Have you ever heard of Kid Cudi? The first time I ever heard Kid Cudi was on a vitamin water commercial. He's pretty popular on the West Coast. Have you ever heard the song Pursuit of Happiness? It's super catchy. It goes a little something like this, "Crush A Bit; Little Bit; Roll It Up; Take A Hit Feelin’ Lit Feelin’ Like 2 Am Summer Night I Don’t Care; Hand On The Wheel; Drivin Drunk; I’m Doin’ My Thing Rollin The Midwest Side And Out Livin’ My Life Getting’ Out Dreams.... I’m On The Pursuit Of Happiness And I Know Everything That Shines Ain’t Always Gonna Be Gold I’ll Be Fine Once I Get It; I’ll Be Good." Hm...... I'm not trying to be condemning but these aren't exactly the good wholesome lyrics we want young people listening to, right? Unfortunately many young people are under this impression. That they "will be fine when [they] get it." That this is the pursuit of happiness. See the problem? About ten percent of teenagers in the US ages 12-17 use illicit drugs (Source.) Everyday around 4,700 kids smoke pot for the first time (Source.) And that's just what it says on the internet. I personally think that's an understatement. Honestly, how many teenagers do you know who abuse drugs? How many adults do you know who abuse illicit substances? 21.2 percent of young people ages 18-25 are engaged in drug use. Houston we have ourselves a problem. What about alcohol? For those of us under 21 it is an illegal substance. "In 2009, rates of current alcohol use were 3.5 percent among persons aged 12 or 13, 13.0 percent of persons aged 14 or 15, 26.3 percent of 16 or 17 year olds, 49.7 percent of those aged 18 to 20, and 70.2 percent of 21 to 25 year olds." In my person convictions I would also include tobacco use in a list of illicit drugs. Even if it is legal after the age of 18. If you are a child between the ages of 12-17, 11.6% of your peers are using some form of tobacco. That's just gross. Once again this percentage goes up for people ages 18-25. A whopping 41.6% of young adults (Source.) And guess who the 12 year olds are looking up to? So let's get down to the root problem, why are these kids experimenting with drugs? High school is hard. Many young people feel that they are incapable of handling it all. Depression and low self esteem are prevalent feelings in the lives of high schoolers. When social acceptance is the key desire of young people, drugs are a means to an end. In a world driven by what feels good, drugs make sense. Why not? If parents are the greatest influence on a child, what happens when a parent is abusing drugs? These days it's almost a miracle if a child completes high school clean. Even those most teenagers do not emerge full blown addicts, most have experimented with some illegal substance. So how do we deal with this kind of thing? How do we intervene? We first need to be looking out for the warning signs of drug abuse. Some indicators include: "Physical: Fatigue, repeated health complaints, red and glazed eyes, and a lasting cough. Emotional: personality change, sudden mood changes, irritability, irresponsible behavior, low self-esteem, poor judgment, depression, and a general lack of interest. Family: starting arguments, breaking rules, or withdrawing from the family. School: decreased interest, negative attitude, drop in grades, many absences, truancy, and discipline problems. Social problems: new friends who are less interested in standard home and school activities, problems with the law, and changes to less conventional styles in dress and music (Source.)" Those are just the basics. If you spend any time with someone who is heavily abusing drugs, you'll catch on pretty quick. It just takes spending time with the people in our lives and choosing not to be ignorant. Not overlooking or undermining this issue. What about prevention. I think the best way to ensure that your kids don't use drugs is to not be a crummy parent. Kind of harsh but think of it as a challenge. To be all you can be for your kids. You are their example. Talk to them and be open. Prepare them and teach them how to respond when presented with drugs. Because they will be offered drugs. To start in the right direction, you can:
1. Adopt an attitude of support
2. Build high self-esteem, self-worth, and self-acceptance in children through recognition in success and encouragement in failure
3. Enable efficient and friendly communication lines
4. Educate the children regarding drug addiction and dangers of child hooked on drugs 5. Give children unconditional love
6. Practice positive behaviors
7. Respect the uniqueness of the child (Source)
That is our responsibility. And for those of us who aren't parents just yet (like me), be a role model. Plain and simple. A big thing that's been on my heart lately is the laziness of the church. That so often the church is uninvolved. It is our duty as the body of Christ to come along side of struggling young people and disciple them when their parents fail. And as for the government of this world we be livin' in, article 33 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child says, "States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislative, administrative, social and educational measures, to protect children from the illicit use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances." Pretty clear eh? And yet, here we still have so many kids using drugs. So I come to you with an alternative method. Let's go via the media. When kids will not listen to parents they will listen to people like Kid Cudi. They will watch movies like the Pineapple Express. They will be deceived. What happened if the media was responsible and stopped encouraging and idolizing drug usage? We'd probably live in a different world. Am I right? (Hint: the correct answer is yes.) So who is out there fixing this? Ever hear of D.A.R.E.? If you went to public school in the states then I'm sure you have. D.A.R.E. stand for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. "D.A.R.E. is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons that teaches children from kindergarten through 12th grade how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives." Sound pretty promising if you ask me. Whenever you flip on the tube, you're bound to see an Above the Influence commercial. They're short and to the point. They're that group with the arrow in the circle. What I admire so much about Above the Influence is that they're taking their message to the media. Where kids are influenced. A short witty commercial could change a young person's life. I found a video on youtube about two young people who got into heroine and what it's done to their lives. It's a segment from a video series by ABC but I think it gives a pretty clear idea of what we're dealing with these days. I'll leave you with a final thought. A profound piece of wisdom that someone once told me. "Choose hugs, not drugs."
 Past Month Use of Selected Illicit Drugs among Youths Aged 12 to 17: 2002-2009 |
"Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it" Proverbs 22:6
“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” - Deuteronomy 6: 6-7
*Maybe like teaching them to be drug free?*
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