Substance abuse in the modern world has become as common as the use of curse words. There are far more cases of substance abuse among teenagers as compared to adults. What is the root cause of this substance abuse being so common?
Students are naïve and easily influenced. They turn to such drastic options when they are going through something in their life. They don’t know what’s good for them and trust their friends to help them get through tough times. These friends, however, might not always mean well. They might encourage them to do bad things. People try such substances once and get addicted. The cycle continues. It stops when the person is fully broken mentally and is consumed by the substance.
Substance abuse is a matter that should be taken seriously by schools and parents. If not dealt with at the right time, there would be no going back. As a matter of fact, every day India witnesses many suicides due to drug abuse. Is this a matter of concern or not? Shouldn’t schools have weekly surprise checks?
Have drugs become so common in schools around the world that they have lost their shock value? Are we ignorant of them? In the United States, mandatory drug testing in public schools is a law, which was introduced in the 1980s. In 2001, The New York Times estimated that hundred out of the nation’s 60,000 school districts require some form of drug testing. Adolescents may think this random drug testing to be an ‘invasion of privacy’, but isn’t it important if by even the slightest chance, that one of them is a victim of this substance abuse.
So, put a stop to substance abuse, before it stops you!
- Reader is a resident of the UAE
