Illegal Drugs and the Young - Research Paper Example

Illegal Drugs and the Young This study was intended to investigate the genetic factors which may be influencing the use of drugs by young people. The study used 92 participants of ages between 16 and 25 and investigated how genetic issues affect the way a young person is likely to use illegal substances or abuse legal drugs. While putting on hold together factors that may lead to illegal drug use, the study investigated the genetic factors by comparing the number of participants who had other family members (close or distant), who also abused drugs. Of these, over 50 % of them had relatives who did not stay with them, thus ruling out the issue of environmental influence. Introduction Drugs are a big problem in any society and as Robertson (2003) points out, young people are most affected by the use of drugs. There has been a question of how and why many young people start using drugs. Scholars have identified some factors which lead abuse of drugs by the young people. For instance, Naqshbandi (2012) identified that a majority of youth use drugs as a way to cope with poor economic conditions. According to this study, economic issues have a double effect on the impact they have on young people using drugs. First, young people without employment are more likely to be involved in drug dealing. Most drug kingpins use the youth for distribution of these drugs because this helps them to be able to reach to the younger people who are a major part of the market for the drugs (Leonard, 2007). The second way in which unemployment and economic factors affect the use of drugs by these younger people is because most of the young people use drugs to cope with their economic and financial issues. Hammarström (1988) on the other hand identified that the media has a contribution in the increased use of marijuana. In the past few years, there have been debates on the media with regard to the use of such drugs as marijuana. Most of these debates, most of them in the firm of TV documentaries, have seemed to favor the legalization of marijuana (Allen, 2014). The argument being that marijuana is not harmful and in some cases that it has health benefits. As Palmgreen (2001) found in his study, a lot of young people have been encouraged by these debates to start using drugs because they don’t see the risk anymore. What is worse is that marijuana is always seen as an entry drugs and those who use are much more likely to use other riskier drugs such as cocaine heroin and meth. In fact, this study identifies that well over 80% of the youth who use cocaine and meth admit to have started with a milder drug such as marijuana. However Sandersm (2012) has disputed this argument and identified that that are other factors that have a more fundamental impact on the way a person is likely to issue to use drugs. According to his study, environment was the most likely precursor to a person using drugs. The study identified that most of the young people using illegal drugs had common environmental factors which affected the way they used drugs. Poor parenting was quoted as the most important factor in determining the tendency of a young person to take drugs. The study investigated the ability of parents to deal with their teenage children and identified that parents who were not able to deal with their children during the teenage crisis were likely to have children who will use drugs. What is important is that although these young people may not start using the drugs during the teenage crisis period, they are likely to use drugs later because they are more likely to have unresolved issues which will affect them in later years. Hypothesis of the study Many studies have been involved in researching external factors which affect the chance of young people using drugs. However there are very few research projects which have involved themselves with researching the genetic predisposition in the use of drugs. This is an important issue since some genetic issues can be responsible in determining whether there are any links between the drug users and their genetic composition. Due to the fact that genes are responsible in determining people behavior, character and personalities, it is necessary to investigate how they affect a person’s tendency to use drugs. It can be argued that genetic are responsible in a significant way in determining the persons tendency to use drugs. Methodology To investigate the matter, 92 young people of ages between of 16 and 25 were involved in the study. They were requested to take part in the study and did this as per their own will. For those under the ages of 18, their parent’s consent was also received as a way to protect them. The study investigated two issues. First issue was the age at which the individual participant was first introduced to drugs. The second one was to investigate any relationship between a history of drug abuse in the participant’s family and their use of drugs. The first five questions were used as an orientation part to help the participant to orient himself or herself to the study and the issue of drugs. This was done deliberately with the knowledge that most of these young people are people who are likely to lie about some facts in case they feel insecure. The next five questions were designed with the intention of identifying the ages at which the participants were introduced to the use of drugs. The question gave information about the age at which the participant used the drugs for the first time and which drugs they used first. The last five questions were geared towards identifying any genetic tendencies. The questions were geared towards identifying whether there were any other family members who used any form of illegal drugs. According to the data received, more than 73% of the percent young adults who were interviewed said they there was a history of drug abuse in their extended family. Of these, only less than 30% had spent time with the family member or members who had abused drugs before them. Interpretations The data collected indicate that there is a reliable correlation between the use of drugs and the genetic composition of an individual. The data indicates that those who in their family had a member who had been involved in the use of drugs had a much higher tendency to use drugs. Biases This study only considered the impact of genetic competition of a person in determining their use of drugs. In this regard, the study refused to focus on other factors which are definitely important in determining whether a person will use drugs. Factors such as environment, economic issues, social pressure and availability of drugs were ignored for the purpose focusing on the issue of genes. The study also refrained from considering other important factors with regard to genetic relations. In this regard, any participant who had a family member who had abused drugs before them was considered as a candidate for genetic predisposition for drug use. Discussion This study was geared towards investigating the use of drugs by young people and the main factors affecting this. The study specifically wanted to look at the importance of genetic factors and how they may be contributing to the use of drugs by young people. The aim of the research was as a result to close the research gap in this area as many studies in the past have investigated other factors such as environment, economic issues and social influence. The hypothesis of the study was that genetic factors were important in disposing an individual to use drugs. The study was important in identifying that genetic factors are important in determining the use of drugs. Although genetic factors on themselves are not enough to predispose a young person to drug use, there is a high correlation between the use of drugs by young people and their genetic predisposition (Hornik, 2002). This indicates that there exists need to make sure that these factors are looked at in a very serious way. The results indicated a very close relationship between family history with drugs and the tendency of young people not sure drugs. This indicated that there is a genetic predisposition towards the use of drugs by young people. These results were agreeable with the hypothesis of the study. The results indicated that over 73%b of the respondent had a person in their family who had abused drugs before them. However, this issue alone would not be enough to indicate a genetic predisposition to drug use because it could also indicate an issue with environed. For instance, if a teenager used drugs and a member of the family also used drugs before them, it could be interpreted that the environment was a determining factor in making the young person use drugs. To overcome this paradox, a further data analysis was done which compared the spatial proximity of the participants who had a relative using drugs and the relative. This comparing of data indicated that of the 73 participants who had family members using drugs, only less than 30 % lived in close proximity with the affected relative. This ruled out the possibility of the issue of environment. Recommendations The fight against drug use especially drug abuse by young people is an issue of national importance due to the negative impact drug abuse has on the society. By identifying the fact hat genetic predisposition has a major impact on the use of illegal drugs by young people, it becomes necessary for policy to be geared towards dealing with this issue form this angle (Redda, 1999). Policy makers should be able to deal with the issue of drug abuse by young people by preventing the matter from an early age. Parents and the whole society should be involved in making sure that young people who are at the highest risk of being genetically predisposed to drug use are protected from this menace. Reference list: Allen, P. (2014, March 03). TV commercial promotes legitimacy of medical marijuana. Retrieved March 17th, 2014, from Philadelphia Business Journal: http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2014/03/03/tv-commercial-promotes- legitimacy-of.html Hammarström, A. (1988). Youth unemployment and ill health: Results from a 2-year follow-up study Social Science & Medicine, Vol. 26, (10) , PP. 1025–1033. . Hornik, R. (2002). Public Health Communication: Evidence for Behavior Change. Lomdon, UK: Routledge. Leonard, B. (2007). Marijuana: Facts for Teens. New York, NY: DIANE Publishing. Naqshbandi, M. (2012). Drug addiction and youth of Kashmir. . International NGO Journal Vol. 7(5), , pp. 84-90. Palmgreen, P. (2001 ). Television campaigns and adolescent marijuana use: tests of sensation seeking targeting. American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 91(2) , PP. 292–296. Redda, K. (1999). Cocaine, Marijuana, Designer Drugs: Chemistry, Pharmacology, and Behavior. New York, NY: CRC Press,. Robertson, E. et al. (2003). Preventing Drug Use Among Children and Adolescents: A Research- based Guide for Parents, Educators, and Community Leaders. New York, NY: DIANE Publishing. Sandersm, B. (2012). Drugs, Clubs and Young People: Sociological and Public Health Perspectives. New York, NY: Ashgate Publishing. Read More