Gateway Drugs

Wrong Turn

What are Gateway Drugs? • Some types of gateway drugs include alcohol, marijuana, inhalants and abuse of prescription drugs.

• They are called gateway drugs because--for many drug addicts-- they were a “gateway” to the use of hard drugs such as meth, heroin, and cocaine.

• Gateway drugs cause a psychological dependence that requires more of the drug to get the same effect; therefore, users often begin experimenting with other drugs to achieve the same high.

GATEWAY DRUGS CAN BE ACCESSED EASILY

1. How do you think the boys know so much about drugs?

2. Why might the boys be against drugs?

3. Would it be difficult for the boys to get their hands on drugs?

Elementary and middle school students are becoming more involved with gateway drugs.

•1 in 4 teenagers smokes cigarettes.

•Every day, on average, 11,318 American youth try alcohol for the first time

•7.2% of 14- to 15-year-olds report using marijuana in the past month. That’s an average of 3 kids in every math class of 40 students. By the time these kids turn 16 and 17, that number will double.

Heather’s Story:

At 13, I started drinking and smoking pot and cigarettes. By 17, prescription pill popping and alcohol were not enough. Friends told me meth would do the trick. After the first try, I wanted nothing else. I was invincible—I stopped going to work, I got fired, I stopped going home to my family, all to get high. With nowhere to live and no job, meth was my only concern. I started stealing and doing odd jobs to get drugs. On the lowest day of my life, coming down from a 3-day high, vomiting, dehydrated, and sleep deprived, I was in desperate need of medical attention—with no one sober enough to help me. That last high almost killed me.

“Everybody else is doing it, why shouldn’t I?

It is illegal for you to use or possess alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana!

Teen smokers have smaller lungs and a weaker heart than teen non-smokers. They also get sick more often than teens who don't smoke.

Children who are drinking alcohol by 7th grade are more likely to report academic problems, substance use, and delinquent behavior in both middle school and high school.

Persistent use of marijuana will damage lungs and airways and raise the risk of cancer. There is just as much exposure to cancer-causing chemicals from smoking one marijuana joint as smoking five tobacco cigarettes.

Marijuana use reduces learning ability. Research demonstrates clearly that marijuana limits the capacity to absorb and retain information.

Researchers believe that THC levels of marijuana have been on the rise since the '70s, meaning that pot may be stronger and more dangerous than ever before. Also, pot may be laced with crack cocaine or LSD.

The younger you start using any drug the more likely that it will become a problem.

The use of gateway drugs may lead to dangerous situations.

When you start using a gateway drug, you are likely to try other drugs – ones that may be more harmful, more addictive, and put you in more danger.

Talk with your friends, family and teachers about the dangers associated with gateway drugs. You may save a life. It may be your own.

Wrong Turn