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an essay about drugs
Problem & Solution: Young People and Drugs
Why do many young people try drugs? Find out at the links below.
- A Scottish government site:
http://www.healthscotland.com/drugs/drugs/involved.cfm
- An Irish site:
http://www.irishhealth.com/?level=4&con=319#q3
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A BBC site aimed at younger readers:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/teachers/pshe_11_14/subject_areas/alcohol_drugs_tobacco/newsid_3582000/3582893.stm
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Children's Express.org: A news agency aimed at young people:
http://www.childrens-express.org/dynamic/PUBLIC/drugs_through_the_eyes_130204.htm
- A UK-based charity for children's psychogical well-being:
http://www.youngminds.org.uk/mentalhealth/y6.php
- United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime site:
http://www.unodc.org/youthnet/youthnet_youth_drugs.html
Useful downloads here (English) and here (Arabic) on the effects of particular drugs (Acrobat *.pdf files)
-
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/index.html?f=body|fr=http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/drugscreeningmain.htm|r
- A South African police site:
http://www.saps.gov.za/drugs/factfile.htm
- An interesting article from Gulf News, March 2005:
http://www.gulfnews.com//Articles/NotesNF.asp?ArticleID=154629 "Dare
to Say No to Drugs!"
"Drugs and Young People: The Facts"
From a UK Government report, 1998: http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm39/3945/aim-1.htm
We now know a great deal about the relationship between drugs and young people. Many never take drugs at all, many who do experiment grow out of it quickly, but a small hardcore develop very serious problems. In particular:
- drugs misuse is most common amongst people in their teens and early
twenties, but the average age of first drug use is becoming younger
- almost half of young people are likely to take drugs at some time in
their lives, but only about one-fifth will become regular misusers, (ie
at least once a month), with a tiny minority of that group taking drugs
on a daily basis
- most young people who take drugs do so out of curiosity, boredom, or
peer pressure - and continue misusing drugs through a combination of
factors ranging from enjoyment to physical and psychological dependency;
- cannabis is easily the most commonly-used drug amongst the young,
followed by amphetamines, poppers, LSD and ecstasy
- while there are some identifiable groups such as cannabis users ,
dance drug users and addicts, the trend is towards more indiscriminate
use, based on price and availability;
- there is a very strong correlation between the use of illegal drugs
and the use of volatile substances, tobacco and alcohol amongst young
people;
- there is increasingly strong evidence that the earlier a young
person starts taking drugs, the greater the chance that he or she will
develop serious drugs problems over time;
- for early to mid-teenagers, there are strong links between drugs
problems, exclusion or truancy from school, break-up of the family, and
initiation into criminal activity;
- for older teenagers and people in their twenties, there are strong
links between drugs problems and unemployment, homelessness,
prostitution and other features of social exclusion;
- whatever other influences affect young people, the role of parents throughout this process is crucial.
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