Teenagers should be more informed about drugs.

We can educate teenagers by having

drug prevention programs at schools like D.A.R.E or Youth OutReach Services.We can also
encourage parents to have conversations with their children or peer conversations.Teenagers are
more likely to listen to their peers because they are also going through the same experience We
need to inform teenagers about drugs because​ teenagers have no experience with drugs and their
effects.Drugs​ have massive consequences that can hold you back in school and in life.
The Recovery Village stated ”​Your teenager might enter high school as a child, but they
will graduate as a young adult. This four-year period is transformational — full of growth,
hardships and self-discovery. It’s also an experimental time — and for millions of teens, that
means trying drugs and alcohol. Sadly, some teens doing drugs will suffer serious consequences
as a result of substance use​.” F
​ or this reason teens need counseling from their parents.Students
need guidance from their parents to know right from wrong.These conversations can be
uncomfortable for both parties,but will help the student immensely.Without guidance the student
may go down the wrong path during high school.Making poor decisions and acting out of place.
Furthermore drugs are very harmful to teenagers due to the fact that teenagers are
undeveloped both mentally and physically.Newport Academy said”​as regular marijuana drug use
in teens can lead to the following short- and long-term effects:Changes in mood,Impaired
memory,Cognitive difficulties (thinking and problem-solving),Respiratory problems (coughing,
lung infections,etc.),Faster heart rate,Hallucinations and paranoia,Depression and
anxiety,Suicidal thoughts in teens,and Decreased IQ: One study showed that people who started
smoking marijuana heavily in their teens and continued to use it lost an average of eight IQ
points between the ages of 13 and 38” hence why drug prevention programs are
helpful.Professionals can teach students to be more aware and make smart decisions when it
comes to using drugs.Drug prevention programs have proven to be effective and are usually
inexpensive.
Some may believe that drug prevention programs do not work or students don’t listen to
the advice of parents.While drug prevention programs have proven to be effective and are
usually inexpensive making a teenager listen maybe hard.This is why peers are also a good
alternative.The most common start to teens drug use is social media influence.Teens seeing peers
using drugs and peers pressuring friends to try drugs are all on social mediaThe north point
recovery said​”​The approach was rooted in explaining the drawbacks of drug abuse and
reinforcing self-esteem. The assumption was that most middle and high school students
come by substance abuse via peer pressure, and addressed that by attempting to reinforce
the belief that abstaining from drugs was the “cool” thing to do.”
As argued informing teens about drugs is crucial.If teens are well informed teen
drug use will decrease.Teens throughout school are trying to figure out what they want to
do and become.Drugs can only make that worse.We need to guide them past the tough
years of misunderstanding.