Written by: Diya Bajracharya - 22032, Grade XI
Posted on: 10 January, 2022
Drug addiction has become a global issue, particularly among youth. Many young individuals become addicted to a variety of narcotics and stimulant medicines, which have a narcotic effect. Addicts' lives are ruined in every way because they lose contact with their families and live in a parallel universe. They spend a lot of money on drugs and then look for illicit ways to get money. According to NIDA International, more than 90 percent of the total drug addicts in Nepal have started using drugs prior to the age of 16. The large numbers of drug addicts have been found to be between the ages of 16 to 20 Drug usage has resulted in the spread of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, and other sexually transmitted diseases, as well as drug addiction (STDs). It has been shown that heroin addicts and other intravenous drug users (IDUs) are more prone to getting these disorders. The number of IDUs is believed to be 20 thousand among 60 thousand drug addicts. Sixty-eight percent of these IDUs have HIV, and the majority of them take multiple drugs.
Adolescents are particularly prone to drug and alcohol abuse. They're in a stage of life where pushing limits and testing boundaries is normal. Teens are also subjected to a great deal of stress as a result of their developmental stages. Their bodies are changing at the same time as their brains are developing. Anxiety and social awkwardness are frequently caused by a difference between the two. Teens may be encouraged to try drugs by their peers, have easy access to drugs, use drugs to rebel against their families or society, or take an illicit drug because they are curious about it or the pleasure it provides. Teenagers exist in a grey zone between childhood and maturity. As a result, kids grow up with significant feelings of stress, uncertainty, self-doubt, pressure to succeed, and other concerns. There are many causes for teenagers having contact with drugs. Indirect pressure is when someone sees everyone around using drugs. Even if a person had no intentions of using drugs one might do it just to be considered "cool" by their friends or peer pressure. Just as teens do, parents have their own images of what someone with a drug problem looks like, and it can be as extreme as the child’s view. These preconceived notions help parents stay in denial of a potential problem. Parents are usually chained with societal stereotypes, according to the older mental reference toward drugs is “ biggest taboo in our society”. But it should not be taken very leniently and should not be dealt with in solidarity.
Youths are referred to as moldable clays and can be shaped in desired shapes. In the same way, young people are heavily influenced by western culture and Hollywood cults. Mostly the drugs were from the west and they spread with cultural exchange and also with western dominance all over the world. There are many more drugs in variations being sold. But the police don’t have that note regarding it. But to create a healthy environment we need to make youths clean and the country and society prosper.
