Teenagers who have taken drugs, legal or illegal, are made out to be the scum of the earth because they don’t conform to society’s expectations. But, people have always wanted to discover what experiences the world has to offer. The teenage years are when a person begins to feel independence from their parents for the first time, but often the individual does not feel they have enough independence. It is now that many youth’s seek a way, not always knowingly, to segregate themselves from there peers.

Alcohol or tobacco is often the first substance to be experimented with, as these are the most easily obtainable in early to mid adolescence with marijuana (and cocaine for the more ‘well-off’ teenager) becoming available in the later years. However these very rarely develop into a major problem, with the individual continuing with everyday life and often abandoning the habit during or shortly after the end of education. Drug abuse usually only continues when the youth is a victim to the darker side of life. Youth’s living in inner cities are at a moderate risk to continue to use drugs well into later life along with those who suffer from illness this can range from eating disorders and depression to chronic illnesses.

It’s much too easy to blame the teenage rebellion, which has been apparent for many decades, on rock n’ roll, rap music and ‘the wrong crowd’. Is it not possible that the teenage rebellion has no cause other than to break the stone in which the rules of our existence have been carved. There are not many, if any, people on the face of the planet who can say they have not smoked, drank alcohol, taken drugs and don’t know anyone who has indulged in these activities.

Have people become more open about what they have experienced and that is why ‘statistics’ and ‘figures’ show an increase in drug abuse. Statistics and figures only show the world what someone knows about the world, if a person doesn’t wish to express if they have used drugs, the statistics will be incorrect. Thirty years ago, a person would be shunned by society a lot more than today if they openly used drugs or took part in other lees than acceptable activities. In the bitter world of today are there not more worrying things such as rapists, murderers and paedophiles, surely these issues should be more concerning for society.