Drugs have a negative effect on teens’ development and maturity. Drug use among young people is a severe problem because young people who use them are at risk of arresting their development and their ability to mature. 

Drugs like marijuana are being illegally distributed amongst the younger generations. “Recently, it was found that at least 60 percent of all illicit drugs that pass through adolescents’ and teens’ hands are stored, sold and/or used at their schools. As well, over half of all youths who use recreational drugs have a place on or near school grounds where they can imbibe their substances without getting caught,” journalist Dane O’Leary, wrote for michaelshouse.com. 

 This will later become an addiction. 

 “Young people’s brains are growing and developing until they are their mid-20’s. This is especially true of the prefrontal cortex, which is used to make decisions. Taking drugs when young can interfere with developmental processes occurring in the brain. It can also affect their decision-making. They may be more likely to do risky things, such as unsafe sex and dangerous driving,” according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse an arm of the National Institutes of Health. 

 Drug use is a particular problem for young people because one of its effects on adolescents is killing their motivation and stopping them from reaching their goals. I know people who use marijuana that used to have goals for themselves and care about school. As of now, they are heading down the wrong path because they no longer are motivated for school and even gave up on their goals. This is one of the major negative effects of drugs.  

 Some teens will say that using these drugs help them feel relaxed and bring peace to them when they use them. Drugs might make you feel good but that feeling is unfortunately only temporary and brings along a lot of consequences with it. 

 Another problem with drug use is that drugs can be laced, and if that is the case, the person that does those drugs will never be the same again. Drugs can negatively affect a young person’s life. The most used drugs from young people according to the NIH are alcohol, Tabaco, marijuana, and most recently vaping,  

 “There is still a lot we do not know about the dangers of vaping. Some people have unexpectedly gotten terribly ill or have even died after vaping,” the NIH states.  

 Drugs overall are just a dreadful thing for young people, and it will show later down the line in their life. 

The best way I think we can go about solving this problem is by gathering the young people who use drugs and just sit and talk about their use and how it is affecting them negatively and how to take steps to stop. Starting a prevention program like this involving families, schools and communities will be a start to a stop for drug use in young people.