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Welcome to my blog! Here, I will log my adventures in a world, that will strive to see me fall into society's twisted sins and lies. Am I a saint? Well, no...but my intentions are to be a reflection of what I know and believe.



And that is to find my identity.


Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Drugs, Alcohol, and Sex: Is Everyone REALLY Doing it?

I hear about the various things teenagers do at parties or other private events and I wonder, "Where are the parents?". If I was using and abusing alcohol or drugs, I wouldn't be able to hide it from my mother. I'm way to open and honest, not to mention the fact, that she can read me like an open book. Another problem that I commonly hear about is the amount of teenagers having sex with numerous people, just for the heck of it. These vices or modes of entertainment are dangerous and can cause serious issues in all aspects of the teen's lives--physically, mentally, and emotionally.


Centurycouncil.org states, "More than 1o million youths, ages 12 to 20, in this country report that they have consumed alcohol in the past 3o days. The rate of current alcohol consumption increases with increasing age according to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2.4% at age 12 to 22.4% at age 16, and 56.7% at age 20." When I began typing this post, I wasn't really fired up about the issues I have presented, BUT, following that fact, I am amazed. To think that more than 50% of 20 year olds, the one passing you on 400, the girl purchasing a Nibblerz meal at Zaxby's, or the guy mowing the lawn two doors up, consume alcohol. It's a dangerous percentage and it will continue to increase like Centurycouncil.org predicted.


The National Institute on Drug Abuse released a series of statistics including, "Daily Marijuana use increased among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders from 2009 to 2010. Among 12th graders it was at its highest point since the early 1980s, at 6.1 percent. This year, perceived risk of regular marijuana use also declined among 10th and 12th graders, suggesting future trends in use may continue upward. In addition, most measures of marijuana use increased among 8th graders between 2009 and 2010 (past year, past month, and daily), paralleling softening attitudes for the last 2 years about the risk of using marijuana. Marijuana use is now ahead of cigarette smoking on some measures (due to decreases in smoking and recent increases in marijuana use). In 2010, 21.4 percent of high school seniors used marijuana in the past 30 days, while 19.2 percent smoked cigarettes.Steady declines in cigarette smoking appear to have stalled in all three grades after several years of improvement on most measures." These are also horrifying statistics. I can't imagine that just over 20% of our high school's seniors have used marijuna in the past 30 days. I am strongly against such use and I am appalled to see such numbers.


The Gutt Macher Institute said on the topic of sexual activity, "Although only 13% of teens have ever had vaginal sex by age 15, sexual activity is common by the late teen years. By their 19th birthday, seven in 10 teens of both sexes have had intercourse. (Gutt Macher Institute received their information from the National Survey of Family Growth 2006–2008, Vital and Health Statistics, 2010, Series 23, No. 30.) My heart continues to grow heavier and heavier as I write this post because these three issues in teenagers are things I'm against. There is a slight glimmer of hope because Gutt Macher Institute also stated, "In 2006–2008, the most common reason that sexually inexperienced teens gave for not having had sex was that it was “against religion or morals” (42% among females and 35% among males). The second and third most common reasons for females were “don’t want to get pregnant” and “haven’t found the right person yet.” (Gutt Macher Institute received their information from the National Survey of Family Growth 2006–2008, Vital and Health Statistics, 2010, Series 23, No. 30.) Although I can not personally change the world, I can only hope that the startling statistics continue to change people's minds.











http://coronadocommonsense.typepad.com/.a/6a00e55417fcfd88340120a962357d970b-500wi. 3 March, 2011.

http://www.michaelshouse.com/blog/parental-watch-list-for-teen-marijuana-use-and-addiction/. 3 March, 2011.

http://blindgossip.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/woman-pregnancy-test1.jpg. 3 March, 2011.









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