Coming from my own experience, I have seen fellow teammates fall far away from the potential in the sport they had when experimenting with new things. Secondly, I have seen relationships & trust become ruined due to one’s choices to experiment. And lastly, poor choices with drugs & alcohol can lead to poor overall mental and physical health in one.

Do not give into peer pressure. I believe that peer pressure is the main reason why teenagers get into drugs & alcohol. They think that it is “cool” to do these illegal things because all of their friends are doing. Also, picking a good group of friends is also vital to keep teenagers away from drugs and alcohol. The group of friends that teenagers choose to be with are what they tend to grow into. In other words, the friends you choose influence the actions that you will most likely make in your future. Lastly, in order to stay away from these substances, I believe that teenagers need to become more educated on the effects that can occur from drug and alcohol use. I feel like once teenagers understand how bad their lives can turn from this usage, it will help them realize they need to stay away.

My first tip is to never let anyone peer pressure you it’s not worth the friends if it means ruining your life. My second tip is to find people who believe in the same things as you. For example, the church, the Bible, and you’re a religion. Those people will never put you in a situation you aren’t comfortable being in. My third tip is if you have a bad gut feeling about a situation walk away from it.

1) Consider the health risks that drugs and alcohol can create.
2) Realize that there are an infinite amount of ways besides drugs and alcohol to be satisfied or have fun.
3) Consider the impression that you would have on others because of drugs and alcohol, especially friends and family.
– Timothy K

Learn about the effect of drugs and alcohol and how it can affect you mentally. Learn about the physical effects of alcohol and drugs on your body. Surround yourself with people who are against drugs and alcohol and who have a positive effect on your life.
– Mackenzie P

1. Say NO to anyone trying to force you to use drugs!
2. Don’t eat or drink after others! (You don’t know if it’s an edible drug.)
3. Do the right thing in any and every given situation! This mentality will take you a long way.
   Brittany C.

1. It doesn’t just affect your life, it affects others.
2. It affects your life now and deeper in the future.
3. Without drugs and alcohol can only enhance your future positively in the right direction.
   – Bo W.

1. Stay focused. There are a lot of distractions nowadays and the best way to stay focused is to set goals for yourself and stay motivated.
2. Find a good role model; open up to someone you can trust. This can be a family member, a mentor, or anybody you can confide in.
3. Do not arrogant of the advice of your parents, elders, or anybody else who has lived more years than you, because their advice will come in handy and they have lived more and learned more. When they tell you something use it to better yourself. Trust me it will help you stay away from; I say this from experience.

– Athanett B

1. is connection. Teenagers need to be connected to caring adults, it can be their parents, teachers, coaches, mentor; who it is is not what matters, it is that the connection is there! It is imperative that someone is watching the teenager and has a relationship that will withstand hard conversations when things get difficult in their lives.
2. Smart and age-appropriate, yet honest education about drugs. Scare tactics don’t work. Kids do not want to be “scared” so they find ways to discount those facts presented in such a way. Kids will go to each other to further discount scare tactics. Make sure the education is not given in such a way to insight curiosity but truly give kids honesty about drugs, the results, the cost, and negative effects
3. Make choices available for fun social activities that do not involve drugs and alcohol. Keeping kids isolated from each other is NOT the answer to keeping kids away from drugs. Kids will find a way to be together and hang out if that means sneaking out away from parents to do it, they will and the people they are going to hang out with after sneaking out will not typically be the best influences. It is way better to have activities planned so they can get their fill of positive social interaction.

– Case M.

1. Drugs will never be the answers there are other ways to get help. One way is to go do an activity that you would enjoy doing and help release stress or anxiety.
2. Secondly, reach out to someone you trust when you need someone to listen to you.
3. Be cautious with who you hang out with because no one should pressure you into anything. Make the most out of your life by becoming a better person and going back to help others and don’t stop, just do something that will make you happy and satisfied on what you have accomplished.
   – Stephanie C.