Drug abuse is one of the major social problems facing society. Many young people have resorted to use illicit drugs, and this has raised concerns. The problem of drug abuse has been a major concern in most of the western industrialized nations from early 1960s. Drug abuse has caused many negative impacts in the lives of young people in the society.
Some of these effects include health problems, injuries, social problems, morbidity, violence, crimes, deaths, suicides, motor vehicle accidents, psychological addiction, unprotected sex, physical dependence, academic redundancy and school dropouts (Burke, 2003, p. 31). The effects of drug abuse have necessitated government interventions to manage the problem. Other organizations have come up with different programs and policies that help prevent and manage drug abuse among the youths.
Regardless of the many intervention measures that can be adopted to solve this problem of drug abuse, the most effective intervention measure is to create awareness to youths to enable them change their behaviors and avoid temptations of using drugs.
According to Midford (2010), prevention is better than treatment (p. 1688). Youths should be educated and counseled on the dangers of using illicit drugs (Midford, 2010, p. 1688). For instance, educators and the government should come up with education syllabus that specifically teaches youths on drug abuse and the effects.
Such programs will help youth to acquaint themselves with skills and knowledge on the effects and the dangers of using drugs, hence, reducing the number of youths who are addicted to drugs. The program should center on issues that deal with abused drugs such as cocaine, heroin and marijuana among many others, which should be avoided. It should also caution youths on peer influence. Students and the youth need to choose their peers well to avoid bad companies that may indoctrinate them to use drugs.
In such programs, drug users and youth should be provided with information on the heath implications and examples of people who have used drugs in their lives and the effects they faced. Such sensitization will trigger change in behaviors as well as deter those intending to engage in drug abuse from doing so.
Furthermore, they should also be warned of the stern measures that are taken to the drug users if found using illicit drugs. This will help them change their behaviors (Schachter, 2012, p. 41). It is also important for parents to be included in these awareness programs. They have the responsibility of ensuring that their children grow up well and do not use illicit drugs. Parents’ model enhances their children attitude and establishes relationships in their families (Midford, 2010, p. 1688).
Therefore, they should be at the forefront of inculcating good morals and virtues in their children by showing them the right direction and discouraging the use of illicit drugs. They should also provide a good description of drugs and other medicines and keep them off from their children reach. Youths indulge in drugs due to curiosity, or because their friends are doing so. In addition, upbringing of children is a contributing factor which should be put into consideration.
The area of concern is drug abuse due to its impacts on society. Therefore, I hypothesize that this problem of drug abuse can be mitigated or managed through the creation of awareness to the vulnerable members of the society.
References
Burke, T. (2003). Warning: drugs cost the earth, New Statesman, 132(4644), 31.
Midford, R. (2010). Drug prevention programmes for young people: where have we been and where should we be going? Addiction, 105(10), 1688-1695.
Schachter, R. (2012). A New Prescription for Fighting Drug Abuse, District Administration, 48(2), 41-42.