Youth is also a time for self-discovery and trying new things. Peers who experiment with
drugs and talk about substance abuse may give the impression that everybody is doing it.
Fortunately, the actual number of young people experimenting with drugs is smaller than
young people tend to think, but it is still alarming.
Many of the negative stereotypes that surround people who abuse drugs come from the
way they are most often seen in public. Television and other media may portray people
who abuse drugs as irrational, their unpredictable behaviour frightening. Heavy or depend
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ent drugs users have often lost their job and/or home and lack many of the physical con
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ditions needed for a healthy and productive lifestyle. The negative stereotypes, stigma and
prejudice assigned to people who abuse drugs usually complicate the problem and make it
difficult for those in need of treatment and social support to get help. People who abuse
drugs are often cut off from their communities and relationships and often homeless and
living on the streets.