Teenagers may be involved with legal or illegal
drugs in various ways. Experimentation with drugs during adolescence
is common. Unfortunately, teenagers often don’t see the
link between their actions today and the consequences tomorrow.
They also have a tendency to feel indestructible and immune to
the problems that others experience.
Using alcohol and tobacco at a young age increases the risk of
using other drugs later. Some teens will experiment and stop,
or continue to use occasionally, without significant problems.
Others will develop a dependency; moving on to more dangerous
drugs and causing significant harm to themselves and possibly
others.
Adolescence is a time for trying new things. Teens use drugs for
many reasons, including curiosity, because it feels good, to reduce
stress, to feel grown up or to fit in. It is difficult to know
which teens will experiment and stop and which will develop serious
problems.
