Dear, Parents of SLV High School Students
In America drug and alcohol abuse is of epidemic proportion. Many children in the United States are as young as 12 and 13 years old when they start experimenting with illicit drugs or alcohol. A shocking aspect of this issue is that many parents condone the use of these substances. This is a problem because substance abuse makes people compromise their integrity and lose sight of the priorities in their life. When someone starts to drink alcohol or experiment with drugs it can seem to be a really fun thing to do. My concern is that often times what seems to be harmless experimentation becomes a serious habit. If teenagers knew the risks they are taking when trying drugs and alcohol I believe they would be less likely to try them in the first place.
It is my opinion that many people start experimenting with drugs and alcohol because of the influences in their life. Who you are hanging out with, the music you listen to, the kind of TV you watch. All these things play are part in the person you become. The issue is that drugs and alcohol are so prevelant as well as glorified in every aspect of our society. It seems like one in five commercials is a beer or liquour add that has a beautiful women, and the guy holding a 'budlight' ends up with her. Is that reality though? I have had a bud light, and that sure didn't happen to me. Or when you turn on the radio and the artist is singing about being high 'up in da club' and he/she makes it sound like the best time in his/her life. These are not the realities of drug use though. These are the brief moments of euphoria that occur in the early stages of drug use. My experience is that at some point the individual becomes dependant on the substance and it starts to have a negative impact in their life, and it becomes progressively worse. This is a problem that is tough to address because it almost seems that the youth glorifies this rough road that a person who uses drugs endures. It seems that in todays society the more messed up you are the cooler you are.
I personally didn't feel like there was much of an attempt in my teenage years to help me understand the risks of using drugs or alcohol. Every now and again there would be an educational video shown in my middle school, and all I really remember is the video showing photos of car crashes and statistics on fatalities due to drugs and alcohol. To me this seems like a feeble attempt for such a serious and widespread issue in our country. It was even as if I myself wanted to start experimenting because I knew so little about it, and that their was this mystery of what it was like. Now i'm 23 and I have watched many friends who at one time had every intention and opportunity to live a happy life, either die or have thier life crumble to pieces from drugs and alcohol. It's really sad, and part of me believes that with better guidance and influence that might not be the case.
The accessibility of drugs and alcohol plays a role in why its such a widespread issue. Today a teenager can simply ask 'google' "what medicines get you high?" and find out that his or her medicine cabinet is a drug dealer. It is easy for them to find a friend who his or her parents have a large supply of liquor that they can easily tap into to. It seems to me that this is an overlooked issue in most homes and most parents take little precautionary action to prevent experimentation of drugs and alcohol in a childs life. I also believe that some don't see the severity of this issue. If there was anything in the way of a solution to this serious problem in our society it would be to better educate the youth in America of the real life consequences of using drugs and alcohol. Not to just tell a teenager every now and again "drugs are bad", but to educate them throughout the process of their teenage to young adult life.
Drug and alcohol abuse in America is an issue that is overlooked. It is normal to us that everywhere in our lives there is shameless promotion of drug and alcohol use. Then it is puzzling to so many a parent how their kid is the one that is hooked. I'm not sure there is a solution to eradicate the issue of substance abuse, but I do believe there is hope for harm reduction. If our society worked towards better educating the youth of the risks of experimenting with drugs and alcohol. If the parents of America oversaw the influences in a childs life, and explained the reality of using drugs and alcohol. Above all else, we as a nation start to recognize that this is a problem that needs immediate attention.
Monday, May 27, 2013
dear john letter rough
Dear, Parents of SLV High School Students
In America drug and alcohol abuse is of epidemic proportion. Many children in the United States are as young as 12 and 13 years old when they start experimenting with illicit drugs or alcohol. A shocking aspect of this issue is that many parents condone the use of these substances. This is a problem because substance abuse makes people compromise their integrity and lose sight of the priorities in their life. When someone starts to drink alcohol or experiment with drugs it can seem to be a really fun thing to do. My concern is that often times what seems to be harmless experimentation becomes a serious habit. If teenagers knew the risks they are taking when trying drugs and alcohol I believe they would be less likely to try them in the first place.
It is my opinion that many people start experimenting with drugs and alcohol because of the influences in their life. Who you are hanging out with, the music you listen to, the kind of TV you watch. All these things play are part in the person you become. The issue is that drugs and alcohol are so prevelant as well as glorified in every aspect of our society. It seems like one in five commercials is a beer or liquour add that has a beautiful women, and the guy holding a 'budlight' ends up with her. Is that reality though? I have had a bud light, and that sure didn't happen to me. Or when you turn on the radio and the artist is singing about being high 'up in da club' and he/she makes it sound like the best time in his/her life. These are not the realities of drug use though. These are the brief moments of euphoria that occur in the early stages of drug use. My experience is that at some point the individual becomes dependant on the substance and it starts to have a negative impact in their life, and it becomes progressively worse.
The accessibility of drugs and alcohol plays a role in why its such a widespread issue. Today a teenager can simply ask 'google' "what medicines get you high?" and find out that his or her medicine cabinet is a drug dealer. It is easy for them to find a friend who his or her parents have a large supply of liquor that they can easily tap into to. It seems to me that this is an overlooked issue in most homes and most parents take little precautionary action to prevent experimentation of drugs and alcohol in their childs life, or maybe they themselves don't see the severity of this issue. If there was anything in the way of a solution to this serious issue it would be to better educate the youth in America of the real life consequences of using drugs and alcohol.
Drug and alcohol abuse in America is an issue that is overlooked. It is normal to us that everywhere in our lives there is shameless promotion of drug and alcohol use. It is then puzzling to so many a parent how their kid is the one that is hooked. I'm not sure there is a solution to eradicate the issue of substance abuse, but I do believe there is hope for harm reduction. If our society worked towards better educating the youth of the risks of experimenting with drugs and alcohol. If the parents of America oversaw the influences in a childs life, and explained the reality of using drugs and alcohol. Above all else, we as a nation start to recognize that this is an issue that needs to be addressed.
In America drug and alcohol abuse is of epidemic proportion. Many children in the United States are as young as 12 and 13 years old when they start experimenting with illicit drugs or alcohol. A shocking aspect of this issue is that many parents condone the use of these substances. This is a problem because substance abuse makes people compromise their integrity and lose sight of the priorities in their life. When someone starts to drink alcohol or experiment with drugs it can seem to be a really fun thing to do. My concern is that often times what seems to be harmless experimentation becomes a serious habit. If teenagers knew the risks they are taking when trying drugs and alcohol I believe they would be less likely to try them in the first place.
It is my opinion that many people start experimenting with drugs and alcohol because of the influences in their life. Who you are hanging out with, the music you listen to, the kind of TV you watch. All these things play are part in the person you become. The issue is that drugs and alcohol are so prevelant as well as glorified in every aspect of our society. It seems like one in five commercials is a beer or liquour add that has a beautiful women, and the guy holding a 'budlight' ends up with her. Is that reality though? I have had a bud light, and that sure didn't happen to me. Or when you turn on the radio and the artist is singing about being high 'up in da club' and he/she makes it sound like the best time in his/her life. These are not the realities of drug use though. These are the brief moments of euphoria that occur in the early stages of drug use. My experience is that at some point the individual becomes dependant on the substance and it starts to have a negative impact in their life, and it becomes progressively worse.
The accessibility of drugs and alcohol plays a role in why its such a widespread issue. Today a teenager can simply ask 'google' "what medicines get you high?" and find out that his or her medicine cabinet is a drug dealer. It is easy for them to find a friend who his or her parents have a large supply of liquor that they can easily tap into to. It seems to me that this is an overlooked issue in most homes and most parents take little precautionary action to prevent experimentation of drugs and alcohol in their childs life, or maybe they themselves don't see the severity of this issue. If there was anything in the way of a solution to this serious issue it would be to better educate the youth in America of the real life consequences of using drugs and alcohol.
Drug and alcohol abuse in America is an issue that is overlooked. It is normal to us that everywhere in our lives there is shameless promotion of drug and alcohol use. It is then puzzling to so many a parent how their kid is the one that is hooked. I'm not sure there is a solution to eradicate the issue of substance abuse, but I do believe there is hope for harm reduction. If our society worked towards better educating the youth of the risks of experimenting with drugs and alcohol. If the parents of America oversaw the influences in a childs life, and explained the reality of using drugs and alcohol. Above all else, we as a nation start to recognize that this is an issue that needs to be addressed.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
annotated bibliography
Sheff, David. "Solving the Prescription Drug Misuse Tragedy." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 08 May 2013. Web. 08 May 2013.
In this article written by David Sheff, he discusses the severity of the prescription drug abuse problem among college students in America. He talks about how many young adults are under the impression that prescription drugs is a form of harm reduction, and that because they are coming from a doctor that they are not as bad as other illicit drugs such as heroin, methamphetamine, or cocaine. Sheff uses bold examples and statistics to argue that these prescription drugs are just as dangerous and deadly as the kind you buy on a street corner. In some cases, once an individual is addicted to say 'oxycontin' (a prescription pill that is an opiate) it can become hard to find these drugs and many resort to harder street drugs such as heroin. In the article Sheff goes on to present the light at the end of the tunnel. He shares that the Clinton Foundation is taking a pledge to combat this issue through their 'Health Matters Foundation' and that their is hope for a solution to this problem.
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