Introduction
The majority of teenage students under the age of eighteen have consumed prescription drugs (nearly seventy percent), smoked a cigarette (twenty percent), or drank alcohol (forty percent). because critical neural circuits are still actively forming, teens’ brains are particularly susceptible to being modified by those substances in a lasting way-making the development of a substance use disorder much more likely. (www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-adolescance-substance-use-disorder-treatment-research-base-guide/introduction 2014). Until you reach the age of twenty five, your brain is not truly developed or ready to pertain knowledge. (https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=3051) A few of the most influential drugs on the brain that teens use can include are LSD, Cocaine, and Marijuana.
LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide)
When a user consumes LSD, it can cause the consumer to experience hallucinations and powerful emotions which can have a lasting effect up to ten hours on the body, mind, and spirit. (http://www.pamf.org/teen/risk/drugs/hallucinogens/lsd.html). Some researchers conducted a study in the Journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence and found that nearly twenty-four percent of adolescents who tried hallucinogenic drugs just like LSD had similar symptoms that were consistent with an abuse or dependence syndrome that some can experience. According to the International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, they had stated that the dependence syndrome in teens who also took MDMA and abused hallucinogens, was also a part of the many teens that had talked about the symptoms of a dependence they were experiencing. (https://muirwoodteen.com/commonly-abused-substances/lsd-abuse/)
Cocaine
When many people talk about a stimulant, it is defined as a drug that tends to enlarge most levels of neural activity. Most stimulants act as agonists of the dopamine neurotransmitter system. (Spielman, R. M., Dumper, K., Jenkins, W., Lacombe, A., Lovett, M., & Perlmutter, M. (2018). Psychology. Houston, TX: OpenStax, Rice University.) When cocaine is subjected to a teens brain for the first time, the brain tries to protect itself from harm or unhealthy things by reforming the shape of the synapses and brain cells alike. Luckily teen cocaine use is at a steady decline. In fact, all age group cocaine use is down significantly. Bellum, Sara (2012) Cocaine and the Teen Brain. Hopefully use of cocaine will no longer be an issue in the years to come.
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Marijuana
As most teens are wanting to grow older into an adult life, many develop habits of sneaking around and trying to be rebellious. As Washington and Colorado are two states out of many in the U.S. that are now legal to possess restricted amounts of marijuana for recreational use. All other states, as of now, it is still illegal to possess marijuana. (Spielman, R. M., Dumper, K., Jenkins, W., Lacombe, A., Lovett, M., & Perlmutter, M. (2018). Psychology. Houston, TX: OpenStax, Rice University.) Many teenagers are prone to the thought that marijuana is safer and less harmful than alcohol or other hardcore drugs. A lot of teenagers are under the assumption that marijuana is the “safest” of all other drugs or alcohol considering many use the excuse that “no one has died from smoking weed”. Because it is a natural grown herb, young growing adults think its not addictive and can’t affect their thought process or reasoning skills along with reaction time with driving. Research studies have shown that marijuana can cause detrimental problems with health, feelings and learning as well as stability.
Conclusion
As days go on, and teens grow older, memorization issues and missed opportunities of augmented learning potential and signs and warnings of extremely unhealthy habits of a few core affects of substance abuse according to The Addiction Center. LSD. Cocaine and Marijuana are a few of the drugs of choices that are common among teenagers because they are easy to get their hands on. A main cause of adolescent drug behavior is because of peer influence. Bauman, Karl E. (1996) has researched. If parents could allow light into the future of their children and see if they were going to attempt the use drugs, they could help to put a halt to it. Unfortunately, a time machine has not been invented to do so, but there are environmental and biological factors parents can look out for to help prevent teenage drug use and save them from the exposure. (https://drugfree.org/article/risk-factors-why-teens-use/)
References
- Bellum, S. (2012). Cocaine and the Teen Brain. Retrieved from https://teens.drugabuse.gov/blog/post/cocaine-teen-brain
- Health Effects of Teen Substance Abuse – Mental and Physical Effects. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.addictioncenter.com/teenage-drug-abuse/health-effects-teen-substance-abuse/
- LSD Abuse. (2015). Retrieved from https://muirwoodteen.com/commonly-abused-substances/lsd-abuse/
- National Institute on Drug Abuse. (n.d.). From the Director. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-adolescent-substance-use-disorder-treatment-research-based-guide/director
- Preventing Teen Drug Use: Risk Factors and Why Teens Use. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://drugfree.org/article/risk-factors-why-teens-use/
- Spielman, R. M., Dumper, K., Jenkins, W., Lacombe, A., Lovett, M., & Perlmutter, M. (2018). Psychology. Houston, TX: OpenStax, Rice University.
- Understanding the Teen Brain. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=3051
