Surveys shows that 85% percent of seniors reported using drugs, and alcohol during their past high school years. Most of them are not addicted at this point, but even the ones who are don’t know it yet. They try them because of peer pressure, and wanting to fit in. The younger teens start using drugs the easier it is to become addicted, that’s why teen drug use is a serious issue.

When teens are addicted they lose their friends, get health problems, fail in school, get memory loss, lose motivation, and alienate their family and friends with their behavior and mood swings. Addictive teens are more likely to suffer from ADHD, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders compared to non-addicted teens. Most reasons behind teen drug use come from home. Either parents supporting it, not caring, or not noticing. Some parents do not realize that painkillers, and other prescriptions can be addictive so they don’t worry about locking them up.

Some people believe that teen drug use is not so serious of a problem cause it takes of stress, they can make older friends, and makes them feel good. Some teens that have serious health issues use drugs as their way to get away from things. Some parents hate to see their kids in suffering so they will buy them over the counter drugs to help them escape their pain, and stress.

There are many types of drugs kids use, but the most common is marijuana. Out of 16 million drug users 77% only use marijuana. This is because this drug is a lot easier for teens to get, cause it is cheap, and naturally grown. Some people think marijuana is okay because, it is naturally grown and there are not many chemicals compared to other drugs. Another popular drug is oxycotin. People use this drug because they get prescribed to it, then get addicted. In 1999 221,000 people 12 or over used oxycotin. In 2000 399,000 people used it, and in 2001 the usage doubled to 957,000!

In conclusion drug use is a serious issue in high school and younger ages than that. People don’t realize how harmful that it can really be or what it is doing to them. Thats why if your friend, or sibling is using drugs you need to find help for them as soon as possible. You need to stop them before it can become a life threatening addiction.