In this topic, our group will analyse the impacts of drug abuse on youths. Many of these impacts range from the individual level right up ot the societal level. Through our discussions and findings, we will shed light on the severe perils of ignoring youth drug abuse, and try to piece together the work that people and organisations around the world have done to combat drug abuse among youths.

Keywords: Impacts, Drug, Abuse, Youth

Variation: Consequence, Results, Outcome, Medicine, Misuse, Addiction, Mistreatment, Overdose, Teenagers, Adolescence, Kids, Young Adults

Search Phrase:
- Impact of drug abuse
- effect of medicine mistreatment
- youth exploitation on drugs
- effects of overdosing on medicine
- misuse of drugs
- results of drugs addiction on teenagers
(including the variations of booleans and operators)


Having done research on the subject, it has been found that the impact of drug abuse on youths is great, be it on a societal or individual level. On the societal level, youths addicted to drugs could become dependent on the state for their survival, thereby reducing the labour pool in the market, and becoming a strain on the country's social welfare apparatus. Such youths could also become a danger to others in violent rages brought on by them going on "high".

Aside from this, the children born from unions between youths on drugs would have a higher chance of getting addicted to drugs. On an individual level, such youths would face a breakdown in relationships with others due to their withdrawal into their own worlds, also a side-effect of drug addiction.

To combat these impacts, organisations such as governments and the United Nations are taking a variety of actions, from both the encouraging and punitive spectres, to reduce drug abuse amongst youths.

Under the United States government, the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) has initiated many programmes based on the facts that it has collated through the Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey. These programmes are augmented by the fact that the Institiute reaches out using not only English, but also Spanish, to help combat drug abuse among American youths.

Another organisation working hard against drug abuse is the Global Youth Network, an affiliate of the United Nations. It aims to encourage more youths all over the world to step forward to help in programmes for combating against drug abuse amongst youths. These programmes include seminars and workshops, as well as campaigns.

The resources used include http://www.unodc.org/youthnet/youthnet_youth_drugs.html and http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/HSYouthtrends.html.
- Benny



Impact of drug abuse:

It affects your brain. It can cause mind and mood changes such as anxiety, euphoria, and depression. Long-term effects can include chronic fatigue, paranoid or delusional thinking, and permanent psychological damage.

It affects your body. It increases the heart rate, blood pressure, and risk of stroke. Some may reduce the rate of lung growth and the level of maximum lung function that can be achieved.

It affects your self-control. It may be very addictive as some contains nicotine(a powerfully addictive substance). They will find it hard to quit after they continue to abuse drugs.

It can kill you. An overdose of drugs can result in heart failure. Long-term physical effects such as liver, kidney, and lung damage may also kill you.

These are 2 links for more information on impacts of drug abuse:
http://www.freevibe.com/
http://www.impactinc.org/Resources/Youth.htm

- An Qi



Drugs abuse can come in many different ways. The more commonly seen way is the misuse of drugs to achieve a 'high' feeling by the consumer. However, this is not the way drug abuse or addiction can occur.

Drugs are both good and bad. Drugs like medicine, cures us of some illnesses. However, when consumed in the wrong way and at a higher dosage, it can cause addiction even when the addict does not know it. Therefore, it is the utmost importance, to follow a qualified doctor's prescription and the dosage.

Apart from causing harm to health, drug addiction also causes harm to the addict's mental and social health. When suffering from withdrawal symptoms of drug addiction, the addict will tend to be grouchy, lifeless and might even cause death(depending on how serious is the addiction). Addicts would treat friend and family as if they were on a lower status as compared to drugs. Drugs would become the world, everything, to them. Drug addicts might also suffer from mental breakdown, when they are kept from drugs for too long. Addicts will also suffer from the inability to make reasonable judgement.

There are many agencies and organizations that have been set up to help drug addicts get their life back on track such organizations usually have their own facility, in which addicts can stay in and monitored 24 hours a day. However, such organizations cannot help much if the addicts have no determination. Also, apart from the addicts themselves, the friends and families of the addicts also plays an important role in helping the addicts gain their life back. They must provide mental and social support as purging of the drugs from the body system can be very tough. Some of the organizations and facilities of drug rehabilitation are http://drugrehab.net/ and http://www.stopaddiction.com/index.php/

Drug addiction and abuse can occur as young as 7 and even up till 70. Therefore, it is important that we learn to say 'No' to drugs when we see them.

- Guo Wei




The problem of drug abuse is getting more and more serious in many countries regardless of age, nationalities and gender. However today, the problem of drug abuse among the youth has assumed a greater significance and stand a higher percentage among the various age groups.

The age group in which a youth is, signifies the transformation of an adolescent to a young person, which usually is accompanied with the trials and tribulations of a 'child' in becoming a 'grown-up'. A bundle of exuberant but undirected energy, he derives pleasure in taking risks and experimenting with new things. Hence, this makes the teenagers more vulnerable to peer pressure and temptations when this two main "roots of evil" affects them, they will most probably would not be able to hold themselves and unable to say "NO" to drugs.

Therefore awareness creation or preventive education programme for youth is an imperative. In build up immunity amongst them, would promote self-respect and determination, provide experiences which encourage self-respect and sense of dignity, as there is a Chinese proverb saying "not to harm our body as every inch of our body is given by our parents". Parents would the ones that will be most upset if any harm is done on their children. So it is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle and Say "NO" to drugs.

- Jeremy Lim

http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/4783/kids_and_teens/
of_drugs_and_youth.html


Prescription drugs, which are widely available and easy to obtain, provide young people with an easily accessible, inexpensive means of altering their mental and physical state. Abusers may experience a heightened sense of pleasure, euphoria, drowsiness, increased energy, or various other effects depending upon the drugs they abuse. Young people who abuse prescription drugs put themselves at risk of experiencing dangerous side effects. When abused, drugs can alter the brain’s activity and lead to debilitating or life-threatening health problems and result in physical or psychological dependence.
-Jarrett Yeow

http://www.nationalyouth.com/substanceabuse.html
http://www.unodc.org/pdf/technical_series_1995-03-01_1.pdf

______________________________________________________________

Ahmed B.I.(n.d.) "Of drugs and youth." Retrieved on January 23, 2008, from

World Wide Web: http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/4783/kids_and_teens/

of_drugs_and_youth.htmland_youth.html

IMPACT (n.d.) “Impact, changing lives for good.” Retrieved on January 11, 2008

from World Wide Web: http://www.impactinc.org/Resources/Youth.htm

Narconon Arrowhead (n.d.) “Narconon Arrowhead.” Retrieved on January 13,

2008 from World Wide Web: http://www.stopaddiction.com/index.php/

National Institutes of Health(n.d.) "NIDA, the science of drug abuse & addiction."

Retrieved on January 25, 2008 from World Wide Web:
http://www.nida.nih.gov/

Narconon Vista Bay (n.d.) “DrugRehab.net.” Retrieved on January 13, 2008 from

World Wide Web: http://drugrehab.net/

National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign (n.d.) “Freevibe.com” Retrieved on

January 11, 2008 from World Wide Web: http://www.freevibe.com/

National Youth Network (n.d.) "Teenage substance abuse." Retrieved on January

28, 2008 from World Wide Web: http://www.nationalyouth.com/substanceabuse.html

NIDA (n.d.) “NIDA, the science of drug abuse & addiction.” Retrieved on January

10, 2008 from World Wide Web: http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/HSYouthtrends.html

UNODC (n.d.) “The global youth network.” Retrieved on January 7, 2008 from

World Wide Web: http://www.unodc.org/youthnet/youthnet_youth_drugs.html