What Young People Need to Know About Opiates

When considering opiate prevention efforts and what young people need to know about opiates, there are basic facts and general outcomes. They need to know the basic facts, that opiates are highly addictive — that opiates can cause overdose — that opiates are necessary at times for pain management under the care of a physician. Young people should know it’s very dangerous to buy opiates, or any drug, from a dealer. Some dealers lace opiate drugs with a stronger synthetic opioid, Fentanyl. This opioid is many times stronger than heroin and easily leads to overdose and death.

These are specific, basic facts. What young people need to know in general about opiates and other addictive drugs is that using these drugs will likely interfere with accomplishing goals. Most kids begin thinking about what they want to accomplish as they grow up, like being good at sports, playing a musical instrument, going to college after high school, getting a driver’s license and car when they come of age, having good friends and being popular, etc.

Using opiates gives a person the illusion the world is right and they can do anything, but using drugs can lead to dependence and can prevent the accomplish of goals. At first, it might seem the thing to do to use drugs, and others who use drugs might seem like good friends, but usually the connection with a group of drug-users is the drug itself and not a real bond of friendship. Opiates most often lead a young person to give up sports, forget about a musical instrument, or get in trouble so that getting a car and license are in jeopardy. Nothing positive and lasting happens when a young person starts using drugs. Getting caught with drugs and having this on a police record can ruin the chances of getting into college.

What young people need to know about opiates is if accomplishing goals is important, don’t use opiates or any addictive, mood-altering drugs. The use of opiates that’s not under the care of knowledgeable physician is dangerous for anyone of any age, but the brain of a kid or adolescent is still developing, and mood-altering drugs interfere with the natural development of the young brain — this can cause problems with memory and learning, and can cause such erratic behavior and emotional swings that the young person’s consistently putting themselves at risk. Growing up clean and sober is a legitimate, intelligent choice. Later on when life’s going well and the young person’s accomplishing goals and has many true friends and happiness, looking back they’ll see that those who chose the road of drug use have suffered the consequences. Don’t let drugs like opiates knock you down before getting started.