Assignment 2: Prescription drug abuse

Photo by Kelly Krajewski

Prescription Drug Abuse

He was a very bright kid. One who was going to make the varsity baseball team as a sophomore with hopes of being recruited by big name division one schools. That all would be taken away when Aaron Emerson would be caught with prescription pills. He was immediately thrown off the baseball team. His parents enraged by the teenager’s actions.

    Emerson continued his drug abuse and become one of the 13.4% of teens who abuse prescription drugs in the United States according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

Prescription drug abuse has become a recent problem in the U.S. and is very popular among 18-25 year olds. Many of these abusers are thrown in jail and just deprived of assistance and help. Granted that all other drug abusers get thrown in jail, prescription drug users are just kids who just stumbled upon drugs. I believe all drug users should receive help and therapy to help them back into their normal lives. If they’re just kids, why should they face the harsh treatment everyone else gets?

Life was created to make mistakes. Everyone makes them. Kids, adults,even senior citizens make mistakes. However, if that was possible, how many students would take the help seriously?

Aaron Emerson embraced this chance to change. He took the classes to heart and wound up being a representative for an anti-prescription drug abuse committee. According to Michigan.gov, 60% of teens who abused painkillers did so before the age of 15. Emerson used prescription drugs like painkillers to fit in with his friends. People like Aaron needed help and prison is not the place for this help. All of these individuals deserve a second chance for redemption? The answer is probably yes.

Emerson got that second chance and changed his life. He now helps others who were in his shoes not too long ago. Emerson is proud of the changes he made in his life and he doesn’t have any regrets. Victims deserve that second chance no matter how bad their offense. Throwing them in prison solves nothing. Nursing them back into normal life is much more effective. Because people like Emerson prove that the therapy works and changes people forever.