Why Kids Say They Use Drugs

If you grew up through your own adolescence ten, thirty, or fifty years ago, you remember what it was like to encounter and try to navigate peer pressure. Throughout the decades, peer pressure was often a top or the number one reason teenagers gave for choosing to experiment with alcohol and drugs. Now, researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are telling us that the number one reason today’s teens cite for using drugs and alcohol is to reduce stress, anxiety, and even depression. Almost three-quarters of teens say that their motivation for substance use is to feel mellow, calm, or relaxed. In addition, they want to stop worrying about a problem or to forget bad memories. Because we live in a sinful and broken world, we all face difficulties in life. Parents, from a young age, teach your children that substance abuse is not an avenue to fixing issues of stress and anxiety. Rather, teach them to go to Jesus Christ, and his promise to carry their burdens.