Generation Y has gone through a number of difficulties. Drug abuse is one of the problems that teenagers face every day. Not only narcotics, but also prescription and over-the-counter drugs have been used and abused. Over the years, medications have become easier to acquire. Many Generation Y teens have been influenced by media messages and how they project a sexual image to viewers. What are the reasons behind drug abuse? People from all walks of life have been victims of drug abuse. Some people are depressed and therefore try to distance themselves from reality by taking drugs. An injured person may have been prescribed a painkiller with addictive properties. That teenager who lives down the street gets his pills from his father's medicine cabinet. Every person who has abused drugs has a story behind their behavior. Any drug can be abused by adolescents as long as they have access to it (Dryden-Edward). When I lived in Ohio, I knew many teenagers who took pills from their parents or bought them from other students at school. Some of my friends would show up at school and take a handful of pills when they got there, so that the high they felt would last all day. It was hard to watch because they would risk everything just so they could escape reality for a few hours. It's a reality we face every day of our lives; Knowing people who have a drug addiction and not being able to help them is a horrible feeling, but the reality is that if they want the drug bad enough, they will do anything they can to get it. It has been estimated that every day approximately 3,000 adolescents smoke their first cigarette (Dryden-Edward). In 2002 there were 2% of 10th graders who had used cocaine (Dryden-Edward). It's... half the paper... and the prescriptions are correct. The media sends the wrong messages to teenagers about the image they need to have to be attractive and that it is okay to act sexy at a young age and occasionally this leads to having sex. Works Cited Dryden-Edward, Roxanne. Drug abuse among adolescents. February 23, 2010. Focus on the Family. Why teenagers have sex. 2009. February 23, 2010 .Heroin - The Next Generation / Educational video documentary. February 21, 2009. February 23, 2010 “Sexual Activity of U.S. Adolescents.” January 2005. Keizer family founded. February 24 2010 .