Essay On Teenage Drinking

As “Party in the USA” played in the background, I remember jumping up and down, with my friends, in the cafeteria of my middle school. I was at my 8th dance, having what my thirteen years old self believed was the best night ever. The night ended quickly when a rumor spread that someone spiked the punch. It turns out the punch had not been spiked but two kids had been drinking that night. At thirteen years old that was my first encounter with underage drinking and it wouldn’t be my last. Teenagers drinking and drug use is not a secret in society, it happens quite often. College is where majority of underage drinking and drug use occurs, but it is rising in popularity with high school students and even middle school students. “By the 8th grade, 28% of adolescents have consumed alcohol, 15% have smoked cigarettes, and 16.5% have used marijuana” (11 Facts). With each generation, alcohol and drug use is starting younger and younger. The younger a person is when they start taking drugs and alcohol, the greater chance of addiction and health problems. (Lost Innocence). Teenagers do not understand the full effects that illicit substances have on them. They see friends, and family participating in these activities; making them think it is all right if they do it. …show more content…
Drugs, such as marijuana and cocaine, were extremely popular. Many parents don’t see their teens drug use as a problem. According to the article Marijuana and Kids: it is a Big Deal by Prevent Teen Drug Use “The average potency of today 's marijuana is 244% higher -- yes, you read that right -- than the average potency of marijuana smoked in the 1980s. As a result, today 's marijuana is more addictive and harmful” (3). Drugs are becoming stronger and more harmful to the brain and rest of the body. Even if parents are not encouraging their teens to use drugs, they are not always punishing their kids if they are caught doing