The sixties saw the rising popularity of mind numbing drugs and other hallucinogenic substance abuse among the youth. This remarkable social illness was accompanied by host of other anomalies like gang violence, sexual promiscuity, teenage rebellion and many more. The dismantling of conventional family structure also played a major role indrug abuse preventionefforts.Drug abuse preventionamong the youth is a challenging task. Drug abuse is a social evil and it can affect any of us.
Fordrug abuse prevention, one needs to have a clear idea about identifying the signs of drug abuse. There is no singular way to understand when an individual has ventured into drug experimentation. But there are several ways to recognize the changes. There are changes in his appearance, attitude and mannerisms.
These are the indicators of a sudden change in the person. His social activities, also usually undergo a drastic change. He can change his circle of friends who like him avoids communication with parents and act rather suspiciously. There can be a change in involvement in group communication and activities. He might lose motivation towards achieving his prior goals. He can become unwilling to help his peers and family. Parents should be alert enough to these sudden changes of behavior patterns and attitudes. These are the first few steps of understanding the process ofdrug abuse prevention.
This idea of parental awareness can help us understand the basic procedure ofdrug abuse prevention. If there is little or no strong parental and family support, drug abuse prevention becomes a distant goal to attain.
To tackle this rampant problem, early education is the primary concern. We cannot afford the time to let our child enter the adolescences, before we start talking to them about the hazardous effects of drug abuse. Nowadays children are exposed to the enormity of violence and drug abuse on TV. Video games are loaded with murky details of violence. For these reasons a truly successfuldrug abuse preventionprocess should begin at the early stages of a child's life. Anddrug abuse preventionemphasizes that it will prevent the use of drugs. Once a person has forayed into drugs, he is beyond the stage ofdrug abuseprevention. He reaches the rehabilitating and curing stage.
Early education and consciousness building about the damaging consequences of substance abuse, is a crucial factor indrug abuse prevention. This process can take different forms as well as involve many segments of our society. The first and principal criterion is parental guidance. A structured leadership in one's home is significant to the accomplishment of successfuldrug abuse preventionprogram for adolescents and children.
Educators and teachers play a huge role in convincing the kids. They can help them to understand the dangers of drug abuse. Children usually set a role model and in most of the cases he turns out to be one of the mentors in school. The teachers can help the students to initiate the program ofdrug abuse prevention. They are the people who can really contribute in the fight ofdrug abuse prevention.
Religious organizations should involve themselves in this battle. Another way ofdrug abuse preventionis to create like minded peer groups. They understand each other better and are supportive. It is easy for them to share the feelings and convince their friends to quit and start a new life altogether.
Every one of us must try to contribute in the tough task ofdrug abuse prevention.
sobriety
