ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE

For Teens…ANY use is abuse (yes, I know you’ve

heard this before…)

Drugs and alcohol are hijackers…

They are chemicals that jump in to the communication system of the brain and disrupt the messages

They also cause ‘incorrect’ messages For example, because drugs fool the ‘pleasure’ center of the brain, the brain will think it has plenty of the chemicals that normally make you feel good, so the brain will make less of those chemicals!

Why is drug or alcohol use different for teens than adults?

Teen brains are actively growing, more than any other time in the lifespan except for infancy

This means there are more receptors (the places in the brain that allow chemicals to attach) in teen brains

More receptors means chemicals like drugs and alcohol stay in the brains of teens longer than they do in adults

The teen brain is wired for learning….

Basically anything you do, or ‘practice’, your brain will learn to do much faster than if an adult does the same thing

Because of this, teens develop addictions much faster than adults. Exposure to alcohol or drugs is ‘teaching’ your brain to form an addiction

Drugs Affect Teen Brains Permanently

Studies show that teens that started using marijuana before the age of 16 performed much worse on IQ tests when they were older

MRI images…pictures of specific regions of the brain… showed that the frontal and prefontal areas of the brain were affected. These areas are responsible for decision-making

Alcohol Affects Teen Brains Permanently

Studies show that while alcohol kills brain cells in adults, the same amount of alcohol kills MORE brain cells in teens

Under the influence of alcohol or drugs….

It's harder to think clearly. It's harder to set limits and make good

choices. It's harder to tell when a situation could be

dangerous. It's harder to say "no" to sexual advances. It's harder to fight back if a sexual assault occurs. It's possible to blackout and to have memory loss.

So the use of alcohol and drugs can cause other dangers….

A 2005 study showed that between 65% and 75% of girls and women who were victims of ‘date-rape’ had very high levels of alcohol in their blood

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The bottom line….

Drug and alcohol affect teens more than they do adults, and for longer periods

Teens are more likely to have negative effects due to drug and alcohol use

Teens are more likely to become addicted to drugs or alcohol

Addiction, an overused term…

People may say they are ‘addicted’ to chocolate, or to a TV show, and this tends to make light of a very serious problem

True addiction ruins lives. People who are addicted lose everything….

Addicts lose…

Their families Their jobs Their homes Their friends And pretty much any joy that life holdsSome studies say that between65-80% of homeless people have addiction problems

Your brain is your future…

Want to get a good job? You need your brain.

Want to be a good mom? You need your brain.

So the self-defense lesson?

Protect your BRAIN…. Protect your YOURSELF…. Protect your LIFE…

By avoiding drugs and alcohol at all costs