by Jarred James Breaux

Created on: August 16, 2009

Drugs allow adolescents to adapt to the environment. Drugs produce pleasurable sensations, reduce tension and frustration, relieve boredom and fatigue, and help to escape reality. Inner peace, joy, relaxation, kaleidoscopic perceptions, surges, of exhilaration, and prolonged sensation are some of the pleasurable sensations produced by drugs.

Most advertisements aimed at reducing drug use target social problems, such as peer pressure and bullying, and the dangers of the drug. Advertisements typically do not address curiosity or a need to escape reality. I have seen a few commercials where alcohol is discouraged as an escape from reality, but it is not discouraged as a social factor. Advertisements need to focus more at deterring adolescents for the real reasons they take drugs rather than the perceived reasons.

As adolescent drug use becomes more frequent, their bodies develop tolerance. Tolerance means that more of the drug is required to reach the same effect as before. The body becomes accustomed to the drug being in its system and will develop a physical and psychological dependence on that drug. A physical dependence is a physical need for the drug. When a person stops the use of the drug, physical dependence will cause unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. A psychological dependence is a desire and craving for the drug when it is not present.

Alcohol is a depressant and slows down the brains activities. In large quantities, alcohol can damage muscle, brain cells, and other body tissues. Reduced inhibition and impaired judgment are mental and behavioral effects of alcohol. The ability to perform certain tasks is also impaired by alcohol. Intellectual functioning, behavioral control, and judgment become less efficient as more alcohol is consumed. Extreme intoxication will cause an individual to lapse into a coma.

Alcohol is the most widely used drug by adolescents in the United States. It is considered the third learning killer in the United States. 25,000 individuals are killed each year by drunk drivers. Another 1.5 million are injured by drunk drivers. Alcohol was the cause in 65% of cases in which males used aggressive behaviors toward females. Many of these intoxicated males were adolescents. Of the more than 13 million alcoholics in the United States, most of them have stated their drinking habits began in adolescents.

Risk factors in alcohol abuse include heredity, family influences, peer relations, and personality characteristics. Both genetic and environmental factors are involved in alcohol abuse. Generally, adolescent alcohol abuse is more closely related to parent and peer relations than other factors. Usually, adolescents who drink heavily come from homes with a great deal of tension, little nurturance, insecure attachment, poor family management, and have parents who allow alcohol use. Peer use and misuse of alcohol strongly influenced alcohol abuse in others. Those who abuse drugs tend to have older friends than those who do not take drugs. Peer pressure also with lack of involvement raises the risk factors for alcohol abuse. Certain peer crowds, such as the jocks or the criminals, can also influence a person's control over alcohol consumption.

Increases in pulse rate and blood pressure, reddening of the eyes, coughing, and dry mouth are physical effects of marijuana usage. Mixtures of excitatory, depressive, and hallucinatory characteristics are psychological effects of marijuana usage. Usage of the marijuana causes random and unrelated ideas to surface, distorted perceptions of reality, increased sensitivity, attention and memory impairments, and reproductive system impairments.

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