Question by Elena: diagreements on teen drug and alcohol abuse?
i wrote an essay for Social Studies….
For many years the topic of teenage drug and alcohol abuse has many different opinions which concern location, wealth, gender, age, and the actual number of kids that do it. Some parents with middle school teenagers think that drug and alcohol abuse begins in high school and there is no need to worry about that yet. Teens through the ages 12-14 were surveyed, the age most said they first started drugs was 14. Many kids start at 12, but the average age they start hard drugs is only 14.( www.crossroadsforwomen.org/blog/) Then with drinking 2.4% at age 12 to 4.5% at age 13, 8.9% at age 14, 16.9% at age 15, 22.4% at age 16, 30.1% at age 17, 42.4% at age 18, 51.2%.( http://www.centurycouncil.org/) There is then the assumption that only boys do drugs and drink. This assumption is false. Actually 12.2% of girls do drugs, and 9.4% of boys. From the ages 12-17, 1.5 million girls started drinking, but 1.28 million boys did (http://www.centerforyouth.org) , which means that that guess is totally false. “My kids don’t have any way to get drugs or alcohol.” Both of these things are actually very easy to get. Alcohol is now found in an everyday home, and most of the time not in a locked cabinet, making it very easy for teens to have access to the alcohol. Drugs are also relatively easy to get. People can pass them to each other during school, after school, at parties, or when they are just hanging out. My kids are smarter than that, it won’t happen to us. The truth is that it can happen to anyone. Kids take drugs for many reasons like to relieve stress, to fit in, to feel good, prevent boredom, escape, relax, feel grown up, experiment, be like their role model, and to rebel. Parent think that many of these problems have stopped because of D.A.R.E. This is also untrue. D.A.R.E. and many other drug and alcohol abuse awareness programs have been cuts, either because of the nationwide budget cuts or the community just found them unnecessary. Lastly people in Westfield and other wealthy towns may think that drugs only occur in less wealthy towns. This too is false. Many kids in Westfield do drugs because we have more money to buy drugs. Many people have many different opinions on this topic but in reality drugs and alcohol are there, if you like it or not.
I got i back because it was a group project and my teacher said that i didn’t answer the question right? i didn’t know what to do, she also said that it was a bit all over.. here is the question..    Read more...

Question by Heavy Pen: Is drug use or drug ABUSE the gateway for other types of abuse?
Could I be on the correct track?
Fact! People are going to take drugs. Good drugs: medical purposes,
So-so Drugs: recreational drugs, Alcohol, Marijuana.
Bad drugs: Abuse, Addiction.
Alcohol is a drug and is legal, a depressant actually.
There will all ways be drug use, and for some drug abuse and addiction.
So to redefine the question:
Is drug use in general, or the abuse of drugs that are one of the leading causes of child abuse, sex abuse, power abuse, and other negative forms of abuse?
Not the only, very unfortunately for the rest of us, there are people that abuse others that are not on drugs.(Mental Issues) I’m thinking there would be a lot LESS abuse, if people did not abuse drugs. The world does have all kinds of people.
The real question is: Shouldn’t the parents teach their children about drugs and drug abuse to help reduce other types of abuse?
Drug abuse is just the Band-Aid, for the real problem isn’t it? The gateway is trying to remove yourself from some inner pain.
For the most part, drugs are good, used in the wrong way/abuse, drugs are bad. Then there are a lot of other ways people deal with that same kind of pain. Go shopping, eat, laugh(the best), and more ways than I want to try and define.    Read more...