Posted: May 15th, 2022

Drug Use

First, read the following article:

Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., R. A. Miech; Bachman, J. G., and Schulenberg, J. E. (2017). Monitoring the future national results on adolescent drug use: 2016 Overview of key findings on adolescent drug use. Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research, the University of Michigan. Retrieved from http://www.monitoringthefuture.org//pubs/monographs/mtf-overview2016.pdf (Links to an external site.)

Note that the Johnston et al (2017) article is not from an academic journal article. It is, however, known nationally as a very credible paper. The proper APA citation for your References section is:

Johnston, L.D., O’Malley, P.M., Miech, R.A., Bachman, J.G., & Schulenberg, J.E. (2017). Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975-2016: Overview, key findings on adolescent drug use. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan. Retrieved from http://www.monitoringthefuture.org//pubs/monographs/mtf-overview2016.pdf (Links to an external site.)

The Johnston et al. (2017) article is a long one, but there are a lot of graphs and reading is very interesting.

This activity calls you to reflect on your present occupation or expected career and use the knowledge provided in the Johnston et al. (2017) article to describe the kinds of issues or problems you have faced, you are facing now, or will be facing. You can do this regardless of your specific occupation or career goals. You may take the perspective of a parent, retail worker, teacher, probation officer, police officer, or whatever. I would like this perspective to be from a police officer’s view.
Address the questions:

What challenges do you anticipate facing from the use and abuse of drugs in your future (or present) position? Consider your work environment.
How can you be better prepared to meet those challenges?
List three things that you learned from this article that you will perhaps “take with you” after this class is over. That is, information you’re likely to remember? Elaborate here. Don’t be superficial. Supply some details
In addition, find at least one academic journal article published in the last 17 years (year 2000 or more recently) that relates to some aspect of the Johnston et al. (2017) article. Describe how this journal article relates or sheds light on any issue, or assertion, or conclusion that you read in Johnston et al. Remember, let the reader know you read the full-text article, and not merely a summary; elaborate, provide some details from your academic journal article. A good way to do this is to provide details as well as comment on any strengths and/or weaknesses of the journal article.
Drug Use
This involves the use of any illegal drugs. It becomes drug misuse when one uses it in a way that is not healthy and not prescribed by the physician. It could be heroin, cocaine, or marijuana. As a police officer, the challenge I am anticipating to face in the future is curbing the spread of new drugs in the market. New drugs are constantly being introduced in the market and their effects are unknown. Without this knowledge, they are being bought and used by the youths mostly as they seek new drugs experiences. Curbing the manufacturing of these new drugs in the black market would be challenging since most of them are unknown. Most of them are manufactured with new harmful chemicals and also are not tested and results in health injuries and also deaths. Prohibiting their sales may also be a great challenge since tracking these manufacturers is tricky.
Studying about and having great knowledge about these drugs and those that were used in other generation will help during the drug awareness campaign. Informing the youths of the consequences of these drugs will help create better awareness. Investigating the black market tycoons will help during the search for the drugs manufactures. Since they tend to be the same people who dealt with the drugs before. I have learned about the generational forgetting, whereby most new drugs pre-existed in a few generations before and their effects were adverse thus being forgotten they are re-introduced again. Example methamphetamine it was widely used in the 1960s and came back in the 1990s after their previous use faded due to the adverse effect accompanied by its use. LSD, inhalants, and ecstasy have also similar patterns. Even though their use has decline they pose danger to the future generation due to resurgence. I also learned that prescribed drugs like amphetamines, sedatives, and tranquilizers are mostly misused by the female gender, while the male has a high misuse of narcotic drugs.
Specific drugs have certain determinants that influence their use. These determinants include their perceived benefits, the consequences that may result from its use, peer norms about its use and the availability of these drugs. The benefits of the drugs tend to have a widespread impact, unlike the consequence that may result. Thus many youths use these drugs without the knowledge of its impact and end up hurting their health.
Prescribed drugs can also be dangerous and addictive as illegal drugs. They are mostly abused when one takes the drug not meant for themselves, taken for a different use than the prescribed one. Taking the drug for non-medical reason is also abuse. Drugs with dextromethorphan are mostly abused because in high does one feels drunk or intoxicated. Most teens who use drugs are at risk of getting addicted when they become adults. They use it mostly for experiment purposes and just because they use doesn’t mean they are addicts. These experiments result from curiosity, peer pressure, stress, and emotional struggle. They may also use these drugs due to low self-esteem, female students often turn to hard drugs as a way to lose weight. This journal shows the cause and also signs that may help to determine if one is using drugs.
Bloodshot eyes, bad grades, laughing for no reason, secretive behavior, and smell of smoke from breath or clothes. Also, loss of interest in activities may be a sign that one is using drugs. Parents, teachers and health providers should be aware of these signs to establish preventive measures (Murray, 2018).

Reference
Innov clin neurosci. (2011, December). Early Detection of Illicit Drug Use in Teenagers. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257983/
Murray, K. (2018, June 4). Teenage Drug Addiction. Retrieved from https://www.rehabspot.com/drugs/who-addiction-affects/teenage-drug-addiction/