by Carolyn Lanier

Created on: October 24, 2008   Last Updated: November 07, 2008

The teen years are a very difficult time to go through, not yet an adult, and not a child anymore. Too old for this, too young for that. Teenagers are very vulnerable young people and it's so easy for them to fall victims to substance abuse, and there's so many causes that can influence them.

Movies play a big part, most everyone has seen a Cheech & Chong movie with their marijuana life style humor, or Friday, with its comedy about gun toting homies, drugs and even the grandma has a stash of pot hid out. These movies are not only funny, but seem like really cool life styles for young minds.

Celebrities even have a great influence over young people, with their sex, drugs, rock n roll life styles of staying out all night, getting arrested, going to rehab and being front page news. These are role models for so many young people, they want to be like their favorite star.

Some kids even grow up watching a parent getting drunk or doing drugs, and believe this is the way it is, and soon following in the foot steps of the parent that they've watched doing these things.

Music is another influence. I think we can all say at some time or another while growing up we've sang " A 100 bottles of beer on the wall," a cute, funny song. Most teens will try a beer to see what it taste like, and for those who like the taste, it becomes a habit, just like smoking cigarettes. Or we have listened to the song " Oxy Cotton," and have experienced oxy cotton, xanax bars or lartab just to see what its like, some teens will try these drugs while others get addited to them, and the song " Because I got high." a great excuse for those who want to escape the stress of life and put themselves in a " I don't care Mood " for a little while.

But I feel the main cause of substance abuse is Peer Pressure. Teenagers are trying to find their place in the world, fitting in, being a part of a group is very important. Not going along with the crowd, or doing what their buddies are doing may cause them to develop the fear of being picked on, or isolated from the group because they're not cool, so they go along with whatever their friends are doing. They've seen classmates get teased and picked on for being different so most teenagers will go along with their friends experimenting with drugs and alcohol, then face going through this. A lot of these kids will eventually seek help at some point and get their lives back on the right track.

But for some teenagers, they become loners, they don't seem to fit in with their peers for different reasons. The majority of these kids will continue to do drugs and alcohol their entire lives, and a lot of these young people will end up in prison or eventually overdosing.

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