Gulf News

Youth devastated by drugs

- By Aakriti Rikhi

Substance abuse in the modern world has become as common as the use of curse words. There are far more cases of substance abuse among teenagers compared to adults. What is the root cause of this substance abuse being so common?

Students are naive and easily influenced. They turn to such drastic options when they are going through something in their life. They don’t know what’s good for them and trust their friends to help them get through tough times. These friends, however, might not always mean well. They might encourage them to do bad things. People try such substances once and get addicted. The cycle continues. It stops when the person is fully broken mentally and is consumed by the substance. Substance abuse is a matter that should be taken seriously by schools and parents. If not dealt with at the right time, there would be no going back. Every day India witnesses many suicides due to drug abuse. Is this a matter of concern or not? Shouldn’t schools have weekly surprise checks?

In the US, mandatory drug testing in public schools is a law which was introduced in the 1980s. In 2001, the New

York Times estimated that hundred out of the nation’s 60,000 school districts require some form of drug testing. Adolescent­s may think this random drug testing to be an ‘invasion of privacy’, but isn’t it important if by even the slightest chance, that one of them is a victim of this substance abuse. So, put a stop to substance abuse, before it stops you!

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