Would one want to have pale skin, bags underneath their eyes, be poor in their academics, and forget about having fun? I think the most common answer to this question among kids would be “Of course not.” Well if you don’t want to be found with these “attractive” features…I would suggest KEEPING OFF OF DRUGS! Personally, I think that drugs are the number 1 issue right now here in the United States concerning parents with teens besides driving. Out of all the teenagers in the U.S. about 67% have tried illegal drugs and about 33% are recreational users. I don’t even see the need for anyone, an adult or especially a teen, to be hooked on drugs.

Through a little time and research I was able to locate information that may prevent some students from trying drugs. From the “Partnership for a Drug-Free America,” there are 4 main reasons as to why teens get hooked on drugs:

· Respect-To feel more like an adult (If children are given the wrong messages, they might feel that using drugs is a way of being “more adult”)

· Social Acceptance- To fit in (As part of a teenager’s struggle for popularity and accepted into the social class, they are always looking for ways to fit in)

· Independence- It’s a method of rebellion (As they grow older, children want to me more independent from their parents and often involves behavior or habits that parents dislike)

· Curiosity- To find out what it’s like (When wondering who they are or what they want to become, teens tend to explore things normally that have strict warnings)

These are some pretty stupid reasons for trying out drugs, right? We, as teenagers, can fix all these facts and statistics to make them sound good. We can produce an extremely large drop in the percentage of drug use by teaching this generation and the future generations the wrongs of doing drugs.

While overall drug use in America has fallen by half in the last 15 years, drug users continue to be at unacceptably high levels. If people have to do drugs, alcohol, or harm themselves in anyway to be popular or to fit in with a group, they are too good for that group of people. True friends are people you can trust, have a good time with, and have faith in to do the right thing; they are the people that wouldn’t want to see you hurt yourself. Think about the entire harm you can do to yourself, your family, your education, and most importantly…the rest of your life. Drug abuse kills over 14,000 Americans each year; do you want to be one of those 14,000?

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