The Truth About Drugs and Teens:

FORWARD - DRUG ESSAYS BY TEENS IN JUVENILE HALL

When I began my career, I worked in a Juvenile Hall correctional facility located in northern California.  As the teenage residents would misbehave, rather than send them to their rooms for hours, I requested they write me a one page essay on any subject of my choice.  On topics pertaining to drugs, it was touching to see the depth of some of the wards and to read of their experiences from home written on paper.  It was astonishing to see the numerous mistakes and the poor writing skills of teenagers who would have otherwise been in high school.  It became evident that these teenagers had little knowledge about the facts of illegal drugs.  This motivated me to educate myself about all kinds of narcotics so I could share the truth with them.  Although the names have been changed for confidentiality purposes, the following are real essays and statements that were written in Juvenile Hall by the teens who lived there.  All of the errors are authentic:

Why shouldn’t teens use drugs?

Teens shouldn’t use drugs because it is really bad for tem ad their lungs get all bad and out of shape. - Curtis, Age 16.

Why Shouldn’t Teenagers Experiment with Drugs?

The reason why teenagers shouldn’t experiment with drugs is because the [they] might do something stupid and kill somebody or really hurt some body very badly.  Another reason why teenagers shouldn’t use drugs is because you might strung out or hooked on it.  Another reason why teenager’s shouldn’t do drugs is because they might over dose.  Another reason why teenager’s shouldn’t use drugs is because they might get skinny and be poor because and spent all there money up on drugs and they might end up in jail for possession of drugs and might start acting different and they might end up doing stuff they don’t want to but the must steal or kill somebody to get the money to buy the Drugs and another reason is because they will steal anything to sell to get the drugs.  Another reason why they shouldn’t be experimenting with drugs is because they have a full future in front of them.  Another reason is because it takes away their worries and tricks them into thinking that there are better off high and not realizing that it makes them dummer [dumber] in the long run.  Plus they destroy they brain cells for a 30 minute high.  That is why teenagers experiment with drugs because of curiosity. -Paul, Age 16.