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How Harmful is Chemical Use in
Young People--Really?
By Susan Adams l0/l/09
#4
This
article is submitted to MES and posted on my web site
Objective: The objective of this article is to present a discussion
of the realities of chemical usage in young people and to suggest
some ideas that may migrate it.
Summary: There is evidence that among school children
experimentation with drugs and alcohol is beginning at earlier and
earlier ages. This makes the youngsters more prone to damage from
these chemicals than people who begin use later in life. This
article seeks to explain these differences and make some suggestions
for helping to keep our youngsters clean and sober.
There
exists in the research evidence that some school youngsters begin
experimenting with alcohol and drugs as early as ten to twelve years
of age. This is not harmless to the experimenter. One reason for
this is because starting at an early age is very likely to forecast
a problem with drinking and drugging at a later age. Also, young
bodies are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol. It's potency
is related to body weight. Damage to the liver and other organs is
more likely to affect younger drinkers than older ones. In
addition, teenage drinkers behind the wheel of a car are involved in
more fatal incidents than their elders.
As for
marijuana, for many years, its proponents have claimed that it is
harmless in use. Certainly no more harmful than an occasional
drink. However, it has now been discovered that marijuana has very
harmful effects on the body--particularly on the breathing system
and especially if used more than occasionally. It also effects
motivation and causes depression and given that it is stored in the
fat cells of the body, its effects can last for at least thirty
days--much longer than that of alcohol.
Even a
one-time marijuana high is likely to get a youngster in trouble
because it can make him reckless and careless behind the wheel.
Young people who smoke marijuana are vulnerable to legal action if
they are found in possession or selling of it.
Other
drugs are harmful to youngsters as well., even in one-time
experimentation.
Glue-sniffing has killed, PCP or "angel dust" has caused psychosis,
as has LSD. Heroin use, once started, frequently leads to
addiction. Even short of regular use, amphetamines, cocaine, and
barbiturates can be dangerous. Tobacco is also classed as dangerous
because smoking can cause damage to the lungs, continue as a
health-damaging habit into adulthood, and harm the fetus in
pregnancy.
Above
all, any drug use may distort a youngster's growth, both physically
and mentally. A brain that is frequently high has neither the time
nor the ability to learn and grow--not academically nor in the areas
of social skills. The use of chemicals becomes a crutch for the
user, enabling him or her to evade problems rather than learning to
cope with them. Further, someone who is using energy to get and use
drugs is not giving his best at school or other tasks that need to
be completed on the way to adulthood.
There
is no sure way to prevent the use and abuse of harmful drugs. The
major hope of success lies in the execution of parenthood. This
means the relationship and creation of an atmosphere that is
conducive to teens making sound decisions when the opportunity to
use drugs and alcohol arise.
It is
possible--and this strarts from an early age--to raise children to
be thinking, caring adults who weigh the consequences of their
actions and make sound decisions about many things, not just drugs.
We do this by teaching children early how to decide what the right
thing to do is--to think about the consequences of each individual
behavior we make enact.
Setting
clear and firm limits is important. Teaching personal
responsibility is also a factor. Knowing what you are talking about
when you talk to your kids about drugs and alcohol is very
important. Read books, follow scientific reports and be able to
talk the language of your kids--using the slang and vocabulary that
they use. This will help them to respect what you have to say.
One of
the biggest factors in the decision to use drugs for a youngster, is
whether his best friend uses. Know your child's friends and his or
her parents. Keep track of what is going on with them and keep the
lines of communication open. This is not done by forbidding
youngsters to use---that is apt to create rebellion. It is best
done by having continuing conversation with your children about the
use and abuse of drugs and alcohol and their effects on the body and
the mind.
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