The Gateways to Destruction

Lives of teenagers are being destroyed today at an alarming rate. Instead of learning to take a stand against alcohol, drugs and violence, many teens are just going with the flow. I want to get the message across that anyone can go along with the crowd and do what their friends are doing, but it takes a person of character and maturity to take a stand and do the right thing no matter what everyone else is doing.

These were some hard lessons I had to learn as a young person. As a teenager, I got caught up in drugs and alcohol. I didn’t care about school. All I cared about was partying and playing in my rock and roll band. So, I know what some of them are facing, and I know how difficult it is. That is why it has been my desire for these last many years to help any and all young people I can to stay away from those things, so they don’t go through the same heartache I went through. Every choice is a gateway, and when you make a bad choice it very well could turn into “The Gateways to Destruction.” A gateway is defined as “the way through a gate of some enclosure”. These kids have no idea what is waiting for them on the other side of these gateways. So we need to warn them of all the gateways that lead to destruction, starting with peer pressure. It’s a fact that teens do what their friends do, and that causes them, many times, to enter into subsequent gateways.

The Gateways Theory of drug use describes a developmental progression from early initiation into and (mis)use of elicit drugs such as alcohol and tobacco through the so-called 'soft' drugs, which include marijuana and hallucinogens, and finally to the so-called 'hard' drugs, such as heroin and cocaine.

The next gateway is depression, “bullycide” and suicide. Then it goes to school yard and dating violence. I believe it's vital to show real life stories, statistics, and facts about all of these things. I have found that showing them stories and pictures of teenagers, and hearing from parents that have had a tragedy happen to their teenager that have gone through these gateways or have become victims of people that have gone through them gave them a reality check and helped them to realize that no one is an exception to the rule. I've even had a number of teens say it has changed their whole perspective that just one bad choice could alter their or someone else's future forever.

Showing teenagers each gateway so they can locate themselves, and the choices they are making, will give them a life lesson that they will never forget, and could prevent them from suffering a bad consequence. In other words, show them the gateway they are at right now, then show them the gateway they are going to go into if they don’t decide to change some things.

·      Nearly 90 percent of people who have ever tried cocaine used all three gateway substances first.

·      More than half followed a progression from cigarettes to alcohol to marijuana and then on to cocaine.

Not everyone that has used marijuana will use hard drugs, but everyone who has used hard drugs has used marijuana… Protect your teens. Educate them.