Drug Abuse Is a Crisis Among Millenials

In our generation, there is a crisis among young adults abusing drugs like opioids, Oxycodone and Adderall. This is partially due to the mass media, and social media, which promotes pharmaceutical medication in various ways. For instance, by putting drugs like Molly on apparel and selling it to young adults. Also, celebrities like rappers Lil Xan and Future rap about Xanax and Oxycodone (Percocets) in their music, normalizing the use of drugs.

This type of behavior from celebrities and the mass media is unethical. Teenagers are easily persuaded and can start abusing these substances because their favorite rapper raps about the drugs he or she uses. In my opinion this is unhealthy for our generation. As millennials, we should encourage young adults to stay away from prescription medication.

In the United States, young adults often start abusing pharmaceutical drugs when they enter college. Many college students use a pharmaceutical pill called Adderall which is used for patients with ADHD.

College students tend to abuse this medication in order to be more alert when studying for an exam or doing homework. The problem is they believe that drugs will enable them to perform better by making them more creative and active when doing tasks.

However, that’s not true. Drugs have severe side effects on the human brain, especially in young adults, whose brains are not fully developed. They can cause learning disabilities, brain damage and serious mental disorders.

In 2016, Miami was dealing with the controversy of teens using the zombie drug known as Flakka. Flakka is a designer drug that causes hallucinations and paranoia. A teen who attended Florida State University was abusing the drug Flakka and, while high on the substance, stabbed a married couple to death, cannibalizing someone. Drugs like this are poisoning our society and young minds.

Millennials tend to turn to drugs when they are under a lot of pressure or depressed. There is a crisis of millennials abusing opioid substances, which are pain relievers similar to heroin. Individuals use the excuse that they are in extreme pain or depressed when using opioids.

Millennials use these substances at the highest percentages since 1999. Opioids cause thousands of teen deaths every year. Doctors are trying to prevent the cause of the opioid crisis by creating organizations like HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term), to help millennials stop abusing drugs. It is very easy for teens to grow their own shrooms at home, with guides freely available on the internet instructing teens on how to source powerful psychedelics online.

Creating programs that teach young adults how to deal with stress and depression instead of coping with their issues by doing drugs is one way that our generation can help with this crisis.