Drug Abuse Among Teens Essay - 1323 Words

A commercial once aired on television describing the effects of smoking on the brain. It began with a person holding an egg and saying, This is your brain. The person then cracked the egg into a frying pan and as the egg sizzled the voice was heard saying, This is your brain on drugs. The message was powerful while at the same time informative. Smoking not only affects a person physically, but mentally as well. However, most people do not know the severe mental damage smoking inflicts since the focus is primarily on the physical effects. Drug abuse is becoming a growing problem among teenagers. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuses 1999 survey of 2,000 teens, about 14 million teens ages 12 to†¦show more content†¦They can become very distant and quiet or loud and violent. No one can be certain how drugs will affect their behavior, but the change is not usually for the better. Many people enter a state where they stop caring about everyth ing including the things they once treasured more than anything. In as little as two weeks, nicotine can change the brains chemistry and thus change a persons behavior. In order to understand the effects of smoking, researchers have examined the change drugs impose on the brain. The brain stem controls basic functions such as heart rate, breathing, eating, and sleeping. When one of these basic needs must be fulfilled, the brain stem structures can direct the rest of the brain and body to work toward that need. While these structures may be simple, they wield powerful effects on our behavior. On top of the brain stem lies the limbic system. The limbic system deals with our emotions, motivations, feelings, and survival needs. The two largest limbic structures, the hippocampus and the amygdale, are essential for memory storage. Sensory information flows from the cortex to these brain regions, which take into account what is going on inside the brain and body and then instruct the cortex to store what is important.2 Drug abuse plays such a powerful role in a persons emotions and behavior because it acts directly on the limbic system and brain stem, which override the cortex in controlling behavior. The feeling ofShow MoreRelatedTeen Prescription Drug Abuse Among Teens1462 Words   |  6 PagesTeen Prescription Drug Abuse Doesn’t matter what age, drugs are going to be used and abuse. From the time we are born, till the day we die, prescription drugs are prescribed for doctor approved use. Most prescription drugs are given to help control a disease, an imbalance, sickness, etc. With teenage drug abuse on the rise in most US high schools, it has become a problem parents are facing amongst their children. 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The National Survey on Drug Use and Health suggests that 13% of teens between the ages of 12-17 have experimented with nonmedical prescription drugs at some point in their lives. Researchers have identified several factors linked with nonmedical prescription drug use such as their school enrollment status, history of depression, and a two parent household presence (Gever, 2010). Nonmedical prescription drug abuse has been the rise, inRead MoreEffects Of Marijuana Abuse On The Health Of Teens Aged 13-19 Essay1684 Words   |  7 PagesWhat is the Impact of Cannabis (Marijuana) Abuse on the health of Teens aged 13-19 in UK CONTENTS What is the Impact of Cannabis (Marijuana) Abuse on the health of Teens aged 13-19 in UK 1 Contents 1 1. Rationale 2 2. Aim 5 3. Objectives 5 4. Methodology 5 5. Data Search and Data Sources 7 6. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria 7 7. Anti-oppressive Practices and Ethical Considerations 7 8. Project Outline 8 9. Time Scale 8 References 10 1. 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