Drugs + your life.

• Position: HEADS UP REAL NEWS ABOUT DRUGS AND YOUR BODY: A Message from Scholastic and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA

Drugs don't just mess with your brain and body, they mess with your life. Behind every statistic are teens who thought, "It won't happen to me"--but it did. In addition to addiction and other health problems, using drugs can also have real and serious consequences for other aspects of your life. The information to the right is just a glimpse of their impact.

Bad Grades

High school students who use marijuana are 1.5 to 2 times more likely to have a C average or lower as students who do not use marijuana. (1)

Accidental Death

Drivers ages 16-20 are 17 times more likely to die in a crash when alcohol is involved. (3)

Violent Behavior

Teens who have used drugs in the past year are about 2 times more likely as teens who have not used drugs to be involved in violent behavior. (2)

Could it Happen to You?

The "times more likely" examples on these pages compare a teen's chances of experiencing a particular consequence if a teen uses a specific drug versus a teen not using that drug.

Consider the two diagrams to the right. If each banana peel represents a chance to slip, you are three times more likely to slip in the scenario presented in the lower diagram.

Blackouts

Drinking large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time ("binge drinking") causes blood alcohol levels to rise very rapidly. This quickly impairs a person's balance, motor skills, and decision making, and can also cause a "blackout," a period of time for which an intoxicated person cannot remember key details about a specific event or the event itself. Intoxicated persons risk losing control of what happens to them before, during, and after a blackout, and can find themselves in dangerous or unwanted situations. Because of how females metabolize alcohol, they may be at greater risk for blacking out. (4)

Think About It:

* What kinds of unwanted situations can people find themselves in if they drink too much?

* What is an example of a consequence from drinking too much that can't be undone?

* Why do you think the loss of control caused by drinking too much is similar to giving someone...