Drug abuse with teens.

Drug abuse with teens. By: Felipe Ayala

A presentation by: • El MagoFantastico!

Why do teens take drugs? • An article from health24.com says that teens take drugs for a list of reasons like looking cool, being in with the crowd, having fun, to be confident, and the list goes on. Yet, the main reason teens take drugs is despite what most people think, most kids don't start off taking drugs, because they want to get high – they are motivated by a variety of psychological factors rather than physical ones. They want to have fun, have friends and have the status of being a risk-taker. These are just a few of the drugs that scratch the ice that teens take.

Cocaine • Yeyo, snow, flour, ect. These are just a few names of the drug cocaine, but what exactly is it and what does it do? Well cocaine is a an addictive drug derived from coca or prepared synthetically, used as an illegal stimulant and sometimes medicinally as a local anesthetic. The side effects to this drugs are usually irritability, nausea, paranoia, and anxiety. The way this drug is taken is either by snorting, smoking, injecting, and even rubbing it around in your mouth. An article at Caron.org says that kids by the age of 12-16 have taken cocaine once or twice by now. They take it as a way to get themselves pumped up and anxious to start, but the drug never gets you to the point of being high so you just keep on taking it.

Cannabis • Most commonly known as Marijuana, cannabis is a hallucinogen. It can be both smoked or it can be eaten. This drug causes the user to feel as though they are “floating on a dozen tiny clouds.” This drug is the number one most popular drug with teens from ages 13-18, and the side effects include rapid heart beat, nausea (even though it fights against the symptoms of nausea), dizziness, and relaxation of the muscles. The main ingredients that make up cannabis are THC and CBD. Evidently, many people fight the fact that cannabis does not kill anyone, but an article from Medical News Today states “More teens in Colorado, where medical marijuana has been decriminalized, are ending up in hospital emergency department after accidentally consuming marijuana.”

Heroin • Also known as smack, is a highly addictive drug derived from morphine, which is obtained from opium poppy plants. It is a “downer” or depressant that affects the brain’s pleasure systems and interferes with the brain’s ability to perceive pain. The side effects are mostly nausea, vomiting, and itching. Teens on heroin are harder to rehabilitate than cocaine or cannabis addicted teens for the reason that heroin causes the user to be high for a feeling of a longer period of time when in reality is can last from 1-2 hours max. According to the 2012 Monitoring the Future study, a NIDA-funded survey of teens in grades 8, 10, and 12, only 0.05% of 8th graders, 0.6% of 10th graders and 12th graders reported using heroin at least once in the past year.

Addiction-how bad is it? • In these drugs above only two of them cause any actual addiction to their users. Marijuana has no addiction effects, yet they do make the user dependent on the drug itself. Cocaine can cause paranoia and can cause serious heart issues along the way. Heroin dependent teens usually end up going back, and by the first dose have already overdosed. The drug causes a psychological dependency for the user, and can cause many brain damaging effects like schizophrenia, paranoia, hallucinations, and can even cause brain anurisims.

Signs of the drugs in teens. • The signs are different for all three drugs, but the signs are always easy to notice. Marijuana cocaine heroin • Red eyes Over active movement out of control action • A strong, smoke scent usually aggressive in all situations twitchy, and sometimes disoriented • Dazed loss of controls constant scratching of the body • No motor skills constant snorting gestures • Loss of balance These actions are always noticeable, and easy to spot.

Examples of teens on drugs. • This is a link of teens high on drugs. See their actions, and notice just how they react to their surroundings due to the drugs. Hopefully these videos will make you more aware of the teens around you. Marijuana:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG1SgQoyFKI • Cocaine:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rViBVsneZYc • Heroin:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk26Ydj5038

Are the side effects long? • To your pocket! No, but in all seriousness, yes there are long lasting effects. These effects vary on the drugs that you take, and can hurt not only the teens but their loved ones as well. Like I have said in my previous slides there are no cases to people being addicted to cannabis, but there are some minor dependencies that come a long with it. • Marijuana: Apathy, drowsiness, lack of motivation • Cocaine : Permanent damage to blood vessels of heart and brain, High blood pressure, leading to heart attacks, strokes, and death • Heroin : Bad teeth, Inflammation of the gums, Cold sweats, Itching, Weakening of the immune system

How can you treat it? • There are drug rehabilitation centers every where teens live. Talking to an adult, or guardian about your addiction is never a bad thing. They can help take the root of the problem out of the teen’s life and help them get back on track before they stray too far. Teens can even occupy their times away from drugs by doing out door activities like baseball, football, track, ect. They can even get into a hobby, or something they used to do or still like that doesn’t involve being pressured. Even school work can help by taking the teen’s mind away from the drugs and focusing them on school work. All this is just a state of mind, there are ways to cure it, there will always be a way.

Drug abuse with teens.