Drugs Usage Case

Risks of experimenting with drugs.

Written by Raazia Gul

The use of the drugs may not always be riskier or bad as considered by many individuals. The danger associated with drug use mainly depends on; type of the drug, the amount of the drug, the user of the drug and the place of drug intake. Experimenting with drugs becomes the riskiest when it is done by younger individuals. There are many risks associated with the drug usage which can be characterized both short term and long term. Short term risk may include getting away from studies, poor relationship with family and friends, risk of injury or loss of possession whereas damage of the respiratory system, developmental problems, dependence etc. are going to affect the drug user in the long run.

A society where adolescence and independence are associated with drugs finds more young people taking drugs. Parental monitoring and the influence of peers have a strong relationship with the adolescents' use of drugs (Steinberg, Fletcher and Darling, 1994). The study found the negative relationship between the use of drugs by adolescents and the parental monitoring. Whereas if an adolescents' peers are involved in the substance use then the experimentation with the drugs is also increased by him/her. Parental monitoring plays a significant role in keeping the teenagers from using the substance but the community has to play its role at large to seek the improvement in the long run and to avoid the risks. Young children are curious, careless and blindly followers of the media; hence more chances are there that indulging in drugs is riskier, unsafe and dangerous for them than the adults.

White (2012) suggests that the role of the fathers is very important in the life of the children if they have to be kept away from smoking. Maternal smoking and frequent time spent with peers increase the likelihood of smoking in adolescents which in turn causes depression, damage of the respiratory system, lung problem, sleep disorder and chronic health problems. An initiation of smoking must be prevented to avoid the risk of drug intake at a later stage as the association is very strong and significant (Korhonen, 2010).

The burden of drug usage is not only massive for the users' health but also has a devastating impact on a society and an economy at large. Loss of productivity, expenditure on medical budget, higher crime rate, increase in accidents etc. are the major consequences of addiction in USA (Volko and Li, 2005). The young generation which is an asset of any society, if found addicted, can cause the downfall of any economy. To satisfy the lust or desire of the drugs one may go to any extreme. The loss has not to bear by the affected families but the overall prosperity and progress of the country also becomes risky.

The risks of experimenting with drugs are equally unsafe for all users but are much