gateway drugs docs

1. Gateway Drugs
 are milder drugs that can open the door to exposure to or experimentation with harsher substances.

2. ALCOHOL
Negatively impacts society
 Factor in nearly half of all murders, suicides, and
accidental deaths
 1.4 million drivers are arrested each year for
D.U.I.
 Impact on Health
 Long term use is linked to depression and physical
ailments, ranging from heart disease to cirrhosis
of the liver
Perceived Benefits
 Reduces tension, enhances pleasure, improves
social skills, and some claim it transforms
experiences for the better

3. CIGARETTES / NICOTINE
- Anti-tobacco group (2011) ten Filipinos die every hour because of
tobacco-related diseases

4. MARIQUANA
- The substance that is most often accused of being a gateway drug.
WHY THE YOUTHS TAKE DRUGS?

5.  Genetic Factors
Biological children of alcoholics reared by nonalcoholic adoptive parents
are found to be more likely to develop alcohol problems than natural
children of adoptive parents
 Emotional Problems
 Drugs help youth control or express unconscious needs

6.  Drug abusers often have an addiction-prone personality, which
indicates that the cause of substance abuse may be traced to a
compulsive need for mood-altering drugs
 Research of narcotic abusers suggest a significant percentage
suffer from psychotic disorders
 Problem Behavior Syndrome
 Substance abuse just one of many problems that begin early in life
and persist throughout
 Youths who abuse drugs are often maladjusted, emotionally
distressed, and suffer from other social problems

7.  Youths who abuse drugs believed to lack commitment
- Dedicate most of their time to peer activities (rather than
family/school/work/community)
- Do poorly in school
- Experience high drop-out rates

8. PROTECTIVE FACTORS FOR HIGH-RISK SUBSTANCE USE
 Parent or family engagement.
 Family support.
 Parental disapproval of substance use.
 Parental monitoring.

9.  School connectedness.