How Do You Explain to Teenagers About Drug Abuse?
Question by kristalchampagne: How do you explain to teenagers about drug abuse?
I am working on a youth programme about drug abuse. There are so many awareness programmes out there and ads that explains about drug abuse. And yet, these messages did not compute in most of these young minds. Were the ads not effective? Are we saying the wrong thing?
Best answer:
Answer by Pinay
The best thing to do is actually show kids how drugs will effect them.
Like get a volunteer, tell the students that this is what will happen when you do crack or weed etc.
Use make-up, breath enhancers, and other things to make the person look like the result of doing drugs.
Or get someone who has done drugs, and has effected their lives severely and have them speak to the class about their experience.
Answer by pukeypie89
it is not so much what you say, But what kids see, when I was growing up My mother used drugs, after seeing what it did to her I swore never to use drugs. find a person who used to use drugs and have them talk to the kids, they can show them what they went through and how hard it was, I talk to kids about the effects of cutting, and everyone in the classes really opens their eyes when they see the scars, and pictures. try it it will help more then you could ever imagine
Real Life Teens – Alcohol — http://www.tmwmedia.com/reallifeteens.html This program discusses the effects and consequences of alcohol use. It outlines the effects that alcohol consumpti…
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7 Responses to How Do You Explain to Teenagers About Drug Abuse?
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I’m not sure what the right message to send is. For many years, various groups exaggerated how bad drugs are for you, so a lot of people think that it’s all propaganda and lies and ignore it. Then again, if you tell the truth only using proven studies, it is hard to say that marijuana is harmful, even though a lot of people who smoke it for a long time end up concluding that they are better off without it. I think that too factual an approach would give people the misconception that pot is harmless, and not enough facts would seem like lies.
I’d try to concentrate more on the advantages of drug-free life, rather than giving horror stories of drug use that won’t be believed anyway. Adults who use marijuana know that it isn’t something they can do any time they are awake, and that it will keep them from accomplishing things they may want in life. And maybe pointing out the financial stupidity of drugs would help–you can run up quite a bill with a small drug habit, and selling drugs doesn’t make you money in the long run (really, all profit should go into your legal defense fund account–it will cost you that much or more when you get caught), so selling drugs doesn’t really help you afford them. I don’t know, it’s a tough question, I’m just trying to throw out some ideas.
I started a program at my daughter’s high school that brought in people who are in AA/NA and shared their stories. It has had a good impact, but this disease is overwhelming our children are in server danger, I recommend that you yourself go to several AA/NA meetings and understand as much as you can. This will better equipt you in helping the youths in your program. Good luck
I work at a high school in Connecticut and one program that really hit home with a lot of the teens was when we had a state trooper come in. Not only did he talk about the consequences of doing drugs, but he brought in a video from an under cover cop that showed a teenage boy overdosing on ecstasy at a rave. The image of that boy still haunts me. Nobody in the school has mentioned that drug since. There are still drug problems in the school(primarily marijuana), but it worked for one drug.
Another tactic that seemed to curb drugs, at least in the school, was the introduction to drug dogs. There was an assembly to show what the dogs do and what they can do. For example, if a drug dog just walks by a car and smells something from in the car, the cop can use it as probable cause to search the car? The dogs are so sensitive they can smell the most trace amount of the substance, no matter how it is packaged. We had the assembly at the end of this school year, with the knowledge that the dogs would come next year unannounced. I know it scared a lot of kids, we’ll see if it works.
What kids don’t know is that the teenage brain has not developed impulse control(most people do not develop this until they’re in their 20’s)(Thank you educational psychology class). I think this is why teenagers and college students do such stupid crazy things. How can you get a teenager to say no, if their brains have little or no impulse control?
As a teenage substance abuser, I will tell you what would have helped me. Don’t lie to them and say it’s not fun. Tell them the truth, “Yeah drugs are fun at first. Your mind has encountered a new world. Thats why it is fun at first, after a couple of use’s, it becomes a very familiar world. Soon, you realize that this world o high is all it is. You start to lose you reality world to the drug world. You become dependant on the drug. You fell as if everything around you is dull and boring. Once you’ve reached this point, all you want to do is be high. It is that one thing that is missing from your brain that keeps you running like normal. When your high, your not hinking about being high, you are enjoying yourself. When your not high, you find yourself thinking about being high.” Yeah so just rephrase a few things in there so other people understand it. If you do drugs then you will understand this but I’m not sure if people will tht haven’t. Like I said, it’s a diferent world. Maybe this is how a hippie like me see’s it. It’s all good for me though, doesn’t cause many problems. I personally think pot is a far safer mentally and physically than drinking. Well thats where I would go with that. You just don’t enjoy things like you used to I guess. Nothin you can’t handle though.
Peace
Oh yeah, tell them new things they haven’t heard before. Everyones heard of addiction. Try to explain it different. Tell them what addiction is. Give them examples of small addictions to big addictions. The point is that they are both addictions no matter what size. It affects you mentally to an extent no can understand but you. Yeah, I like it.
The people who take drugs are always a kind of absentminded. They cannot concentrate on anything even which matters life. Most of the drug takers and drinkers do this to get rid of their problems but the truth is that the problem, difficulty or whatsoever remains their and constantly keeps worsening. So it is important to always think proper way to find the solution for the problem rather than pretending and lying to your own self by taking drugs and this is also a show of irresponsibility which may ruin your life.
I found the best way was to get a “guest speaker”, a volunteer from the psychiatric unit, who was a 17 yr old boy, whose previous drug abuse made him develop chronic mental illness.
He told them his story, about how he can’t finish his education, or hold down a job, how he lost his friends, and now has to take strong medication with really gross side-effects.
He told stories about friends who had lost their lives, had babies too young & taken from them, & who ended up in prison.
Really sad but strong stuff.
They relate better to someone closer to their age, and who really has been there.
A lot depends on what is being said or done about drugs in the home. You are not the only one playing a part in the problem.