WOMEN’S BODIES: ABUSE OF DRUGS DURING PUBERTY
There are lots of reasons why young people take drugs: to experience the effects; to get high with their friends or because others in the gang have tried them; in an attempt to relieve emotional distress; to relax, wind down and lighten the pressure (which is why most adults use them); probably rarely because they’re drawn into it by unscrupulous drug pushers.
You might start experimenting with drugs just to see what the sensations they I produce are like, and fortunately most I young people can leave it at that. But their use can easily become a habit (especially if you think it solves your problems) and some can trigger the onset of psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia or manic-depressive disorder in susceptible people.
Parents worry most about the illegal drugs such as LSD, heroin and ‘crack’, amphetamines (speed) and marijuana (cannabis, grass, dope) but it seems that relatively few teenaged girls use these drugs. Much more common among high-school students is the abuse of substances that are cheap and relatively easy to get: sniffing substances such as glue, lighter and dry-cleaning fluids, petrol and thinning solvents (thought to be used by more than half of all 14-year-old girls) and abuse of painkillers and tranquillisers (used by around three out of ten Year-10 girls).
These are all dangerous. Most kids who sniff things don’t know about the risk of sudden death during use and possible damage to brain, nerves, kidneys, liver and heart from chronic use. Some painkillers can cause stomach bleeding and prolonged use can damage your kidneys. You can become addicted to tranquillisers very quickly.
Use of illegal drugs can lead to addiction, severe damage to health and loss of life from overdose. There are also the risks of criminal charges for possession of these drugs, and of becoming involved in prostitution or criminal activities such as stealing to get the money to buy them.
Marijuana (cannabis) is the most commonly used illegal drug. About one in four teenagers uses it, and even more people in their twenties. It isn’t addictive like most other illegal drugs, meaning that you don’t become physically dependent
on it or get withdrawal symptoms if you don’t have it. There’s a hot debate about how dangerous it is and whether it should be decriminalized. Some important points against it are as follows.
• It is as dangerous to driving as is alcohol. The combination of drink, dope and driving is disastrous.
• Other drugs of abuse (such as alcohol, heroin, tranquillisers) are single chemicals. Marijuana is a complex substance containing more than 400 known chemicals. While we know something of the 60-odd that affect the mind, we know nothing of the long-term effects or dangers of the others.
• Cannabis is stored in body fat. Though its effects on the mind last only a few hours, it takes around a month to clear the body of all the chemicals from a single joint.
• Marijuana can be an escape for some teenagers. It can stop them
from facing difficult questions of who they are and what they want in life. If you’re using it as an escape it’s important to see a counsellor who will help you face the real difficulties.
Drug abuse is big trouble. Let’s hope this is one type of risk-taking you’ll keep well away from. If you’re worried about drug abuse you can get help from your local community health centre.
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