JUST SAY NO TO DRUGS

JUST SAY NO TO DRUGS LESSON

Directions:

Print the Just Say No to Drugs reading comprehension passage and questions (see below).

Students should read the passage silently, then answer the questions.  Teachers may also use the text as part of a classroom lesson plan.

Exercise

The most important thing you can do is to show children that drug use, no matter how glamorous it looks, is going to cause them to lose much more than they could ever gain. For this experiment you should split the children into controlled groups for the week. You can let them choose which side they are on or pair them up.

Using fake money you will have one group that are addicted to drugs and one group that are responsible adults. Throughout the week the groups will give money for rent, food, and other basic necessities of life. The group that uses drugs will also have to give money for their drugs. If they do not have money to live they will face extra challenges such as having an extra job or ending up in trouble with the law if they break the law to get more drugs.

Once the week is over have the students choose one or two of the following questions and write a one page essay on the effects of drugs in society.

Option 1 -- Participating in the class study on drug use was helpful to me for many reasons. The main things I learned about drugs are….

Option 2 -- Drugs are able to affect people of all walks of life without regard to race, income, or disability. If I were able to stop one of my friends from using drugs I would tell them…

Lesson Excerpt

Drug abuse is something you have probably heard about. You may know friends or family members that have been on drugs and it is likely you have seen things about drug abuse on television or in movies. There are programs that teach the dangers of drugs but whether you have been in them or not there is nothing that can be done to make a person not do drugs. You can learn why drugs are bad but when you are placed in the situation where you could use drugs it will be you that will need to make the decision.

Reasons for using Drugs

There are many reasons why people might use drugs. If kids feel pressured because all their friends are doing them they might start using drugs, too. Peer Pressure occurs when kids want to fit in so they do something they know is wrong not thinking of what could happen. Other kids might do drugs because they are depressed. Low self esteem and sadness cause people to want to do things to take the pain away. This means they might take different drugs to numb themselves and forget their sadness. Unfortunately, drugs often make depression worse.

One of the worst reasons to try drugs is boredom. Many teenagers might say they are bored and had nothing better to do so they decided to try drugs because it would be interesting. In all of these cases these people do not understand that drugs can cause serious damage to their bodies and brains.

When people try drugs because they are curious it becomes considerably dangerous. You might think you can take any drug and stop after that first time but while many drug users have said that, the majority of people that try certain drugs will become addicted. Most drugs are habit forming and take a lot of work to be able to quit. Even prescription medicines can be addictive if you take them wrong. Experimentation might be a popular excuse but it is one of the easiest ways to ruin your life. (continued...)