Why teens do drugs?

One reason often heard from people using drugs is that they do them to feel better. In reality, it feels good because most drugs act directly on the "pleasure center"--the limbic system--in the brain. The first few times it may be considered recreational use. Some might light up a cigarette at a party. They may not consider themselves a "true-smoker," but they do it to feel good or to "look cool".  Their problem? Drugs don't care what the reason you have to use them. The same effects occur whether you're drinking to have fun or drinking to forget a problem, whether you're doing drugs to see how they feel or doing them to be one of the crowd. People do drugs to change the way they feel. Often they want to change their current situation. If they're depressed, they want to become happy. If they are stressed or nervous, they want to relax, and so on.

Teenagers often take drugs because they want to fit in. No one wants to be the only one “not participating”. No one wants to be left out. So sometimes they make bad decisions, like taking drugs, to cover-up their insecurities. They don't think about how drugs can isolate you from your friends and family. They forget what happened on the last time they used them and how things turned out. Or maybe they just don't realize that other people around them who aren't using drugs.  Lots of teens would also do drugs because they want to escape or relax. They often say things like “I’m so stressed, I need to get messed up!” or “Drugs help me relax” or anything along those lines. What they're really saying is "Drinking or doing drugs is just easier than dealing with my problems or reaching out for help." The thing is, the problems are still there and sooner or later they have to deal with them.

Most teenagers take drugs because they want to rebel. Sometimes people turn to drugs not so much for themselves, but to make a statement against someone else, such as their families or society in general. Somehow taking drugs makes them outlaws or more individual. The problem is that by taking drugs it will eventually rob these people of their ability to be independent, because it makes them dependent--on drugs and their drug connections. Teens also do drugs because they want to experiment. It's human nature to want to experiment. Trying things out helps you decide if they're right for you. But it's also human nature to avoid things that are obviously bad for you. You wouldn't experiment with jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge or the Grand Canyon; you know it will not turn out the best. The point is, there are a million better things to experiment with -- sports, music, dying your hair, seeing bad movies, eating spicy food... than getting involved with alcohol, tobacco or other drugs.

In conclusion by taking drugs, people often think they can be the person they want to be. And for a while, that illusion seems to be the truth.  The problem? It isn't real. You haven't changed a thing; you've only distorted it for a little while, like in a day-dream.