Khadija HetavkarContent Writer (Legal), Rightantra Tanya GoelOutreach Manager, Rightantra Independence is one of the most fundamental human desires. Our teenage years are when we begin to receive that freedom in small amounts. We begin seeing the thrill life holds for us—college, living alone, travelling with friends, a successful career, parties, and everything else. While socializing and celebrating with new friends and people, you may be introduced to alcohol and other intoxicating substances like weed. Read the full article if you want to know how exactly you can get the best of both worlds and also what to do if things escalate. Navigating through your teens is definitely a rollercoaster ride. Some days you’re living the best of your life and then another day, it feels like everything is ending. The latter feeling can be triggered because a variety of factors:
Unfortunately, life isn’t kind enough to only let us define ourselves based on our good days. Bad days (and decisions) define us too. The decision to experiment with alcohol or drugs (“substances”) could be on a bad day, or often, on a great day- when you and your friends decide to find out what the whole deal with alcohol (or weed) is. While this decision isn’t inherently wrong, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s a slippery slope from consumption to abuse. Step 1 for you is to re-evaluate the reason why you decided to consume the substances anyway. If it is anything other than “experimentation”, don’t proceed with it. You are not taking this decision in the best frame of mind. Yes, you may be called a “loser” but that’s better than stealing away your freedom of choice by yourself. If your friends or for that matter, anyone asks you to do something you’re not comfortable doing, they don’t care much about you and would probably stab you in the back later. We also advise you to not self-medicate marijuana to deal with anxiety and depression. Instead opt for healthier ways to cope with those feelings like visiting a therapist or talking to someone you trust or us. Self-medication may lead you to getting addicted and while, it may provide you with short-term relief, over time it will only exacerbate your problem. Step 2: Let’s talk about “experimentation”! It’s important to experiment. It shows that you are curious and want to make decisions for yourself, based on your own experiences and not someone else’s. It is okay to experiment responsibly but it is also important to set certain strict limits for yourself. Before we move forward, let’s see the legal aspects of consuming such substances. The drinking age in most states in India is 21 years, while in a few states it is 18 and 25 years. Some states prohibit sale and consumption entirely. Possession and consumption of weed (and other drugs) is illegal throughout the country and can attract a jail term of upto six months and/or a fine of upto Rs. 10,000 under Section 20(b)(ii)(A) of The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Great, now we understand the consequences of getting “caught” apart from your parents yelling at you, grounding you and threatening to disown you. If you still want to go ahead with the consumption of these substances, let’s talk about its effects and how sometimes, experimentation and consumption can lead to addiction, aka Step 3. “Consumption” is as simple as using. “Abusing”, on the other hand, is way more complicated. It could refer to dependency (note: this is the opposite of “independence”), addiction, usage despite being aware of the obvious harms, etc. The fact of the matter is that adolescents are more vulnerable to substance abuse as compared to adults and are at an increased risk of developing long-term, irreversible consequences such as mental health disorders, addiction, and stunted brain development among others. Short-term risks could include declining academic performance, increased blood pressure and heart rate, anxiety and depression, low self-esteem, intense mood swings, and withdrawal from social interactions. Alcohol and drug use is also one of the leading causes of teen pregnancies, underage driving which can result in fatal crashes, suicides, and accidents like drowning. Now obviously, not everyone who experiments gets addicted. The simple point is the higher probability of developing an addiction during one’s teens. It’s all fun and games until you realise that you’ve already made the transition from voluntary use to compulsive abuse. In all honesty, you won’t realise that you have a problem in time. People around you might point it out but you won’t see sense in what they see. Additionally, if you abuse substances in your teens, you are at a higher risk of developing an addiction as an adult. The temporary feeling of euphoria associated with these substances might feel like an escape and stress-reliever for you which can put you at a higher risk of addiction because you eventually start craving and chasing that feeling. You may start out just experimenting with these substances, but they might lead to long-term consequences that can potentially ruin your life. Why damage your prospects of a bright, healthy future for temporary thrills? At times, you might even find yourself on the other end of the spectrum, wherein someone you know is addicted. There are two ways to go about it in such cases. If it is a case of minor addiction, the issue can be tackled by just open communication, monitoring their activities so that they do not fall back into their habits, educating them about the detrimental effects of substance abuse and by giving them adequate parental and medical attention. However, in cases of extreme addiction wherein talking in itself will not suffice, the consequent step would be to urge the individual to not just seek medical attention, but also start with a rehabilitation program. One of the most important things to remember is to be a trustworthy confidant so that the individual can share their story and reasons with you. It is also important to be patient and understanding as the process of rehabilitation takes time. The change will not come overnight and there will be a lot of struggle and pain involved and emotional, physical and mental support will be required. It would also be advisable to seek help from a trained drug counsellor or therapist as it is very common in individuals trying to kick the problem of addiction to need professional assistance or a treatment program to do so. We understand that a lot of what you read just now might be overwhelming, but we don’t want to scare you with all this information. We just wish that you, and only you, make certain decisions in life for yourself and you make them fully-informed. We have provided you with the information now. The call is yours to make. Just remember, that you have a whole life ahead of you (to experiment). If you want to talk to someone who is not much older than you to discuss such things or anything else, you can write to us at [email protected] or DM us on Instagram. Our handle is @rightantra Statistics:
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