An Argument Against Recreational Drug Use

On July 23rd, 2011, singer Amy Winehouse, 27, was found dead in her bed, by her bodyguard. July 13th, 2013, Cory Monteith of “Glee,” 31, was found dead in a hotel room in Vancouver, Canada. What do the deaths of these young celebrities have in common? They were all brought about by the use and abuse of recreational drugs.

The reasons for not using recreational drugs are many. Chief among them, however, is the ability of drug abuse to impair your cognitive abilities. You may have trouble remembering where you are, trouble focusing, and difficulty completing simple tasks. How does this apply to you? For starters, impaired cognitive abilities from drug abuse will impede educational progress. For the recreational drug user, remembering when to get to class, what assignments need to be completed and attempting to study are all herculean efforts. Unfortunately, consequences like these can reverberate for the rest of your life as educational obstacles carry over into career obstacles.

Another serious risk is police entanglement. Selling, using, or even having drugs on your person can result in hefty fines, significant jail time, or both. Regarding criminal punishment, the minimum fine and sentence for having a drug like marijuana on your person is $1,000 and one year of jail time if you’re convicted with subsequent convictions resulting in even higher fines (up to $5,000) and harsher sentencing (up to 3 years) (“Federal Laws”). Harder drugs result in even harder fines and sentencing, and depending on the circumstances you could face up to life in federal prison. At the end of the day, you have to decide if it’s worth spending your entire life in jail, just to get high for a few hours.

Incidentally, the authorities or your future may not be your largest concerns. Another unfortunate side effect of recreational drug use is impotence and erectile dysfunction in men and infertility in women. Recreational drugs such as alcohol, amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana, heroin and nicotine have all been linked to lower sperm counts and decreased penile blood flow in men and higher rates of infertility in women. Individuals who are at the highest risk of developing these symptoms are those who abuse drugs in their adolescence. According to a report by the National Association of Social Workers, nearly 40% of adolescents’ (ages 10-19) doctor visits for erectile dysfunction in 2001 were attributed to drug abuse (Smith et al. 2).

There are many reasons someone might choose to abuse drugs, from trouble at home, to trouble in a relationship, to peer pressure to low self-esteem. If confronted with the opportunity to use and abuse recreational drugs, remember this: You may not get into college or get a good job, you may have to pay fines, you may have to serve jail time and you may have issues in the bedroom. Don’t use drugs; you could ruin your life.

Works Cited

"Federal Laws & Penalties." NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws, 2013, http://norml.org/laws/item/federal-penalties-2.\

Smith, M.S.W., J.W. Mickey, and Laurie Emmer, MSW. "Adolescent Health Practice Update: Adolescents and Club Drugs”, 2013. www.naswdc.org/practice/adolescent_health/ah1003.pdf.