As I think back to a time growing up in a small town, I close my eyes and imagine two small girls running through a field of tall grass chasing one another. Sweet giggles and the words echo through the air, “you can't catch me,” as the hot sun beams down on our little faces and the wind blows through our thin long hair. The youngest of us, my baby sister, was a very sweet and innocent little girl at the age of four. She was full of love and kindness with her whole life ahead of her. She came from a very loving family who spoiled her with everything she wanted and needed as she was the last baby of the family. We used to pretend what we were going to be when we grew up. We were going to marry movie stars and she was going to be a veterinarian. We never thought that she would grow up and fall victim to an addiction that would consume her entire life. She, like many addicts, spiraled down this path of destruction at a very young age. When we hear the words addiction or drug abuser we tend to get a mental image of who they are. We imagine they are adults who are in their late 20’s and 30’s who frequently party and lead a very irresponsible life. While this is sometimes an accurate depiction of an addict we need to realize that a lot of drug abuse starts as early as high-school. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse “Most people use drugs for the first time when they are teenagers. There were just over 2.8 million new users of illicit drugs in 2012, or about 7,898 new users per day. Half (52 percent) were under 18. With statistics showing that in 2012 over 3,949 teens try drugs for the first time” (The Science). Therefore, it is obvious that we are failing our youth when it comes to education and prevention. Identifying the problems that are causing our youth to turn to illicit drugs use is the first step in prevention. A lot of young kids have an increase in individual freedom and choice due to a lack of parental supervision. Some seem to have a lack of parental control, allowing the teen to do what they want, out of guilt. Most of the time both parents are forced to work outside of the home which leaves teenagers with more freedom. Sometimes both parents working causes a poor relationship with their kids and this ultimately leads them falling into peer pressure to try drugs. Teenagers seem to have more money and too much freedom of wha