Understanding why teens use drugs is key to preventing addiction.

Despite the best efforts of parents, educators and awareness groups, drug abuse remains a core problem for young people. While most who try drugs once or twice don’t go on to develop substance addictions, those who do may suffer from life-long problems.

These problems have never seemed more pressing, amid fears that heroin addiction is on the rise in Vancouver, particularly among the city’s young people. In particular, this stems from a recent rise in the number of teens abusing prescription opiates, and the fear that teens are at risk of using illegal drugs such as heroin when prescription drugs aren’t available.

These fears are fueled by the fact that the past decade has seen a massive increase in the use of prescription opiates for treating pain, coupled with a rise in abuse of these drugs and a rash of high-profile opiate overdoses—including that of Cory Monteith, star of TV’s Glee, who died in Vancouver in 2013.

The reasons why teenagers use drugs are numerous, and understanding those reasons is one of the keys to helping teens resist the temptation.  These include:

• The appeal of advertising: advertising is a powerful motivator when it comes to encouraging teens to use alcohol, and the depiction of drug use in film and TV is such that it too serves to make drugs look appealing.
• Escapism or self-medication: for the 20% of teens who experience depression, or those who are victims of bullying, abuse or assault.
• Peer acceptance, curiosity, or rebelling against parental authority.

What makes one teen more resilient than another when it comes to resisting drugs? Are there any signs we could be more aware of that make one person more susceptible to drug misuse than another? In this insightful article, Raychelle Lohmann examines the different possibilities and what we can do to help.

Awareness is and has always been important, but if awareness were the sole solution, there wouldn’t be a problem. It’s also crucial to understand how and why teens turn to substance abuse — and to ensure that young people have support systems they can turn to when life gets tough.

Mel Hill, Writer and Editor
Victoria, British Columbia

See all articles by Guest Author