Currently, the whole world is getting affected due to the curse of drug addiction. In the United States violence and substance use play an important role in disability, premature death and social problem among youth. Alcohol and drugs contribute in interpersonal violence and Homicide has become the main cause of death among black and Hispanic youth in the age range if 15-24 years (Richard Lowry et al, 1999).
There are many driving forces, which affect young people and they use drugs. They can be influenced by their family or friends who use drugs or sell it or do not directly show its use (Information Brief: Illicit Drugs and Youth, 2006). Researches say that interpersonal violence can happen due to economic motivated crimes that support the use of drugs. It can also come from the activities like supply and distribution of drugs (Richard Lowry et al, 1999).
Illicit drug use among youth is alarming for parents, communities, schools and governments in the country. In 1979 the rate of using drugs among youth grew faster but it reduced in 1980s. During 1992 and 1997 it increased again. Since that period the growth of using drugs like heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana have got stable or have decreased (Information Brief: Illicit Drugs and Youth, 2006).
Young people’s perception for illicit drug is influenced by their family members, friends and media etc. This affect can be either positive or negative. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse’s (NHSDA) findings depict that almost 17% were the cases of current users of marijuana. 0.5% of those drug users reported that either all of their friends used marijuana or none of their friends used marijuana. NDIC’s questionnaire found out that many young people learned to use drugs from their friends, family, peer and media sources. One of the media source like prime time news program has affected the young people a lot by showing drug information in a detailed manner where the method of taking drugs is also taught (Information Brief: Illicit Drugs and Youth, 2006).
It is disappointing that many parents do not understand the importance of positive influence of preventing their children from making use of drugs. National Drug Council Policy’s 2001 report discover that 52% parents of the 12- 13 year old children understand that surveillance of their children can reduce the chances of their using drugs (Information Brief: Illicit Drugs and Youth, 2006).
NHSDA 2002 reported that children aged 12 or older participated in a survey where they were asked questions related to illicit drug like heroin, cocaine, marijuana. They weere asked questions like how easy or difficult as for them to use such kinds of drugs and also if someone ever approached them to sell these drugs. Their evaluation was made on the basis of gender, age, county in which they lived when this survey was conducted.
The main age range of the respondents was in between 12 to 17. Availability of Illicit Drugs among Youths (2004) further mentions that approximately 3 million youths were found using drugs of such kinds and the use of marijuana was the most in the past eight months. For 55 percent of all youths felt comfortable while using marijuana. Females were found more comfortable in using cocaine, heroin and LSD but marijuana was taken more easily by female and male both (Availability of Illicit Drugs among Youths, 2004).
Availability of Illicit Drugs among Youths (2004) reported that young people from metropolitan areas could get LSD or cocaine more easily than those who are living in small metropolitan or non metropolitan cities. The same views could be observed for using marijuana and crack among young people those who were living in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan. Approximately 17 percent young people reported that they were approached in the past few months by the people who sell drugs. Males were the main target than the females. The report further mentioned that the young people who were living in metropolitan cities were approached mainly by the people who sell drugs than the people who were living in nonmetropolitan cities (Availability of Illicit Drugs among Youths, 2004).
The relationship between interpersonal violence and substance has not been studied very well in school settings. Interpersonal violence in school comes from the external factors. A study of inner city high school students investigated that gun related crimes which happen in or outside schools are mainly related to sociodemographic factors outside the school, carrying a gun and selling and using drugs. Recent studies and national survey on high school students investigated that use of illegal drugs can be related with weapon carrying on school related property. The study further mentions that availability of illicit drugs in school property is the main indicator of school violence like physical fighting, weapon-carrying, damaging, threatening and injuring companions (Richard Lowry et al, 1999).
Moscovici et al (2001) justify the reason why young people use drugs. They state that people require communicating what they think and their only resources are their ideas, feelings, beliefs and attitudes. They use these ideas for maintaining their relationship with the world. They also try to look into their environment and the facts of daily life. Such kinds of explanations try to find out relationships in the happenings of young people and this situation push them to be drug users.
Young people do not try to look in to the things reasonably. They do not want to understand what they are feeling or thinking are justified relationships or what. They try to justify their addiction and think it is based on their primary needs and the result is that in a casual relationship they consider their family as the origin of susceptibility which makes them also susceptible (Bertha Lidia Nuno –Gutierrez et al, 2006).
Basically the explanation of drug use among young people has enthused between the three elements of family problems, vulnerability and influence from other people. For this purpose the two categories have been described (Bertha Lidia Nuno –Gutierrez et al, 2006):
- Subject Emotional Vulnerability: It was seen as a result of living in the family where problems like not proper attention, faulty communication with parents and the feeling of being ignored could be observed.
- Being susceptible pressure from other people: Here the reports say that drug was intervened by a close friend who tried to improve psychological distress and affective needs (Bertha Lidia Nuno –Gutierrez et al, 2006).
Surveys also investigated that there was no difference between males and females while using drugs. Young people also mentions that their neighborhood favor drug use that is why it was very easy for them to get drugs available and many of their friends were the users of drugs. Finally it was understood that drugs became the means of satisfaction of those needs of the young people which were not satisfied by their families like feelings of well being and peer groups were understood the means of finding out that feeling of well being in the world of drugs (Bertha Lidia Nuno –Gutierrez et al, 2006).
It is said that people who commits crime do this because of their upbringing. As they were not given proper education in their early years by their parents or guardian, they do not know hat is right and wrong for them. Researches say that these criminals were young too. It means as these criminals were not pointed out in their early years, they turned into big criminals. Juvenile rehabilitation works for this purpose only. The aim of rehabilitation is to correct these juvenile’s wrong deeds so they do not become the threat to the society. Generally juvenile rehabilitation does not follow any strict rules. They believe that juvenile offender is different from others. Their treatment varies from one juvenile offender to another juvenile offender according to their requirements and offenses (Juvenile Rehabilitation for Delinquent Children).
Now a day we can see that these rehabilitation centers have not been as effective as they used to be. Many juveniles feel that they are less important for anyone or they do not matter to anybody so in this case it become the responsibility of rehabilitation centers to reach out to these children as soon as possible. For captivity juvenile rehabilitation should not fix any budget rather they should keep half of the budget for rehabilitation programs. The centers should believe that effective transformation starts only in the early age. If these steps are taken there would be fewer juveniles for rehabilitation (Juvenile Rehabilitation for Delinquent Children).
Reference List
“Availability of Illicit Drugs among Youths” (2004) The NSDUH Report.
“Information Brief: Illicit Drugs and Youth” (2006) National Drug Intelligence Center. Web.
“Juvenile Rehabilitation for Delinquent Children”, Rehabilitation Today. Web.
Lowry R et al (1999) “School Violence, Substance Use and Availability of Illegal Drugs on School Property among US High School Students”, Journal of School Health, Vol 69, No. 9.
Nuno Gutierrez B et al (2006) “Why do Adolescents Use drugs? A Common Sense Explanatory Model from the Social Actor’s Perspective”, Adolescence, Vol 41, No. 164.