Why do some teens use drugs?

Each drug user will have different reasons for using drugs. Following are some common reasons people have for using drugs.

• Peer Pressure: When your kids were young, they wanted nothing more than to please you. Now that they have become teenagers, they want nothing more than to please their peers. Teens self-worth depends on the approval of others, even if they know their behaviors are destructive and counter-productive.

• Stress of life: Being a teen is really hard because you are being introduced to the real world. Some people can not handle this pressure, and find an escape in drugs. It is their way to get away from reality. Drugs don't solve problems — they simply hide feelings and problems. When a drug wears off, the feelings and problems remain, or become worse, but this is hard to see at a young age. This is way a lot of teens use this dangerous shortcut for solving problems. To a desperate kid, being intoxicated may sometimes sound better than having to face a painful situation. High stress teens are twice as likely as low stress teens to smoke, drink, and use illegal drugs.

• Emotional pressure: Loneliness and depression raise emotional pressure, and some teens seek chemical solution for this problems.

• Boredom: Often-bored-teen are 50 percent more likely than not often bored teens to smoke, drink, and use illegal drugs. Teens who can't talk to their parents are more likely to feel isolated, and use drugs.

• Parental influence: The more that a teen is exposed to alcohol and other drug use, the more acceptable it becomes in his or her mind.Parents that get drunk excessively, use illegal drugs, tell funny stories involving excessive alcohol consumption often promote their teen's drug and alcohol use without realizing it.

• Media influence: Some teens believe drugs will help them think better, be more popular, stay more active, or become better athletes.

• Ignorance: A little reading can save a lot of suffering. Teens who are not aware of the consequences of the drugs are more likely to use drugs than others. For this reason government and social organizations spend millions of dollars each year to raise the awareness about drugs.

• Curiosity: Adolescents are curious about having new experiences. Seeing someone doing drugs makes them more curious to know how drugs will make them feel. It is important that kids are kept away from this type of environment.

• To gain attention: Sometimes the “bad kids” get all of the attention. Parents, teachers and other adults tend to spend more time dealing with troublemakers than praising teens for living up to or exceeding expectations.There's no better way to express anger at your parents, teachers, or the world, than by doing something they tell you not to do. Adolescents are constantly questioning the limits of societal expectations, and experimenting with alcohol and other drugs are just one way they may test the boundaries of acceptable behavior.

• Addiction: After using drugs for a while people become addicted to them, and don't feel right without them. They experience unpleasant physical and mental sensations and feel a need of using drugs to get rid of this feeling.

• Easy to get: Drugs are easier to get now-a-days. Survey shows that teens with $25 or more a week in spending money are nearly twice as likely as teens with less to smoke, drink and use illegal drugs.