The impact of alcohol and drugs

Judy Schmidt
Alcohol and drugs have never been a good thing, especially among the youth. The usage of these substances can cause detrimental mental disorders. It slows down the capacity of the brain to think, which automatically negatively affects the performance of learners in school. It then further leads to case known by all - addiction.

The community is affected negatively by alcohol and drug abuse among juveniles as well. Learners can possibly start vandalising and destroying government property. They also start taking part in criminal activities.

Members of the community have raised concerns about this trend. “Substance abuse promotes theft and house-breaking,” Yonelda Eises said.

There are various factors involved as to why learners would do this in the first place. Firstly, peer pressure. Being forced by your peers to either drink or smoke. The availability of alcohol can also promote and increase the abuse of these substances.

There are other factors like poverty and physical and mental abuse, which also increase the odds of developing alcohol dependence.

David Dawid added that if learners are raised by alcoholic parents, they are most likely to drink alcohol as well.

Addiction can be prevented by avoiding these substances as well as raising awareness about their dangers and consequences. Treatment for addicted people through rehabilitation centres can also make a great difference. This includes effective counselling and offering of moral support.

Binge drinking and drug abuse are common practices among young people, which have catastrophic effects in the youth and the community at large... However, we remain optimistic that this situation can be redeemed through awareness campaigns, prevention and treatment, among many other possible mechanisms.