There are many types of drug prevention programs across the United States and many of them focus on school-aged children. The basis of this focus is the belief that this is the portion of society that can be influenced the most in education and prevention of drug use. Many school- aged children view drugs as a big problem in the United States, according to surveys that have been conducted. The majority of parents however are unaware of the current drug trends and many do not discuss drugs with their children. In this report I will be discussing some of the drug prevention programs that are currently in effect and look at one of the past drug prevention programs that was a success. During the 1990’s there were numerous drug campaigns that were saturated in the media. The most effective of these campaigns was, “Just Say No.” It was a simple concept, and studies have shown that it lowered the drug rate use during that time among school-aged children. There is no current program in effect in today’s society that is being spread through the media to this degree. The reason for this is partly due to the fact of the numerous budget cuts throughout the United States, and the declining social conditions. “By law, every K-12 school in the country receiving federal money must have a drug prevention program starting in Kindergarten. But these programs vary widely, from one-shot assemblies to multi-week courses (Glazer p.657).” One of the popular school based programs is D.A.R.E. known as drug abuse resistance education. This program uses uniformed police officers to teach classes on how to say, “No” to drugs. One of the problems with this program is that it leads to the perception that drugs are a legal issue, rather than a problem in s... ... middle of paper ... ...e are many different religions in the world, with many varying beliefs, however they share many of the same basic values that the United States as a whole has seem to have forgotten. I also believe that the faith based program’s focus on all of a drug users problems, and help correcting them is a great start in the fight against drugs. Like many of the problems that we face in our society, there is not going to be a quick fix to the drug problems that we face. The only way to fix the problem is to have society as a whole come together and begin setting new standards. References Glazer, S. (1995, July 28). Preventing teen drug use. CQ Researcher, 5, 657-680. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/ Glazer, S. (2001, May 4). Faith-based initiatives. CQ Researcher, 11, 377-400. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/
The best chapters in this book were the last two: Prohibition and School Daze. Here the author touches on the underlying effects of this phenomenon and the war on drugs. He can’t believe that after prohibition the country did not learn its lesson the first time. Moskos believes we can learn a lot from the tobacco crusade, which reduced tobacco use by half without jailing any smokers. Moskos offers many suggestions for public policy, officer training, and drug rehabilitation.
Robertson, E. B., David, S. L., Rao, S. A., & National Institute on Drug Abuse (2003). Preventing drug use among children and adolescents: A research based guide for parents, educators, and community leaders (2nd ed.). Bethesda, Md: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Kids start being introduced to drugs at a very young age because the first interaction with them is being told not to do any of them. Most kids have no idea what drugs are until this program is introduced in elementary schools telling kids not to do drugs. In “There’s No Justice in the War on Drugs”, Milton Friedman talks about the injustice of drugs and the harsh reality of being addicted to drugs, and the causes or side effects that come along with them. The author clearly argues the “war on drugs” and uses analysis and data to prove his argument. The author agrees that the use of government to keep kids away from drugs should be enforced, but the use of government to keep adults away from drugs, should not be enforced. The author has a clear side of his argument and the audience can clearly see that. He argues against the “war on drugs” claim that President Richard M. Nixon made twenty-five years ago, he adds ethos, logos, and pathos to defend his argument, and uses a toulmin
The War on Drugs is believed to help with many problems in today’s society such as realizing the rise of crime rates and the uprooting of violent offenders and drug kingpin. Michelle Alexander explains that the War on Drugs is a new way to control society much like how Jim Crow did after the Civil War. There are many misconceptions about the War on Drugs; commonly people believe that it’s helping society with getting rid of those who are dangerous to the general public. The War on Drugs is similar to Jim Crow by hiding the real intention behind Mass Incarceration of people of color. The War on Drugs is used to take away rights of those who get incarcerated. When they plead guilty, they will lose their right to vote and have to check application
The biggest question people ask is if the “war on drugs” was successful. According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), “The goals of the program are to reduce illicit drug use, manufacturing and trafficking, drug-related crime and violence, and drug-related health consequences.” The best way to measure the effectiveness of the “war on drugs” is to focus on these basic questions; Is drug use down? Is crime down? and Are drugs less available? Since 1988, drug use by individuals ages 12 and over has remained stable according to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). The number of individuals reporting any drug use has increased by approximately 7 million and the number of those who reported drug use in previous months or previous years has remained unchanged. The Organization Monitoring the Future studies drug use, access to drugs, and perspectives towards drugs of junior and senior high school students nationwide. Results of a study conducted in 2005 showed a minor decline in substance abuse by older teens, but drug use among eighth graders stopped remained the same. However, the changes were not statistically significant and ultimately there was no reduction in substance abuse among young students. Crime in the United States has decreased significantly since 1993, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. On the other hand,
Law enforcement must turn their attention to the people buying the drugs. To stop drug users from using drugs is for them to seek help through rehab or other social agencies. Most drug users turn to drugs due to personal problems they are afraid to face which has negatively affected their financial means and relationship. Therefore, by sending drug users to rehab centers and not jail would encourage them deal with their underlying problems, get clean and be productive in life to overall improve their well-being. The fourth goal is to restore the quality of life in urban communities by ending street level drug dealing. To disrupt the sale of drugs being pumped into the community, law enforcement must patrol the streets of high drug-dealings to discourage the sale of drugs and target dealers in those areas. This would deter the selling of drugs in these areas, decrease drug consumption and reduce drug-related crimes. The fifth goal is to help prevent children from experimenting with drugs. Most adult drug users started exterminating with drugs in their preteen or teenager years. Teens are more prone to using drugs because they are impressionable. They want to fit into a popular group or to deal with problems at home. Children must be taught the dangers of drug use and its consequences as preventing early use of drugs may go a long way in reducing the potential of drug use and can
staff members teach the children about drug prevention and the effects of drugs on the
Everyday people are peer pressured and influenced into multiple unhealthy behaviors. Acts such smoking, alcoholism, and unprotected intercourse are frequent issues in any lifestyle. Friends, family, and especially the media have a way of twisting a person’s mindset into believing these unhealthy choices are safe. Currently, the most reoccurring phenomenon is issues with drugs. More often than not, there are reports on people misusing and abusing drugs, particularly celebrities and athletes.
We claim that we need to "set a good example," but the government's every effort to impress fear upon our youth, to stigmatize drugs and drug users, has failed to have any effect.... ... middle of paper ... ... Ideally, I would not have to persuade my readers with facts.
Years ago, the common image of an adolescent drug abuser was a teen trying to escape from reality on illegal substances like cocaine, heroin, or marijuana. Today, there is a great discrepancy between that perception and the reality of who is likely to abuse drugs. A teenage drug abuser might not have to look any further than his or her parent’s medicine chest to ‘score.’ Prescription drug abuse by teens is on the rise. Also, teens are looking to prescription drugs to fulfill different needs other than to feel good or escape the pressures of adulthood. Teens may be just as likely to resort to drugs with ‘speedy’ side effects, like Ritalin to help them study longer, as they are to use prescription painkillers to check out of reality. Pressures on teens are growing, to succeed in sports or to get high grades to get into a good college (Pressures on today’s teens, 2008, theantidrug). Furthermore, because prescriptions drugs are prescribed by doctors they are less likely to be seen as deleterious to teens’ health. A lack of awareness of the problem on the part of teens, parents and society in general, the over-medication of America, and the greater stresses and pressures put upon teens in the modern world have all conspired to create the growing problem of prescription drug abuse by teens.
Glazer, Sarah. “Preventing Teen Drug Use.” CO Researcher. 28 July 1995: 659-662. Mack, Alison.
The "War on Drugs" Palo Alto: Mayfield, 1986. Kennedy, X.J., Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Jane E. Aaron, eds. The Bedford Reader. 6th ed. of the book.
However, the idea of prohibiting and decreasing are different. By even decreasing a small percentage, it could save hundreds of lives and thousands of dollars for taxpayers. Actions such as mass media campaigns, social work, psychological, and therapeutic strategies and counseling, community organizations and strategies, and much more can be very beneficial and will decrease the amount of drug use while not completely abolishing it, in case of an
High school students are leaders to younger kids and many others in their community. As a leader these student must show others what good character is like, but instead they are destroying their lives by doing drugs. In the past decade the drug use among high school students is on the rise once again. With the internet, their exposure to drugs is much greater. High school students are convinced that they are able to get away with using drugs. These drug addicts soon influence other students into doing the drugs because there isn’t a rule preventing drug use. In order to protect these student’s future, drug tests must be enforced among all students ensuring a safe environment for students to learn successfully. Allowing random drug testing in high schools will shy away students from trying these harmful drugs. The stop of drug use among high school students is crucial because drugs prevents student from learning leading them to dropping out of high school. Students that become overwhelmed by these harmful drugs will ruin their lives forever, but if steered in the right direction they can be saved.
Certain drugs can be injected via a syringe or needle, smoked, ingested through the nasal cavity, and even laced into certain foods and eaten. Unfortunately, in certain areas, drugs can be very easily obtained in an unsafe environment. Usually, drugs affect teenagers the most who are in their high school and college years. It is reported that teenagers can get their hands on narcotics at a myriad of places in their daily lives. They can be found: In the medicine cabinet, at home, at a neighbor’s house, online, a friend, at schools, and at parties. Nowadays, with rapid advancement in drug development, kids as young as 16 can cook and grow their own drugs in their homes. Neglect of strict attention or drug awareness among parents can result in teenagers buying or selling drugs routinely in their