Teenage drug addiction is so common that “Approximately two million teens between the age of 12 and 17 currently need treatment for a substance abuse problem, but only about 150,000 get the help they need” (Project Know). One may be wondering why teen drug abuse is common at such a young age. Why are teens not trying to stop drug addiction and abuse? Some may also be wondering what is happening to teens that don’t get the help they need. There are many reasons teens use drugs and they have many effects on teens that are hard to overcome (Project Know). Teenagers today use drugs for many reasons. For example, “ Teens abuse drugs for different reasons. Most teens say they take drugs to get high, but others use drugs to escape stress from school …show more content…
The reason being that when drugs have been used, the chemicals that are in the drug permanently damage the way nerve cells send, receive, and process information. This could result in mental problems. Some being depression, personality disorders, or even suicidal thoughts. For example, teens addicted to drugs suffer from “Death from suicide, accidents, and illness much more often than other teens, than teens who avoid drugs. Teens who share needles and other drug paraphernalia can contract diseases such as HIV. Many drugs damage to body’s immune system, too, making it more difficult to recover from minor illnesses” ( Drug Rehab). The reason is that the teen’s brain is still developing. Therefore teens are prone to addiction leading to mental problems. Mental problems can lead to their relationship with friends and family to suffer, grade drops, health problems, getting in trouble with law enforcement. The most severe consequence of using drugs through is death. While some of these side effects could go away not all will. “The immediate sensations associated with drinking or using drugs include relief, silliness, euphoria, and happiness. These side effects are short-lived, through. The happy feelings are often followed by headaches, drowsiness, nausea, dehydration, exhaustion and fever” (Drug Rehab). The immediate sensations also have to do with teens thinking that their brains are developed when they aren’t. (Drug Rehab and Project