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To: TheDrug EnforcementAdministration (DEA)
From: (Your name)
Subject: Establishment of Drug Abuse Education Program to Control Drug Abuse Amongst the
Youths in America
Definition of the Problem
Drug abuse has been very common among the youths in not only the United States of
America but also the entire world at large (Grant 225). According to the study carried out by
Bennet et al (23), 47% of youths interviewed confessed to having used drugs in one event or
another in their lives. Out of the 47 %, majority of the youths confessed having used/are using
Cannabis Sativa (26 %), 18% confessed having been used/are using alcohol and 3 % said that
they have used Cocaine. There are some who had already been addicted to drugs.
Drug abuse is not a recent trait, it has been a social vice and problem for the longest time
(Cardoso 124). Youth who start engaging in drug activities while at school end up failing in
classwork because they lack concentration at school. Johnston (21) argues that students who
take drugs may end up being failures in life if they do not stop because there is a higher
percentage that such students will drop out of school. A person might learn from his/her friends
to start using drugs (Grant 231). Peer pressure has been the major reason why youth engage in
drug abuse. One youth can influence a group of ten to 20 youths to start abusing drugs.
California states have been ranked notorious when it comes to youths abusing drugs in
America. This has led to many robbery related activities around the state. Many people are being
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robbed day in day out because of the high level of drug abuse among the youths. There is a great
relationship between the abuse of drugs and crime (Johnston,54). The major reason that makes
youth start engaging in crime when using drugs is to get quick money to finance their lifestyles.
Most of the youths for example depend on their parents and guardians for financial support.
However, the financial support they get from their parents may only be enough to cater for their
basic needs such as food and shelter and therefore when they start using drugs, they are forced to
look for alternative ways to get money for drugs (Rezk 76). Most youths have been shot dead
trying to commit crim and when medical tests are taken, they are found under the influence of
drugs.
Drug abuse has also led to broken family ties between parents and their children because
as parents try to advise their children to stop using drugs, arguments arise. It is very difficult to
convince an addicted person to stop using drugs. The person will only think that you are trying to
disrupt his “happy” lifestyle. Most drug addicts believe that drugs are their sources of happiness
and therefore when a person tells such a person to stop using drugs, he/she believes that the
person is trying to obstruct him/her to pursue their happiness (Rezk 94). Abuse of drugs can
bring along an anti-social behavior within users which might lead to a person running into
unnecessary arguments with people around him/her.
Drug abuse also leads to several mental and physical health difficulties such as anxiety,
depression, respiratory complications, liver complication, kidney dysfunction, and heart
complications just to mention but a few (Grant 241). Withdrawal symptoms that result from long
abuse of drugs have also detrimental effect on the health of the user and sometimes the detox
process can be life-threatening. A person who is showing withdrawal symptoms cannot do any
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activity before taking drugs. For instance, a student who has withdrawal symptoms might find it
difficult to hold a pen because of the shaking of the body that results from the withdrawal
symptoms of the drug (Cardoso 126). Drug abuse among youth has been a burden for the Drug
EnforcementAdministration (DEA) agency and the whole government at large and that is why it
is grouped as both social and personal problem.
Drug and substance addiction is recognized by the majority of medical professionals as a
brain illness, but is often misunderstood by many people. Persons who have never suffered from
drug reliance or have not had close contact with an addict often don’t realize how destructive and
all-consuming the disease of addiction can be (Everitt et al 28). Such people see drug and
substance addicts as people who can’t do without drugs and have chosen to do something illegal
by law. However, addiction is far more complex than that and there are many underlying factors
that influence a person’s susceptibility to addiction, including depression, trauma, and pain.
Solutions and Recommendations
Drug abuse amongst youth has been one of the major social problems in the United States
of America and therefore I think it is the right time to come up with a solution that will solve this
problem once and for all. Most youths engage in drug and substance abuse because of a lack of
knowledge about how harmful drugs are (Everitt et al 31). Many are dragged into abusing drugs
by their friends due to peer pressure and when they decide to give a try, that is how they become
addicted. Coming up with Drug Abuse Education Program will help create awareness to the
youths about the negative effects of drug abuse. The program will comprise experts from both
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government and non-government agencies to ensure that there is enough funding. Youths should
also be included in the group of experts that travels from one place to another to sensitize youths.
This will help targeted groups of youths to know that the program has no ill-motive against them.
The program will have doctors and other drug specialists who will talk about the mental and
physical health complications associated with drug abuse and addiction (Alam-
mehrjerdi,79).Law enforcement officers should also be part of the program to talk about legal
action that could be taken if a person is found abusing drugs.
For this program to be successful, it will require $500,000.1/4 of the money ($250,000)
will be used to hire experts, fuel the cars, and also print T-shirts that will help pass information
about the negative effects of drug abuse. $100000 will be used to build rehabilitation centers that
will accommodate youths that have decided to say “NO” to drugs. The remaining money will be
used to outsource jobs for youths who have agreed to stop using drugs. I would recommend
parents and the entire society at large to also play a role in educating their children about the
effects of abusing drugs.
Conclusion
Drug abuse has affected almost 47% of youth in America with the majority of them
engaging in criminal activities to buy drugs. Many youths have also been forced to drop out of
schools due to drug abuse and therefore coming up with a solution to stop this will be a great
milestone. If my proposal goes through, it will reduce by 90% drug abuse among the youth, and
therefore it is my prayer that it should be embraced.
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Work Cited
Alam-mehrjerdi, Zahra, et al. "Drug use treatment and harm reduction programs in Iran: A
unique model of health in the most populated Persian Gulf country."Asian journal of
psychiatry16 (2015): 78-83.
Bennett, Andy, and Paul Hodkinson, eds.Ageing and youth cultures: Music, style and identity.
Routledge, 2020.
Cardoso, Jodi Berger. "Running to stand still: Trauma symptoms, coping strategies, and
substance use behaviors in unaccompanied migrant youth."Children and Youth Services
Review92 (2018): 143-152.
Everitt, Barry J., and Trevor W. Robbins. "Drug addiction: updating actions to habits to
compulsions ten years on."Annual review of psychology67 (2016): 23-50.
Grant, Bridget F., et al. "The 12-month prevalence and trends in DSM-IV alcohol abuse and
dependence: United States, 1991–1992 and 2001–2002."Drug and alcohol
dependence74.3 (2014): 223-234.
Johnston, Lloyd D., et al. "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-
2019: Overview, Key Findings on Adolescent Drug Use."Institute for Social
Research(2020).
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Rezk, Sameh. "United nations office on drugs and crime." (2017).
