Illicit Drugs: Bringing Down Our Youth

Illicit Drugs: Bringing Down Our Youth
Illegal drug use among adolescents has steadily increased over the last few decades. The United States has only four percent of the world's population, yet we consume sixty-five percent of the hard drugs (USA Today, 2002). Every year more young people are exposed to and are using drugs. These drugs seemed like harmless fun in the 60's and 70's, but thanks to new research and technology we now have scientific proof of the short and long-term side effects of these drugs. The drugs I will briefly touch on are marijuana, one of the easiest drugs to obtain, ecstasy, a drug growing in popularity among high school students, and the non-medical use of prescription drugs.
Marijuana, known by it's street names of "weed", "reefer", and "Mary Jane" is the most widely used drug and the number one cash crop in the United States (USA Today, 2002). The youth of today should be more educated as to the side effects of smoking, but it is not stopping the sharp increase of teens smoking today. …