What are drugs? The moment someone
mentions the word ‘drugs’, the first thing that comes to our minds is
everything that is negative. We see drugs as ‘Mr. Hyde’ of medicine. In this
modern era, society subscribes to the dogmatism that drugs are evil substances
that are capable of harming our body and mind. Time and time again, we see
people cringe in discomfort, the moment we mention the topic. The truth is,
drugs were once and still is the medicine to cure all kinds of illness.
Antibiotics, quinine, pain-relievers and many other drugs are used each day to
help manage pain and save lives. So, how then did the negative perception come
into the picture? The quote ‘We have used all the good technology for all the
wrong reasons’ explains clearly how this dogmatism came into existence.
Undeniably, teenagers more than others, have a higher tendency to become
victims of the evil side of drugs. The entire nation is probably pondering upon
the same question and that is, WHY?
For children, the most important
people in their lives are parents. Children have certain responsibilities to
their parents and vice-versa. Parents’ responsibilities to their children have
been very subjective these days. One of the main reasons as to why teenagers
fall into the clutches of drugs is due to parents’ ignorance of their
children’s needs. In today’s world, almost everything is about money unlike the
past. With the advancement of technology, the cost of living has gone up. This
has resulted in both parents working. In their quest for a better life, parents
forget their responsibilities to their children, that is, to give them support
and attention. For example, a boy committed suicide recently. In the note he
left behind, he wrote ‘I just wanted to have dinner with my parents’. This is
the real picture of today’s world. Children are left to fend for themselves the
whole day.
Peer pressure is another factor that
causes drug problems among teenagers. Friends make a big impact on one’s life.
A lot of time is spent with friends. Teenagers meet their friends almost
everyday, in school, during co-curricular activities, in tuition class and
others. Many teenagers tend to share their problems with friends for they seem
to understand them better. It is the friends who provide solutions to problems.
This is where the problem creeps in. If they mix with friends who have a sense
of what is right and wrong, they are safe. However, things get murky when they
do not mix with the right group. Friends may offer drugs as a solution to all
their problems. The victim, who is naive and too trusting, soon becomes
addicted to drugs.
Stress
or pressure of life is a Sword of Damocles. It is a double-edged sword. Too
little of it and you are seen as lazy, too much of it will get us all tensed
up. Drugs are often associated with people who have high levels of stress or
pressure. These people are not able to think straight and often look for the
easy way out. The intelligent individual knows how to de-stress. However,
others will turn to drugs. They depend on drugs to relieve them of all their
troubles. This probably explains why most drug addicts are found to come from
stressful backgrounds. They tend to believe that drugs provide a form of
escapism form from pressures of life. Actually, it is a common fallacy and
misconception. Drugs only provide an illusion of escapism. The real world does
not work that way.
Another factor, which causes
teenagers to misuse drugs, is lack of moral values. The world is getting busier
today. Everybody is wrapped up in his or her own live and 24 hours tend not to
be enough. There seem to be little room left or priority for moral values.
Sadly, this is the true picture of our society these days. The inability to
differentiate between what is good and bad is common among most teenagers. Most
of them lack moral values and do not have a good foundation in religion. This
can be overcome if the support system pays just a little attention. Moral
values must be nurtured at home. A teenager who has been ingrained with good
moral values from young will stay away from drugs. Thus, the misuse of drugs
can be eradicated.
Teenage is the time when children
undergo physical, mental and emotional transformation. This is the time when
their curiosity reaches its peak. Teenagers tend to get excited easily and
their ‘must-try’ behaviour most often than not gets them into trouble.
Although, Professor Dumbledor, in Harry
Potter and the Goblet of Fire says ‘Curiosity isn’t a sin’, it must have
its limits. Some teenagers start off just wanting to try what drugs taste like.
Unfortunately, once they have fallen into its clutches , it is difficult to
turn back.
Drugs have many uses. It is up to us
to make good use of it. It takes more than just an individual or a group of
good men to cure this growing problem disease. It is everybody’s responsibility
to make sure that drugs are used for all the right reasons. Teenagers hold our
future in their hands, so we must ensure that the future is guaranteed. We have
to act on this problem before it gets out of control.
(893 words)
Sasikala Nallaya, Leela Chakrabarty. (2006). Polish Your English: A
Textbook for English Language Proficiency Courses. Perak: Universiti
Pendidikan Sultan Idris.
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