Illicit drug abuse is not a new topic. There are records of psychoactive substance use going back thousands of years, as are mentions of its negative effects. However, it appears that nowadays, the age at which people begin to experiment with drugs is becoming ever lower. In this paper, I would like to consider the main drivers of this phenomenon and some of the many reasons why it should be a cause for concern.
The youth’s interest in psychoactive substances is most often attributed to peer pressure, direct or indirect. It may not be the case that teens are simply encouraged into drug use by their friends, but rather that in an environment where everyone gets high regularly, they are unable to form relationships due to judgement and ostracism. From then on, the young are presented with the perceived choice of either staying loners or conforming. The question then remains, why are entire groups doing it? One reason may be that drugs have deeply penetrated the popular culture and media, such as in music, film, and literature. With the rise of the internet, children as young as four learn about the world vicariously from celebrities and other not-exactly-role models. This conditions them to think that risky and hedonistic lifestyles are the norm, which may become a belief they carry into adolescence.
On the other hand, the causes of drug abuse are not only social. Kids are often simply curious. (XXXXX) Their interest in substances, whether legal or illegal, may not necessarily be driven by the expected pleasure but simply by the natural desire for novel experiences. This is not helped by the fact that the age at which people are most impressionable is also that of rebellion. In fact, research indicates that teaching teens about the risks of substance abuse is counterproductive, as it presents them with a challenge not to get addicted. Additionally, the modern decline in mental health and less-than-ideal mental illness diagnosis rates are strong contributing factors. Therapy and medications are not only expensive but also come with a stigma attached to them, causing many to self-medicate with harmful substances.
It should not surprise anyone that drugs cause harm on every level of society. The problems begin at the level of the individual, making their way up through families and communities, ultimately affecting entire civilizations. Drugs cause addiction; addiction causes all other tragedies to come.