Most people think of a drug as marijuana or crack cocaine. People often forget that drugs are all around us. They are found in our coffee, our drinks, and our medicine. A drug is anything that changes the way your body would normally function and can be legal or illegal. The most used drug in the United States is in something most people drink everyday. Caffeine, yes caffeine is a drug and can be found in many drinks like sodas and energy drinks. Caffeine is a drug that stimulates your heart and makes it beat faster. Medicines like Tylenol and Advil are also drugs. Drugs can be okay as long as they are used properly. When people with poor judgment like teenagers get their hands on these drugs they can be harmful and even lethal.

Teenagers have the ability to obtain drugs whether they re legal or illegal. Drugs can be especially harmful to the youth because their bodies are still developing and may not be prepared for these substances. Alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana are the three most common drugs abused by teens. These gateway drugs are easy to get, and can be addicting. None of these drugs are legal to teens and marijuana is illegal to anyone. Most students do it because they think it will make them cool or they will be happier when they are high. None of these theories are true and doing drugs actually gives you a bad reputation, not a good one. These drugs are addicting and can eventually lead teens to harder drugs like cocaine and heroine. Kids die everyday from overdosing on drugs, simply because the drugs make them feel like they need it and the kids want more.

Drugs can be found in every school in the United States and must be prevented. One way they can be prevented is by educating kids before it is too late. When teens are abusing substances they feel that the drugs can’t hurt them. The truth is the drugs do hurt them and are slowly killing them. If kids learn at younger ages the harm that drugs do, then kids will be too afraid to even try. Scaring the kids may be more productive then simply talking lightly on the subject. Exposing kids to the dangers could be more beneficial even if they are afraid in the process. Parents should also pay more attention to the kids their children hang out with. If parents can learn what happens when their kid goes out then they can talk to their children and stop or prevent any issues. Substance abuse of the youth is a major problem in our schools and must be prevented. Kids can ruin their futures to drugs and a few minutes of happiness is not worth the lifetime damage that is done.