DRUGS, ALCOHOL AND YOUTH
The coming off twenty first century has seen many firsts that have shaken the roots of many cultures in the world. Today, there is nothing uncommon in coming across a mere 13 year old sniffing on dendrite or buying alcohol from a liquor store. Every other article mentions the statistics of youth who are into narcotics and alcohol, but, we fail to answer, or even ask the bigger question- Why?
This is an issue that affects us in every possible way- friends, family, relatives, and neighbours. Initially, these ‘first try’ are just a part of enjoying, having fun, letting go, experiencing new things and curiosity. But gradually they creep into the daily life and the abuse starts. The most commonly abused drugs are marijuana, inhalants, cough syrups and many more. The crime rates also take a toll when the percentage of youth doing drug and alcohol abuse increases. Cases of drunken driving are the highest amongst youth today .The health, physical condition, mental condition and personal life also get affected by these behaviours. Brain damage, memory impairment is amongst the most common side effects of prolonged use.
There is no one reason as to why an individual gets involved in all these. A variety of monetary, socio-cultural, environmental factors come into play while discussing such a sensitive issue. Teenagers from even the most underprivileged houses find a way of getting into such habits despite the financial constrains. Whatever money these people earn from begging or stealing, goes into buying drugs, cigarettes or alcohol. Many people do it just for the fun of it or to “look cool” amongst their friends. Family problems or having a history of addiction in the family or closely related people also induce such behaviours in the child. A lot of mainstream and off-beat movies, books, videos and songs in a way popularize the culture of drug and alcohol intake. Having rave parties is also a new trend that has increased the percentages of such incidents occurring. It is not only getting hooked onto these substances a problem; the recovery phase is also not easy. The withdrawal symptoms can be really bad and can cause hallucinations, physical problems, memory lapses and make leading a normal life very difficult.
The reduction in the rates of these uses has been a primary focus of various policies that have been passed. Making people aware of the harmful effects has been the foremost agenda of various governments and they are working to curb theses issues. Proper rehabilitation and care is also provided to help these teenagers to recover from their problem and lead a normal life. One way that we can work towards stopping this is to spread awareness, divert the child’s energy into better things, being with them and ensuring that they are on the right path.
Neel Kamal Pandey, OneWorldNews.
