Teen Drug and Alcohol Abuse Essay?

-Drug/Alcohol abuse education programs.
-More readily available drug treatment programs
-Re-evaluation of laws and restrictions regarding purchasing/carrying of drugs and alcohols for or by minors.

Just a few off the top of my head. Hope they help!

I was a drug addict for 24 years, since I was 15. Looking back I see now that I had a lack of knowledge in life skills & a lack of support.Try targeting education, prevention is better than cure. Comulsory lessons in early teenage years before abuse is likely to begin, say at 12 years old. Included in the education could be adverse effects of substance abuse, expected health problems, issues with the law, family & relationship problems & financial problems etc. I think teenagers should also be educated in how to develop their own self-esteem & confidence so as to not succumb to peer group pressure & be proud to say “NO” as well as having access to education in life skills, problem solving, communication techniques & conflict resolution, learning about good old fashioned respect-for themselves & others & developing good moral values & how to behave in acceptable ways, how to deal with stress, anxiety & depression-all these factors influence teens to begin exploring with substances either because of either peer pressure or to avoid the reality of growing up & having to deal with problems. I also think local govt/councils should provide more community youth centres where kids can meet & do educational & fun stuff, activities & outings, either for free or low cost, to keep them from getting bored & getting into trouble on the streets. The centers should have youth counsellors there to help troubled youngsters. In Australia we have what’s called the MERIT program which is the Magistrates Early Referral Into Treatment program which is for young offenders to have the opportunity to be rehabiltated instead of punished by the law. Depending on what country you’re in you could research this program on the NET & suggest it for your area. I also think more study, career & job training places be available to youths who leave school so they avoid becoming bored welfare recipiants who look for kicks in crime & substance abuse & looked down on by the general population. Hope my ideas have helped. In Australia we have what’s called ‘the harm minimisation approach’ which basically means that the Govt is aware of how big & serious these issues are in our community & no matter what they do they’ll never beat it, so they protect the community from harm as much as they can-for eg, by providing free clean injecting equipment for intavenous drug users to prevent the spread of diseases through shared needles which then could spread to the general population through unprotected sex, some known drug areas even have legal injecting rooms so people can use their drugs in a controlled clinical environment instead of in back alley ways or public toilets. Free condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS & sexually transmitted diseases. Also some night clubs & drinking venues provide free transport to prevent drivers from drinking & driving. You could try searching the NET for info on what govt policies are in place for your area & try thinking of your own solutions or improvments to the problems. Penalties & punishment should only be used as a last resort, after education, & after rehabilitation has failed, people need help & support first, punishment usually results in rebelling against society. It’s true there really is some dangerous people out there but majority just want help & support but don’t know how to go about it. I’ve studied some basic psychology, Social learning & Environmental influences, we can’t all come from fully functioning, educated, rich families who live in the top end of town, we need to realise that there will always be disadvantaged poorer people from less educated families who can only survive with the knowledge they know at the time & the basic environmental influences around them. Children are models of their parents & of their parents etc to a certain degree, educating the parent has a lot to do with how their children turn out, maybe compulsory parenting courses for parents to be as we all know babies don’t come with instruction books, anyway I could go on for ever on this subject, but I won’t. Good Luck.