Teen Drug Use is in Decline...Are You Surprised?
According to the White House, a study by the University of Michigan is reporting that 25 percent fewer teens are using drugs today than they were seven years ago. That means a decrease of 900,000 teens.
While many people see Christian teens as being immune to the pressures of using drugs, you know better. You know that even Christians struggle with everyday pressures from peers, and the pressure to use drugs is no different. It can be hard for some Christian teens, especially if they are not surrounded by others that share their faith at school or at home.
Still, something has to be working to decrease the number of teens using drugs so significantly. What do you think? Is it really prevention, treatment, and enforcement like the Bush administration is stating or is it something else? Feel free to share your thoughts in a comment below.
Comments
I think the decrease in teen drug use has been influenced by many factors. One big one is education. I have been taking school-mandated DARE (Drug Awareness Resistance Education) classes, taught by police officers and HUDDLE (Helping Us Develop Dedication, Leadership Together) classes, taught by older students, since the first grade. While some may say that these types of classes don’t affect the kids who are at risk for using drugs, I disagree. Since we are bombarded from all sides by this information from a young age, most kids get the “Just say no” message before they get the “Drugs are cool” message. This is just one small example, but programs like this certainly have helped.