Michael Van Omen
Ms. Fisher
English 101
13341

Illegal Activities in School On average at least 19,000 people die because of the illicit use of drugs in the United States (1999 NHSDA). In the words of Global Publishing Inc. “Drugs are very popular among teens for many reasons. Some reasons are peer pressure, stress, boredom, bad friends, and a bad neighborhood.” (Global Publishing Inc.). There can be many reasons, but the most common causes for most teens to abuse drugs are because of the easy availability of the drug, an easy escape from the stress of every day life, and to escape the many pressures from friends and peers. One cause of drug use in teens is the availability. Teens come across drugs almost everyday in high school and middle school. Boston University studies say, “80% of high school students and 44% of middle school students have reported that they have personally seen drugs used by peers, possession of drugs, or the buying and selling of them.” (Boston University). Because of this alarmingly high popularity of drugs on school campuses it is not hard for a student to come across any sort of drug. All a student would have to do is find someone using drugs, and then they can get some also. The second main cause for drug use in teens is to escape from the stress of everyday life. Teens are usually stressed over a number of things. Some of the things are, getting accepted to college, worrying about maintaining a job, staying in relationships, and not least of all handling all the responsibilities their parents lay on them. Many recent studies have shown that teens developed more stress than adults (123 Help Me). In the underdeveloped mind of the average teen, with the constant weight of stress on their shoulders, drugs can seem like an easy way to deal with the stress, at least for the time being. The combination of the stress of daily life and