Bobby+B+-+POSITION+PAPER

Today one of the biggest problems is hard and prescription __drug abuse__ amongst teens. With all the things people can be prescribed to it’s easy to find access to prescription drugs in a common household. Hard drugs are cheap, and can be of easy access because there is no age limit on them. Prescription drugs can often times be more dangerous because of the high dosages that they shouldn’t be taking. “When it comes to teens and drug abuse, prescription medications are now second only to marijuana in popularity” (Springen). Marijuana is the most commonly used drug among teens, making prescription drug the second most popular a larger deal. That means that more kids abuse prescription drugs more often than alcohol and cigarettes, which are both legal. These statistics make it obvious that this problem needs stopped, but it needs to be stopped sooner or later because at this rate drug abuse among teens will only increase.

Hard drugs such as cocaine, and heroine, along with prescription drugs have been attracting teens of both male and female and are the second most used drugs, marijuana being the first. According to teenhelp.com its estimated that 2.1 million teens are abusing prescription drugs." Indeed, only 8.1% of high school seniors report that they have ever used cocaine" (Teenhelp). Not only do these drugs affect the user negatively but also the people around them. “Often, patients continue taking their medication as prescribed and become physically dependent upon the drug (Bernstein). When most hard drugs or prescription drugs are used more than once the brain builds and dependence on the drug, causing the user to steal __money__ from friends or family to get the drugs. Even if the drugs can be bought from the users own income, these drugs begin to take away time away from the users family or friends. We may be seeing a drop in the usage in teen drug abuse but the problem is still prevalent.

We have been seeing a drop of hard drug abuse in the past decades, but there have been new found ways to get high. "The abuse of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs by teenagers is growing" (Warner). Prescription drugs and prescribed painkillers can be of easy access because of the availability in the common households. They could be because of a surgery or they could be ADD medicines, which is dosed for a specific person and the drugs become much more dangerous if used by someone else. Teenagers don't always have an understanding of the consequences of the actions, making the experimenting stage of drug abuse so dangerous. Not only could this be dangerous because of overdoses or having bad reactions but also addiction, which can ruin lives. Seeing a drop in hard drug abuse does not mean we shouldn't try to raise awareness because our generation can always find news ways to get that "high".

Although the drug abuse among teens has indeed reduced, the problem remains and will remain so until stopped. Of course, schools are trying to teach the students through health classes  and D.A.R.E. (drug abuse resistance education). "By the mid-80s, the introduction of crack cocaine turned youth drug use into a truly terrifying issue"(Robinson "Decades of Drug Abuse:80' and 90's"). Many organizations were hired to spread the news and graphic realities of drug abuse. Organizations like D.A.R.E. and the PDFA all tried to help with the decline in drug abuse. These were hired after the initial tactics were used. They included showing kids graphic photos of drug users to scare them away but, "the willies are temporary, the ability to reason is permanent"(Robinson "Decades of Drug Abuse:80' and 90's"). In the 90's polls showed that drug abuse had dropped in teens and young adults. Although heroine and meth also found its way into teens. Heroine is one of the most deadly illegal drugs and is most often turned down because of the injection process, “Heroin is taken in several different ways. It can be snorted, injected, or smoked (4rehabilitation). Meth has also found its use in teens, meth can cause extreme hallucinations and creates paranoia. This shows that it is a significant problem today.

Marijuana is one of the most commonly used drugs that teens use in America today, it is not considered a hard drug, and can have its health benefits, but it can also lead to other more dangerous drugs such has hard drugs. "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 1999 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System found that almost half (47%) of all high school students had used marijuana at least once"(Robinson "Decades of Drug Abuse: 60's and 70's") and another ten percent had tried cocaine. Proving that almost half the kids in a high school smoke or have smoked marijuana, and it can also be a gateway drug. To stop the hard drug abuse we also need to stop marijuana use, and prescription drugs as well. Prescription drugs can not only be terrible for your body but also can become addictive. Prescription drugs are not often taught in classes as much because of how recently they were brought up. Overall the drug abuse in America is still to much a problem to ignore.

Prescription drugs are becoming more common in teen abuse because of the availability and many are aware of the dangers of hard drugs. "According to the National Library of Medicine, an estimated 20% of Americans have used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons"(Grohsmen). It is apparent that this number needs to be a lot smaller. Many organizations have made efforts that have made an impact, but the number still can be lowered. Prescription drugs and hard drugs are a major American problem that can be stopped.

With organizations that raise drug awareness such as DARE and school education the drug problem has dropped. DARE is a great example of how to lower the drug usage among teens. Although my plan is not only to teach kids on how to make informed decisions on drugs but to bring education in to everyday lives of young kids into middle school where kids are more prone to start drugs. "Drug education programs should start young, preferably in kindergarten, when many children are first exposed to drugs (both legal and illegal)" (Taylor). The sooner we start the more education and understanding kids will begin to have about drugs and can start making the right decisions. Using real people and pictures of the effects of drugs as a part of the education, perhaps a required high school class about drugs. DARE is a great tool but kids need an education outside of that.

Although programs such as DARE have been called effective in the way they teach, a man named Gary Peterson formed the group called “Parents Against DARE” a group in which they don’t believe in the way kids are being taught. With a concern of the local parents the group has gained 100 members that all believe that DARE “Is wrong, because it teaches students to make decisions about an activity that the law says is illegal” (Qtd Coulson in Paulson). The group believes that in order for DARE to be effective they need to use scare tactics instead of encouraging students to make the decision to turn down drugs. Scare tactics will teach kids the extreme dangers of the drugs, where just teaching them to make the right decision is all they need.

We can say that scare tactics do work best but that doesn't mean that educating people to make decisions is wrong. "Comprehensive school health education is planned, sequential curriculum of experiences which promotes development of health knowledge"(Summerfield). This system of teaching uses real life examples of how people regret making past bad decisions. Programs like DARE use these kinds of techniques, they bring people who have had firsthand experience with them to teach the truth about drugs. This can sometimes work because of showing the extreme side of drug abuse through graphic photos; they use real people in order to show the kids how drugs can ruin lives.

Drug educations specifically DARE have been under criticism because many people believe that the best way to teach children about drugs is through a home environment. "Public education won’t work on what is essentially a moral issue"(Darst). The people in the article state that drug education won’t work because it doesn't have a significant impact on the children's morals. They also say that "money is largely wasted in elaborate drug and alcohol prevention programs when the parents - the only ones with moral authority - are kept out of the loop". The moral aspect isn't clearly brought up in DARE according to the article; they believe that morals are the only things that will make kids say no to drugs and alcohol. Although DARE had its good intentions it fails to bring a stop to the drug abuse problem.

Although those are all good points, DARE and other school drug education programs have been known to be effective on teens. Of course drug education won’t stop all teens but there have been studies that show and decrease in drug abuse among teens. "If people insist on evidence, MADD leadership points to a survey that asks students, parents and teachers whether they like the program. ..., most people report satisfaction with DARE"(Hanson). Many parents are satisfied with the drug education and want to continue to use it. Slowly but surely the problem is decreasing. But still remains a problem.

Another argument against drug education organizations is its inability to teach kids other things besides "Just say no". "Most addiction education - with the notable exception of alcohol - preaches only abstinence: Just say no"(Rosenbaum). The article is about a group of parents that also state that the drug education programs teach students to break the law more safely. Many education programs use real people’s story in order to teach kids about the dangers of drugs and teach more than to just say no. People find this ineffective because it doesn't actually teach kids the dangers but teaches kids the opposite.

In fact a lot of schools like DARE type programs because " unlike other drug enforcement programs that only lecture about the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol, the D.A.R.E. program also teaches ways to resist pressure from peer"(Boldt). The programs teach about other gateway drugs, in order to not only stay from those drugs but stay about from harder an prescription drugs. Overall drug education systems bring a way to inform kids about harmful drugs that could destroy their lives.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">According to Lance Winslow from E-zine Articles in America a total of about 1400 kids die each year due to hard and prescription drug abuse. About 3 million people die each year to drugs in general. "Substance use still remains a leading cause of injury and death in young people" (Tamkins).This is an apparent problem that needs to be stopped. Different programs have tried and are succeeding but more and more people die each year, and that means that there has to a better system to drug education. Teens are in the most venerable state so it’s very important to educate sooner than later. Drugs continue to be a large problem in America and will be unless we put forth the effort to stop it. Bringing schools, home education in a very positive manner to keep kids away from drugs. Because of the worldwide problem the solution will be hard to reach but can be achieved.

Works Cited

Baciewicz, Gloria J. “Injecting Drug Abuse.” Medscape. N.p., 25 Dec. 2011. Web. 5 Apr. 2012. <[]‌article/‌286976-overview>. This secondary source is written by Gloria Baciewicz who is doctor and professor at the University of Rochester. In this article, Baciewicz explains the first usage of the hypodermic need for drug abuse, and the common forms abusing drugs today. I chose the site to use in my paper because it is written by doctor who has studied medicines and knows what the modern dangers of drug abuse are.

Bernstein, Clifford. “Painkiller Addiction Treatment.” //Spine Health//. N.p., 14 Aug. 2006. Web. 14 May 2012. <[|http://wwwspine-health.com]>. This primary source is written by Clifford Bernstein MD, he is certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology, American Board of Pain Medicine and American Society of Addiction Medicine. This article how a person can become addicted to strong pain medications and how the brain responds to pain medications. I am using this article because Bernstein specializes in pain medicines and how they should be used.

Boldt, Betsy. //D.a.r.e. Officer Teaches Children How To Do More Than `Just Say No’//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <[|http://www.chicagotribune.com]>. This secondary source was written by Betsey Boldt a journalist for the Chicago Tribune. In the article, Boldt explains the other techniques that the DARE program uses to keep kids away from drugs. This article was helpful because the Boldt agreed with my posistion and was a support in my rebuttal in memo 7.

Darst, Susan. “Why doesn’t drug/‌alcohol ed work?” //show and tell for parents//. N.p., 2007. Web. 3 May 2012. <[|http://www.showandtellforparents.com]>. This secondary source is written by Susan Darst, who is mother and magazine editor. This article gathers people opinions on why drug education doesn’t work today. I used this article as my opponent for memo 6.

Grohsman, Bernie. “Drug Addiction and Society.” //Treatment Centers.net//. N.p., 23 May 2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. This secondary source is written by Bernie Grohsman who is a drug addict in recovery and has dedicated a lot of his life to help other people and their addiction. In this article Grohsman describes the devastation of drug addiction and the impact of drug abuse on society. This article helped me a lot in memo 4.

Hanson, David J. “Drug Abuse Resistance Education: The Effectiveness of DARE.” //Alcohol Abuse Prevention//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. This article is a secondary source written by David Hanson. Professor Hanson has researched the subject of alcohol and drinking for over 40 years. I used this article because it gave accurate spending stats on drug education programs and the effectiveness of them. I used this as my rebuttal for memo 6.

Paulson, Steven K. “Campaign Against DARE Program Launched.” Editorial. //Los Angles Times//. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. <[|http://latimes.com]>. This secondary source is written by Steven Paulson who is a writer for the Los Angles Times. This article describes the Parents Against DARE. This article was used as my opponent for memo 5.

Robinson, Jennifer. “Decades of Drug Use: Data From the ‘60s and ‘70s.” //Gallup//. N.p., 2 July 2002. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <[|http://www.gallup.com]>. This article is a secondary source that is written by Jennifer Robinson, a writer for Gallup.com. This article describes the history of drugs in the 60’s and 70’s. It also explains the rise in drug abuse in teens and what kind of drugs appeared. I used the article because it gave credible information for memo 3.

Robinson, Jennifer, and Jennifer Robinson. “Decades of Drug Use: The ‘80s and ‘90s.” //Gallup//. N.p., 9 July 2002. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http:/‌www.gallup.com>. This secondary source is written by Jennifer Robinson as well. In this article she writes about the rise in drugs in the 80’s and 90’s. I used this article in memo 3 as well.

Rosenbaum, Marsha. “Why drug education doesnt work.” //CYC-net//. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. This secondary source is written about Marsha Rosenbaum who went to jail because of drug abuse. She talks about how the modern drug education programs don’t work because it doesn’t teach what it should. I used this article for my memo 7 as my opponent.

Springen, Karen. “Powerful and Dangerous Drugs.” //Daily Beast//. N.p., 20 Feb. 2008. Web. 10 Apr. 2012. <[]‌newsweek/‌2008/‌02/‌20/‌powerful-and-dangerous-drugs.htmlhttp://>. This is a secondary source that is written by Karen Spring who is a writer for the Daily Beast. This article uses surveys of teens who use and don’t use drugs, and it also goes into the teen drug problem in a broad view. I used this source for memo 1 and 2.//

//Summerfield, Liane M. “Drug and Alcohol Prevention Education.”// ERIC Digest//. N.p., 1991. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. <[|http://ericdigest.org]>. This secondary source is written by Liane Summerfield who is a writer for ERIC digest. This source goes into detail on how drug education education should work and the most effective ways it will work. I used this for my rebuttal for memo 5.//

//Tamkins, Theresa. “Teen Alcohol and Drug Abuse.”// Health.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 May 2012. This secondary source is written by Theresa Tamkins who is one of the main writers for health.com. This article provides specific statistics for the number of kids who do each drug in a country wide survey. This helped gather a lot of info for my memo 8.//

//Taylor. “Drug Education: In Classrooms.”// __University of__ Michigan//. University of Michigan, 2004. Web. 8 May 2012. This article talks about starting drug education at an early age and teaching kids new things each year as the progress in school. So they can learn more mature things at a more mature level.//

//“Teen Drug Abuse Statistics 1.”// __Teen Help__//. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2012. This website gives statistics on how many kids do drugs today based of studies that have been preformed on high schoolers//

//Warner, Jennifer. “ADHD Drug Abuse Rising Among Teens.”// WebMd//. Ed. Louise Chang. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2012. <[|http://webmd.com]>. This article is written by Jennifer Warner who is a writer for many magazines such as TIME magazine. This article is about the rise in teen recreation-ally using ADD and ADHD medications. The reason why I am using this site is because Jennifer researched credible studies in order to gain credible support for her position.