Teen Drug Use

Teen drug use has become something of an epidemic in the United States. The truth is that most teenagers try mind altering drugs, something they view as harmless actions, when in all reality it is not only illegal but extremely damaging to their still developing brains. Berger states that prescription drugs are just as addictive and damaging as using drugs like cocaine and heroin. Ten years ago I would never have believed that, but the more and more I watch the news and the more I learn about the growing drug problem that teens face I do believe it. The unfortunate part is that I see it in my career as a nurse. Parents fear their children using drugs and most of them talk about hard drugs, but there is another fear out there that most don't think about which is prescription drugs. I know when I was in high school teens would offer other teen their prescriptions with no understand of what that medication can do and the consequences behind it. They just see it as helping their friend because they need to stay up late to study or they just need a pill to relax a little bit, but the problem is that teenagers are getting hooked on these medications which have devastating consequences that include life long addiction and a difficult road to recovery. More needs to be done to decrease the amount of prescription medication that teens are receiving, more needs to be done to battle the epidemic that has hit the youth of this nation.

Reference:
Berger, K. S. (2011). The Developing Person Through the Life Span. New York: Worth Publishers.