Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Teen Attitudes About Drugs, News Excerpt 2
JOSIAH: This is Josiah and I'm here in Alamosa at the Boys and Girls Club and I'm here with Teen Attitudes and we're going to be talking about drugs today.
YOUTH ONE: Drugs these days, they can be heard because like, it's between peer pressure, your peers, and then you have like all kinds of other challenges going on, and I don't know; it's just like hard. Because like you want to say no to drugs and in another way you want to say yea to make yourself look cool and to make yourself look popular.
MILES: So you think by saying "yea" that will make you cool and popular?
YOUTH ONE: Yea, but then like your just hurting yourself.
YOUTH TWO: You're basically saying once you do drugs you can't stop and you'll be in a bad life?
YOUTH ONE: Yea, exactly.
YOUTH TWO: That's not true though. I know somebody who did drugs for since? They started when they were like 10 and they stopped when they where like 25 and they quit in three years and they're clean and haven't done anything since and they have a good life.
MILES: Do you know why they stopped?
YOUTH TWO: No.
JOSIAH: They didn't want to go through that path anymore.
YOUTH TWO: Drugs are hard to quit and everything, it's just, you know, you have to have the will power and all that, and they are bad for you. They'll get you kicked out of school.
YOUTH ONE: They could mess up your life.
YOUTH TWO: They kill you brain cells. They make you very stupid.
YOUTH ONE: They take sever years off your life. They leave you all retarded
MILES: So why do think people get into drugs in the first place given all that?
YOUTH TWO: Depression. They think it's cool. Peer pressure and like? Sometimes, some drugs do take away the pain.
JOSIAH: Everybody does it. They have to try it at least once.
MILES: Does everybody do it?
JOSIAH: Well, not everybody, but like the people who hang out with people who do drugs already, so they think it might be cool to try it once at least.
MILES: And they try it once and then what happens?
JOSIAH: They probably get addicted to it and they just keep doing it and they can't stop, unless they have the will power to.
MILES: Drugs make you fell good?
YOUTH TWO: Depends what drugs you do.
YOUTH ONE: And it depends on how your body reacts to it. And sometimes when you take drugs it could like lead to violence and then like it can lead to rap, and then sometimes you can end up in the hospital.
MILES: You mention kids often do drugs because of their feelings, because they're depressed or something like that. Do you think that might be one reason why they say don't do alcohol until your 21?
YOUTH ONE: Yea, but either way still going to do it because all the people that they are hanging around with. All kinds of people are gonna still want them to try it just to make them look cool. If your at a party, if you don?t want to drink their still gonna go "oh, slam this real quick!"
MILES: Do you think all teens are doing drugs and alcohol?
RYAN: No.
MILES: You're a musician. Drugs, sex, and rock and roll. Is that your experience?
RYAN: No. It learning to do music because my parents want me to.
MILES: What do you want?
RYAN: Well, I?m into guitars, the first instrument that I actually want to play.
MILES: So you don't think that drugs and music necessarily go together?
RYAN: Not really, that's kind of a stereotype if you're a rock and roller. I think that the reason most celebrities and musicians do drugs, the ones that do drugs, is because of all the pressure that is put on them. I don't think that you're a bad person if you do drugs because I think that the only reason that you do drugs is to escape from reality and to just experience what it's like not to be stressed out all the time. I don't believe in good or evil, so if you do drugs I don't think you're an evil person. I just believe that you made a bad choice if you do drugs. Drugs don't necessarily get you away from what you're trying to get away from, but you think that they will.
MILES: The stereotype is that most teens do drugs sooner of later. My question is, is that really true?
YOUTH ONE: Yea.
JOSIAH: Not totally try because like some people think that it is just wrong and they won't do it ever.
YOUTH TWO: Depends on your environment that your around.
MILES: Back to the peer pressure?
YOUTH ONE: Also depends like on your religion what do you believe in or not and it you know it's going to be a sin then don't do it.
MILES: Do you think that people who do drugs are bad?
YOUTH ONE: No. Some people are and some people they?re not. It depends how they act and if there're cool or not.
JOSIAH: Some people, they do it because they think it's cool, but some people they do it because like there're in depression or something and it makes them feel better.
MILES: Teen Attitudes is a Youth media club sponsored by the Intel Computer Clubhouse at the San Luis Valley Boys and Girls Clubs in Alamosa, Colorado. It is open to all Boys and Girls Club members and mentors. For more information, our phone number is 719-589-5252, and our web site is www.prx.org/group/TeenAttitudes. For Teen Attitudes, I'm Miles Eddy
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