugs are not worth the use of drugs. 

From 2002 to 2017 there was a 3.1-fold increase in the total number of deaths involving all drugs in the United States. It has become too much of a normality to see or hear of a person that has passed away due to a drug abuse. In the normal everyday life of a teen, at times, it feels as if the entire world around you has experienced drugs and believes there are no negative attributes about the use of drugs.

In the U.S. alone, an estimated 54 million people over the age of 12 have used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons in their lifetime. Children and teens are introduced to prescription drugs early in life. Many parents use ‘over the counter’ drugs, or drugs you do not need a written prescription from a doctor to obtain, to help smaller issues rather than go to a doctor and be treated professionally. Children will see, use, and experience safe dosages of drugs and their varied uses early in life, however throughout the rest of their days they will be exposed to the extreme opposite abuse of these drugs.   

Many people believe that prescription drugs are much safer than illegal street drugs because they are prescribed by a doctor. Drugs prescribed by a doctor are given for a specific individual and their complaints. These prescriptions are not given without certainty that the person needs the certain specific drug. A person who is not prescribed the drug will not respond to such drug in the way intended by the doctor. The use of another person’s prescription is drug abuse and undoubtedly will cause immense damage for the abuser in ways unintended.  

Every person should know the effects of drugs and the harm they cause. No person takes, uses or abuses drugs with the intent of dealing with the damage and impairment they cause. It should become a normality to be informed and educated on the effects of the abuse of all drugs and consider the consequences of drug use.

Sources: 

National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Overdose Death Rates.” NIDA, 9 Aug. 2018, www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates. 

Richards, Patti. “2018 Prescription Drug Abuse Statistics You Need To Know.” Talbott Recovery, 10 Sept. 2018, talbottcampus.com/prescription-drug-abuse-statistics/.