Devon O'Connell by Devon OConnell

devonoconnell24 — 2015-03-02 22:40:04 UTC

devonoconnell24 — 2015-03-02 22:41:53 UTC

devonoconnell24 — 2015-03-02 22:42:54 UTC

By the 8th grade, 28% of adolescents have consumed alcohol, 15% have smoked cigarettes, and 16.5% have used marijuana.

devonoconnell24 — 2015-03-02 22:44:20 UTC

Teen Drug Abuse

devonoconnell24 — 2015-03-02 22:47:38 UTC

Teen drug abuse is one of the leading problems in America. The gateway drug for teens, meaning the drug that is most commonly the "start-up" that leads to other drugs is Marijuana. According to the most recent accuarte study, done in 2012, 45.3% of seniors in high school claimed to have done marijuana in their lifetime. Although, being a teen and knowing what goes on in teenager's minds, I believe a lot more than half of high school seniors have used drugs at least once in their lifetime. Many people think of this as an insignifigant problem and think of this issue as just some pesky kids that are "junkies."Teen drug abuse is a serious and increasing problem. 570,000 people die from drug overdoses per year. Cut that number in half and that is the amount of teens that overdose each year. Close to 300,000 teenage lives are taken every single year. 300,000 lives matter and 300,000 lives are a problem that need light shed on them.

Guilderland Parents Desperate as Addict Son Lives on the Streets

devonoconnell24 — 2015-03-02 23:12:44 UTC

The Flood family, who live right in our backyard in Guilderland, have experienced the exact same thing as Nic's parents in Beautiful Boy. The Flood's son, Dan has battled a heroin addiction for almost 7 years and is now homeless, living behind the McDonalds in Albany. The Floods have put Dan through countless rehab programs, only to be disappointed every time. Dan's father says that often he drives by the area where Dan stays, to see if he is alright, and says that sometimes he passes a man that is not even recognizable - Dan. Dan has been banned from their house and no longer speaks to his mother. Teen drug abuse is what tore this family apart.

Over 60% of teens report that drugs of some kind are kept, sold, and used at their school.

devonoconnell24 — 2015-03-02 23:24:08 UTC

Direct Passage #1

devonoconnell24 — 2015-03-04 15:04:58 UTC

"As many as half of all meth users , and a larger percentage of ice users, tweak. That is, at some point they experience the type of meth psychosis first identified in Japan in the late 1940's. It is characterized by auditory and visual hallucinations, intense paranoia, delusions, and a variety of other symptoms, some of which are indistinguishable from schizophrenia. The hyper anxious state of tweaking can lead to aggression and violence, hence the following, from a report for police on how to approach meth addicts: "The most dangerous stage of meth abuse for abusers is called 'tweaking.' A tweaker is an abuser who probably has not slept in 3-15 days and is irritable and paranoid. Tweakers often behave or react violently....Detaining a tweaker alone is not reccommended and law enforcement officers should call for backup."

Direct Passage #2

devonoconnell24 — 2015-03-04 15:13:13 UTC

"Meth addicts are more likely than other drug users to engage in antisocial behavior. A successful business man took the drug to work longer hours, became addicted, and murdered a man who owed him drugs and money. An addict shot his wife, another fatally bludgeoned his victim, and another murdered a couple for a car and seventy dollars. A couple, both meth users, beat, starved, and then scalded their four year old niece, who died in a bathtub. A Pontoon Beach, Illinois man was under the influence of meth when he murdered his wife and then killed himself. In Portland, a woman on meth was arrested for killing her eighteen- month old child, strangling her with a scarf. In Texas, a man high on meth, after arguing with a friend, tracked him down and murdered him - shooting him six times in the head. In Ventura County, California, a man under the influence of meth raped and strangled a woman. Also in California, a meth-addicted mother was convicted of keeping her two young children locked in a cold, cockroach infested converted garage. An Omaha man was recently sentenced to forty years for murdering his girlsfirned's child after shooting meth. The child had been smothered and had numerous broken bones. There have been trials in Phoenix, Denver Chicago, and Riverside, California, of mothers accused of murdering their babies because they nursed them while they were on meth. The mother in Riverside, during her trial, said, 'I woke up with a corpse.

devonoconnell24 — 2015-03-04 15:24:18 UTC