Young Adults Drug Use: 34.8% Use Marijuana, 5% Cocaine - Essay Sample

Introduction

According to the report from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 34.8 percent of young adults between 18-25 years used marijuana. Roughly 5 percent of college students used cocaine. Most of these young adults were college students. The percentage of marijuana and cocaine users has increased gradually over the years, with most users being college students and other young adults who are not in college.

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As stated in the report from the National Survey on Drug Use &Health (2015), 17.4%% of African Americans were using marijuana in that year, which was higher than the national average (Jacobs, 2017). This result shows that African Americans in the US used marijuana in large numbers compared to whites and Hispanic. On the other hand,7.3% of Hispanics with 18 years and above used marijuana (Jacobs, 2017). This is quite less compared to the usage by African Americans. Whites who took marijuana were also less.

In terms of substance use disorders and mental health, African Americans were most affected, with 15.4 percent having reported a case of mental disorder. This result was less compared to the national average. Hispanics also reported a lower value of 14.5 percent of people who said any case of mental disorder (Csete et al., 2016). According to these comparisons, African Americans and Hispanics are seen to be most affected when it comes to drug usage compared to whites.

The United States spends a lot of funds on federal drug control efforts. On average, the US spends about 29.9 billion US dollars on the war against drugs (Stastica, 2018). According to the National Drug Control Budget, the funds are used for prevention, interdiction, law enforcement, and also treatment. Moreover, the funds are also used for international operations.

The abuse of marijuana and cocaine comes with a lot of effects, both social and physical effects which affect the health of the drug users. Therefore, as health educators, a lot can be done to ensure that preventive measures are introduced (Sordi, Massochin, Camargo, Lemos, T., & Munhoz, 2017). These measures will aid a lot in helping young adults and all people at large to stop the abuse of drugs. Firstly, by the use of mass media campaigns, it will be easier to reach a larger group of people at the same time. This campaign will be characterized by educating people on the negative consequences that may arise from marijuana and cocaine abuse and the advantages of being a non-user

The use of community organizations will also play a critical role in preventing the overuse of marijuana and cocaine. Collaboration between health educators and the community entities or groups will help the community come up with strategies that will help drug abusers reduce or stop usage (Csete et al., 2016). This involves members of the community working hand in hand to ensure that goals are set to ensure that drug abuse is minimized.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy may also be useful when it comes to reducing marijuana and cocaine abuse. Cognitive therapy focuses more on the behavior of the drug user. There is timely tracking of practices which are specific over time (Csete et al., 2016). The feedback is used to change or reinforce the behavior. Drug users are taught to improve their behavior using cognitive strategies. Modeling is one of the behavioral strategies used. These help drug users to change at their own right time rather than being impulsive on them.

Instructional management can also be used to prevent the usage of drugs. Instructional management is designed to increase the engagement of the student in the process of learning (Sordi et al., 2017). By doing this, the student can focus more on education rather than taking drugs such as marijuana and cocaine.

As health educators, it is also crucial to create a platform either physically or through social media where drug users can discuss their problems (Csete et al., 2016). By doing this, drug users can familiarize themselves with similar people or rather with people with identical challenges. The platform will motivate the users to reduce their usage of marijuana and cocaine

Health educators should also come with better ways and strategies of educating people about the side effects of using marijuana and cocaine. By using a better approach, information about the impact of drugs is communicated efficiently (Jacobs, 2017). For instance, a health educator in the age bracket of the drug users will be able to relate well with the users. Therefore, communication will be enhanced.

Health educators should incorporate family training and case management. These are intervention strategies by health educators whose impact may be underestimated but is very important. In such a situation, a health educator should be able to advise drug-involved families to seek help (Sordi et al., 2017). The drug user, after being followed up, will eventually reduce the usage of marijuana.

Conclusion

In conclusion, drugs such as marijuana and cocaine pose a significant threat to a country or a community. The number of drug users is also growing at an alarming rate. Therefore, measures must be undertaken to ensure that the usage of drugs is minimized. If the correct steps are made, the government will reduce its funding in federal drug control efforts (Csete et al., 2016). The reduction in marijuana usage will also increase social development among young adults who are mainly affected. This will eventually lead to a better society

References

Jacobs, L. G. (2017). Regulating Marijuana Advertising and Marketing to Promote Public Health: Navigating the Constitutional Minefield. Lewis & Clark L. Rev., 21, 1081. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/lewclr21&div=38&id=&page=

Csete, J., Kamarulzaman, A., Kazatchkine, M., Altice, F., Balicki, M., Buxton, J., ... Beyrer, C. (2016). Public health and international drug policy. Lancet (London, England), 387(10026), 1427-1480. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00619-X

Sordi, M. B., Massochin, R. C., Camargo, A. R. D., Lemos, T., & Munhoz, E. D. A. (2017). Oral health assessment for users of marijuana and cocaine/crack substances. Brazilian oral research, 31. http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1806-83242017000100287&script=sci_arttext