Illicit Drug Use and Abuse Amongst Teens

It is well known that rising teen drug use has become a major problem within Canada.  Teens today are abusing many different kinds of drugs, while not being fully aware of the consequences.  The Federal Government of Canada has been working with all the provinces and local communities to help combat this ongoing problem.  This new country wide initiative is supported under the Drug Strategy Community Initiatives Fund.  It is specifically designed to help prevent the youth of Canada from using illicit and illegal drugs.  The minister of health Leona Aglukkaq made an announcement last year addressing this matter.

“The Government of Canada is taking concrete steps to help prevent young people from taking drugs,” said Minister Aglukkaq. “This project will provide communities in Ontario with the tools they need to educate youth about the negative consequences of illicit drugs.”  The Federal Government of Canada has implemented and is promoting different activities all directed at preventing illicit drug use amongst teens.  The Federal Governments main goal with this initiative is to raise awareness and knowledge.  This is all part of Canada’s National Anti-Drug Strategy, and is funded by the federal Drug Strategy Initiative.

Is all of this effective enough?  Are there enough effective treatment resources available to handle this problem?  Drug awareness and knowledge is very important, and it is normally the first step to take in preventing drug addiction.  But, when prevention fails, drug rehabilitation is required.  Government programs are available all across the province; yet, the waiting lists for some if not all of these programs can be quite long.  Most people attending these programs have been through them more than once.  Effective rehabilitation is the only key to truly eliminate the drug problem, combined with prevention, enforcement, and legislation.  The support is needed from both the private and publicly funded sectors of Canada offering services.  The future youth of Canada depend on this, and the millions of people using drugs across the world require the help to be available to them immediately.

One Response to “Illicit Drug Use and Abuse Amongst Teens”

1. Drug Free B*tch says:

   July 8, 2009 at 11:50 am

   Seriously, the only thing I see the government doing is supporting “therapies” and “rehabs” that don’t do anything. Those very programs say it themselves “once and addict, always an addict”!

   As if I would ever support that crap.