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Drugs Affect the Younger Generation Yuki Masui from Japan
Among teenagers, these drugs which are called "kakuseizai" in Japan, are becoming fashionable just like "pocket bell phones", designer rucksacks and baggy socks ("loose socks"). These teens are ignorant about drugs. Some of them can not tell the difference between stimulants and marijuana. They put the drugs into drinks. They don't even know which drugs are dangerous. It's easy for teenagers to get the drugs. They can buy them from friends who don't think it is wrong to sell them, or they can get them from some foreigners. They buy drugs called "speed" which they don't think is dangerous. They don't realize that it really is dangerous. There is a larger number of teens using drugs according to the police. In the last 5 or 6 years many more teens have been arrested for using drugs than ever before. Interviews I interviewed people to find out what they thought about teen-agers using drugs. I asked them the following questions.
Most people did not know much about this problem, but they felt that it is a very serious problem for us. Here are some of the things they said. One person said, " I think they are just copying what others do. It may be a popular thing among them. I personally have never seen people taking drugs in Japan. Maybe they get the drugs from bad people who bring them into the area, bad people such as underworld gangs. And also I think that they can get the drugs by Internet. I also consider that people have a responsibility to chose their own lives." An American teacher said he had never heard about a drug problem in Japan. He said that in the United States, drug abuse is a very, very serious problem, both among teens and adults. He said that in the United States, if there is a student who has a pocket bell phone, they regard him (or her) as a drug dealer. He told me that drug dealers sell the drugs using pocket bell phones. He said it was common knowledge among Americans. An American woman said when she came to Japan to work, she saw many students with pocket bell phones and she thought they were all selling drugs!! The U.S. has a Similar Problem Drugs are a problem with American teens, too. According to a survey made by the U.S. government and published in U.S.A. Today, young people in America are ignorant of the danger of drugs. It said in the U.S., 11% of teen-agers are using drugs. Also, the number of drug users among 12- to 17-year olds has doubled in the last 4 years.
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