Many teens fall victim to alcohol and drug abuse due to ignorance. Many of them lack guidance. There is need for a discussion – coming up with reasons not to abuse drugs. Adults must avoid scare tactics when discussing the issue, but rather emphasise how drug use can affect things that are important in one’s life, that is the negative consequences of drug abuse.
The abuse of drugs leads to impaired driving, thus putting the driver, passengers as well as others on the road at risk. Teen drug abuse is linked to poor judgement which is linked to unplanned or unsafe sex. Drugs will also affect one’s memory and ability to learn and this can also lead to serious health problems. There can be harm to the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys as well as respiratory distress and seizures, all of which can be fatal.
The use of drugs in schools, college campuses and in society at large is universal. Students and people in general, come up with many reasons why they do it. Most of them overlook the long term consequences of their actions. Teenagers today admit to extensive use of drugs. 90% of teens admit to the use of alcohol; over 50% have used marijuana; 17% have used cocaine and 13% have used some form of hallucinogenic drug. Drug abuse has been a major problem of students as early as in the fourth grade. As a result, it is no surprise that substance abuse is prolific on college campuses, where many young adults are free from adult supervision for the first time in their lives.
The schools and colleges are conveyer belts into society and whatever happens in schools, colleges, universities, in class, lecture theatres and on the sports field will have a huge impact on society. Drugs have no place in society, and have even less of a place in academic environments where teens are living in for most of their formative years. Teen drug and alcohol abuse leads to severely impaired academic performance, and impacts negatively on performance and level of responsibility, which subsequently leads to skipping class, failure to complete assignments and drop-outs.
Teenage drug abuse has reached epidemic proportions in many college campuses and high school facilities. Alcohol – one of the most abused drugs today, is also one of the most popular and readily available of all types of drugs and controlled substances found in high schools. Becoming commonplace are situations of students waking up in a stupor after the previous night’s party. Teens then miss classes, fall behind academically and in some cases, they can lose possible sponsorships that they may have received towards their higher education. This is only a single example of the effects of how drug or alcohol abuse can detrimentally impact on one’s academic experience.
Apart from alcohol, teens can have access to different types of drugs both at and outside of school. Ecstacy and ketamine are often available at parties. Heroin, cocaine and hallucinogenics are other drugs commonly found on school or college campus premises. There are numerous long-ranging effect of teen drug abuse.
As I mentioned earlier poor academic performance, truancy and dropping out of school are some of the effects of drug abuse. It is a fact that half of the population in prisons is made up of people who dropped out of school.
Drugs and alcohol rank very high among the factors that cause violence in schools or colleges. The tendency of teens bringing in weapons to school increases and students with violent tendencies are more likely to resist authority. This increases tension within the class-rooms and may cause students to lose their focus in class.
Statistics are staggering when it comes to how drugs and alcohol abuse can affect a healthy college or university student. Drug and alcohol abuse is the leading cause of death between the ages of 15 and 24. 95% of all college campus violence is related to alcohol. 28% of all college dropouts are alcoholics, and 40% of all college students having academic problems abuse alcohol. Over 60% of all college women who have contracted STDs, were intoxicated at the time that they were infected.
There are various reasons why students continue to drink, despite the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse. Peer pressure – everyone is doing it and some believe that it is the cool thing to do. Others believe that drugs and alcohol offer a way to escape from school or work related stress. Financial worries and relationship problems are also reasons why students turn to drugs. Some feel that alcohol or drugs provide a way to compensate for feelings of shyness or low self-esteem. Others are just desperate to fit in and so they do whatever needs to be done in order to fit in.
My advice is that parents need to talk to their children about what they see and hear. Talking to them will help them to make better decisions, as opposed to being influenced by others. One needs to brainstorm with one’s teen about how to turn down offers of drugs, make them see that the cool thing is to say no to drugs. This will enable the teen to resist peer pressure. Be ready to discuss your own experiences with regards to drug use. Discuss with them whether you were exposed to drugs and what you decided to do when they were presented to you. Be very honest as this will breed trust, and will make it easy for the child to open up. By talking to your child, in a calm manner and non-confrontational manner, it will ensure that should the child be presented with drugs, they will be able to make an informed decision, and they will also feel comfortable enough to come and talk to you about it.
But most importantly, spend time with your child, quality time. That way you will know your child and be able to pick up on changes in behaviour or attitude, which could the tell-tell factor as to whether your child is using drugs or not.
C F CHIROMO
Mr Chiromo is a Zimbabwean father of four....three girls and one boy. He is a grand father of seven, four boys and three girls. An educationist by profession, fifteen years a teacher and thirty two years as a headmaster. He headed Mzilikazi High School (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) from 1985 to December 2002 before moving to St Thomas Aquinas Primary School (Bulawayo) where he currently is.