Rise of Teenage Drug Usage

As a kid, it drove me crazy. Whenever I did anything I wasn't suppose to do or that was harmful to me, my Mom would quote this:

"Sin is such an awful mien,
That to be hated, must be seen,
But seen too often, familiar with face,
First we endure,
Then we pity,
Then embrace."
- Alexander Pope

I didn't always understand everything in that quote, but I definitely got the "first we endure, then we pity, then embrace". According to this statistic , that is exactly what American teenagers are doing in regards to Marijuana. Ponder this quote from the study:

"According to the University of Michigan's annual Monitoring the Future Survey, marijuana used by American adolescents, especially eighth and tenth graders is trending upward for the third year in a row, reversing a decline tracked since 1992.

Two other more worrisome trends were reported in the survey. The age of first time users is dropping, and fewer teenagers believe there are health risks associated with their use of marijuana."

What gives me chills is that more teenagers are using it sooner, and fewer teenagers see the risk. This is huge; as kids embrace drug use as the norm, their sense of danger diminishes. Grades drop, family relationships dissolve, sense of life purpose disappears, and lives are put at risk of death - drug use is dangerous.

"But seen to oft, familiar with face, first we endure, then we pity, then we embrace."