My Drug-Free Future. Brief Overview: Youth will discuss reasons to stay drug-free. Issue Area(s): Youth Health Care

Transcription

1 My Drug-Free Future Brief Overview: Youth will discuss reasons to stay drug-free. Issue Area(s): Youth Health Care YVC Strategic Focus Areas: Healthy Lifestyles Facilitator Instructions: Beforehand, you may want to ask your youth what questions they have about drugs. Spend some time researching answers to their questions so that you can be informed for this discussion. Learning Objectives: During the lesson, youth will analyze drug use by listing at least five negative effects of drugs. During the lesson, youth will discuss goals by listing at least five personal goals for their lives using the SMART goal method. Skill Development Potential: Interpersonal Skills Communication Self-Confidence Leadership National Education Standards (i.e. Common Core) CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.1 Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.2 Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally. Materials: Poster board/whiteboard Pens/markers Instructions/Content: Have youth list reasons to stay drug free. Write them on the poster board or whiteboard. Have youth list what they know about drugs and alcohol. Read the following facts about drugs: o Drugs can lead to emotional and physical crash-like feelings of depression, anxiety and intense cravings.

2 o Individuals who abuse drugs are at greater risk of stroke, heart attack, and sudden death. o Side effects for many drugs include increased heart rate and blood pressure, seizures, and cardiac arrest. o Doing drugs can lead to temporary states of paranoid psychosis. o Prolonged cocaine use can irritate and cause scabs to form on your mucus membranes, damage your nasal septum (the thin wall that separates your left and right nostrils) and eventually cause your nose to collapse. o In a short amount of time, regular heroin use destroys the body. Common conditions that plague heroin users include infection of the heart lining and valves, liver disease, lung disease, and hepatitis and HIV/AIDS from needle use. o Almost half (48%) of federal prison inmates are in prison for drug-related charges. o Teens that use drugs, specifically marijuana, are 60% less likely to graduate high school. o Drugs impair judgment, over-activate the brain, and cause impaired coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and disrupted learning and memory. o People addicted to cocaine or heroin can easily spend $10,000 or more per year to support their habits. o There are approximately 600 ingredients in cigarettes. When burned, they create more than 7,000 chemicals, including chemicals found in rat poison, rubber cement, nail polish remover, lighter fluid, insecticide, batteries and more. o Nearly 88,000 people die from alcohol-related causes annually, making it the third leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. Show pictures of drug abuse using the What Drug Abuse Looks Like handout (optional). Ask youth to define the word goal. What are some goals that they have set and reached? Use the SMART goal-setting guidelines to help: o Specific o Measurable o Achievable o Realistic o Timely On the board, make two columns: one for short term benefits and one for long term benefits of being drug-free. Have each youth write down at least five personal goals they have for their lives. Have the youth share their goals with the group. Reflection Questions: Excellent service-learning incorporates a variety of challenging reflection activities that are ongoing and prompt deep thinking and analysis about oneself and one s relationship to society. 1. Discuss why some people face difficulties when trying to choose a drug-free lifestyle. Why do you think people use and abuse drugs? 2. Are some drugs worse than others? Is there such thing as using drugs in moderation? 3. Explain how drug abuse will create a barrier between you and your goals. 4. Imagine your life at 25 or 30 years of age. What would it look like if you decided to use drugs? What would it look like if you decided to stay drug-free? Connection to Local Community (optional): Connect with local school counselors to learn about drug use within the schools. Have a local Medical Professional, Law Enforcement Officer, or Substance Abuse Counselor come speak to

3 your group or lead this lesson. Research statistics on alcohol-related death, recent news coverage, and drugs most commonly used and abused in your area. What local groups exist advocating for the end of drug use? What does it cost to buy a pack of cigarettes in your community? Multiple that number by 365 to illustrate how much a local chain-smoker spends on their nicotine addiction. Career Connections (optional): Drug Enforcement Administration Law Enforcement Substance Abuse Counselor Social Work Case Worker Take It Home Challenge (optional): Share your personal goals with your family and friends. Post them somewhere that you can see them to remind yourself of the benefits of staying drug-free. Connect with Above the Influence, DARE, or other drug abuse prevention agencies. Encourage your friends to pursue a drug-free life. If you are struggling with drug use or abuse, visit The Treatment Helpline or call Sources: 1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Policy Impact: Prescription Painkiller Overdoses. 2. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Mind Over Matter: Prescription Drug Abuse. 3. "Drugs Archive - Above the Influence." Above the Influence Drugs. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar

4 What drug abuse looks like: Meth Mouth: Before and after drug use: Before and after drug use: Your brain on drugs: Brain that is addicted to drugs: Effect of Cocaine on the nose: Healthy brain:

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