District
3
Grand
Prize State Winner
Why
I will say NO to Alcohol and Drugs
by
Chelsea Seidel
Look
around you. Your community, your school,
your friends and family. Drugs and alcohol
can be anywhere, Most people do not know
the full extent of the horrors that come
from abusing alcohol and drugs.
How
many more people need to be hurt? Alcohol
is the leading substance teens are addicted
to. According to the Crossings Recovery
Center for drugs and alcohol, 71% of all
murders, 50% of all rapes, 41% of all
assaults, 60% of sex crimes against children,
60% of child abuse, and 55% of arrests
overall are directly related to alcohol.
Ten thousand people from ages fifteen
to twenty-four are killed each year in
the United States in alcohol related accidents.
On average, 6,488 try marijuana, 2,786
try cocaine, and 386 Americans ages twelve
to twenty try heroin everyday. 15% of
twelve to seventeen year olds use tobacco.
The addictive drug in tobacco, nicotine,
can kill a person with one pure drop.
One cigarette contains ten milligrams
of nicotine but only two milligrams are
absorbed into the body. These numbers
are intolerable.
To
you, someone on drugs may look normal,
but can be the very opposite. On the inside,
they want to smoke or drink more. Because
drugs are so addictive, you get pulled
into using more. Some people drink alcohol
in excess just because they think it is
not as dangerous as drugs. Substances
that make your body act differently in
a attempt to get "high" mess
you up. They affect the way your body
and mind function. Most of the time, you
do not even know you have lost control
until it is almost too late. Anyone can
do drugs or drink alcohol and they many
try to mask their problems.
I
say no. When I was little, I made a promise
to myself that I would not do drugs, smoke
cigarettes, or drink alcohol. My promise
will never be broken. The support I have
from my friends and family keeps me strong.
I do not partake in activities that harm
my body and I try to help others that
do. If they cannot get the help they need,
I find someone who can. By getting someone
help, you can save him or her. Your actions
can influence others to make a positive
change.
Not
just one person can solve this problem
suffered by so many. Everyone working
together can put the brakes on this train
of increasing drug and alcohol abuse.
How about you? I know I made the right
choice by saying NO to alcohol and drugs.
Bibliography
Benowitz,
N.L. Nicotine. On-line.
http://teens.drugabuse.gov/facts/facts_nicotine1.asp,
December 12, 2005
Specialists
at Crossings Recover Center. Facts on
alcohol and other drugs. On-line. http://www.crossingsrecovery.com/pages/factson.html,
December 12, 2005
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