Pubdate: Fri, 08 May 2009 Source: Chilliwack Progress (CN BC) Copyright: 2009 The Chilliwack Progress Contact: http://www.theprogress.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/562 Author: Megan te Boekhorst, UNDERSTANDING YOUTH AND DRUG WORLD Many teens know of or have read the book CRANK by Ellen Hopkins. It is today's generation of teen's version of Go Ask Alice. Both stories have powerful ways of describing the deadly descent into drugs. Both depict what happens when a teen gets caught in the controlling grasp of addicting drugs. The amount of street drugs available continually grows. Teens may also choose to get high from cough medicine and prescription medication as well as sell it. The drugs become more and more dangerous. If a teen were to buy some marijuana, it could be unknowingly laced with even more dangerous drugs. Many teens say they will only smoke marijuana, but they may unknowingly become addicted to other drugs the marijuana is laced with. Another danger when experimenting with one drug is that it can lead to becoming involved with other drugs. Teens that drink are fifty times more likely to use cocaine than teens who never consume alcohol. And with teens beginning to try drugs younger and younger, the problems are getting much worse. Twenty percent of grade eight kids have admitted to using marijuana. Many teens believe they will be able to quit drugs whenever they want, believing they will live a life without them when they are "all grown up". However, studies show that children who try drugs or alcohol before age 15 run a greater risk of being substance-dependent as adults, contracting sexually transmitted diseases, dropping out of school or being convicted of a crime. Drugs can also lead to teenage pregnancy. On an online forum asking why teens do drugs, many believe it's due to peer pressure. Others say it is to release stress. But the majority of people on the forum believed society has failed teens who become addicted to drugs. Drugs can and will kill you, a fact known by many. But some teens don't believe the drugs have the ability to kill or harm you. Truth is anything that changes the way your body is supposed to work is harmful. Drugs can increase your blood pressure and heart rate, reduce your reaction time, sight, concentration and thinking abilities, and slow your breathing. A life of drugs can quickly turn into a frightening life. Some parents believe they have no control and are unable to prevent their children from entering that life. However, it has been shown that teenagers whose parents talk to them on a regular basis about the dangers of drug use are forty-two percent less likely to use drugs than those whose parents don't. Simply talking to your children has a larger impact than you may think. As mentioned before, CRANK describes in accurate detail the descent into drugs used by a teenage girl. Near the end of the book, the teen summarizes how it happened: "It didn't take long to immerse myself in the lifestyle. Didn't take long for school to go [down the drain]; for friendships and dedication to family to falter. Didn't take long to become a slave to the monster." - --------------------------- Megan te Boekhorst is a Chilliwack secondary Grade 12 student - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart