In this module, participants see how the social pressure associated with using drugs and alcohol distracts them from achieving their goals, disrupts their lives and the lives of those around them, and ultimately proves to be self-destructive. Participants also develop an awareness of why people abuse alcohol and drugs and identify the mental, physical, and emotional health implications. The fear and loneliness of experiencing new situations and emotions can be so overwhelming that without family and community support, drugs and alcohol seem like sources of relief. If young adults feel badly about themselves, or life in general, they may turn to drugs for a quick fix to their problems. Here the participants learn that drugs and alcohol only make their problems worse.
The media, however, helps to celebrate artists who have a deleterious effect on the lives of young adults. For example, one of the top 40 singles of 2001 was Afroman’s "Because I Got High," a hip-hop anthem making light of the detrimental effects of marijuana. It’s this perspective and the behavior of teen idols like gangsta rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg, who was arrested for possession last year during his Puff Puff Pass tour, that encourages adolescents to embrace drugs and alcohol as a fun way to party, be creative, and blow off steam.
Using their critical thinking skills, participants compare the real effects of alcohol and drugs with the inaccurate messages they get from billboards and print media. No one wants to be a marketing victim and we’ve found kids really respond to analyzing the falsehoods presented to them in advertising.
For those teenagers already experiencing difficulties around their addictions, this module provides a directory of 12-step programs and support options and information about rehabilitation and treatment programs.
There’s no shame in having a problem with alcohol or drugs. The shame is NOT doing something about it.
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| GOALS & OBJECTIVES
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- Identify the role of substance abuse mental, physical, and emotional-health
- Develop an awareness of why people use and abuse alcohol and drugs
- Understand the role that peer pressure plays in substance abuse
- Identify a variety of resources for support and recovery for substance abuse
- Analyze and compare advertising and peer
messages with the truth about mental and physical effects of drugs
and alcohol
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