Substance Misuse by Youth

¶ … Young People Misuse Substances

The misuse of substances involves more than just taking illegal drugs. Youth can also get involved with prescription drugs (either theirs or someone else's), or they can focus on alcohol or other ways in which they can get high (Alexander, Kruszewski, & Webster, 2012). There are reasons why they do this, of course, but those reasons are often highly varied depending on the youth in question. A number of young people misuse substances because of peer pressure (Ksir & Ray, 2002). They meet other young people who are into that particular lifestyle, and they want to be liked, accepted, and appreciated. Because they want those things, they turn to abusing or misusing substances, as well. That gets them accepted by their peers, but shunned by other youth who do not abuse substances. It can also get them failing grades, disease, and an early death, if they continue down that path. While many young people experiment with substances once or even a few times, most either stop at that point or they avoid the experimentation altogether (Walker & Young, 1986).

For those who head down the path of substance abuse and misuse, there are a number of significant issues they should (but often do not) consider. Substance misuse does not necessarily have to be abuse. For example, a young person may not be taking illegal drugs and getting high, but he or she may be taking a friend's anti-anxiety medication because of nerves. Since that medication is prescription and was not prescribed for that person, that is misuse of that substance (Alexander, Kruszewski, & Webster, 2012; Ksir & Ray, 2002; Lowinson & Ruiz, 2005; Nutt, et al., 2007; Walker & Young, 1986). When substance issues are thought of by most people, the concern is generally over abuse of illegal drugs, but there is an entire group of young people who are misusing medications and other substances, and these young people are not really being noticed. When they are not noticed, they cannot get the help they really need to stop the behaviors that can get them into serious trouble with the law and with their family (Nutt, et al., 2007). The misuse of substances can also turn into abuse at a later date.

Once a young person starts taking a particular kind of medication or other substance that is either illegal or not prescribed for him or her, it becomes easier for that young person to continue to take that substance and others (Lowinson & Ruiz, 2005). A "slippery slope" is created, whereby the young person moves from taking only one substance to taking higher doses, and then to seeking out other substances because the effect that was previously seen with the first substance has now diminished. This is particularly significant with medications like narcotics, as these are often needed in higher and higher doses for them to continue to be effective (Nutt, et al., 2007). With that in mind, the young person will build up a tolerance to medications, and will need to continue taking more of them in order to get the same feelings as before. That can lead to an overdose, or to a turn to other, even more dangerous substances, in an effort to continue to feel a particular way. Naturally, the implications of that are easy to determine, and none of those implications are good or valuable to the young person.