Heads up real news about drugs and your body.

WELCOME TO HEADS UP: Real News About Drugs and Your Body, a drug education series from Scholastic and the scientists of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Our mission is to bring you real news about the effects drugs can have on your brain, your body, and, ultimately, your life.

The theme of our series is respect--the respect we have for you, and the respect we hope you'll have for yourself. Here's how that respect is going to play out.

We're not going to just tell you to stay away from drugs. We're going to bring you the true stories of teens who've abused drugs. Then, you'll find out what science has to say. "What we're going to give you are the facts about how drugs can affect your brain and your body," says Dr. Tim Gondon, Associate Director of NIDA.

Then, once you have the facts, we think you'll be more likely to respect yourself and make smart choices.

In this series, we're going in for close-ups on some common drugs of abuse. We begin with nicotine, which, as you'll learn, is a powerfully addictive drug. It can also be deadly.

Next, we focus on marijuana. You'll meet Alby, a 19-year-old recovering marijuana abuser. He talks about why he turned to the drug, how it turned his life upside down, and how he's still struggling with the harmful effects of his abuse.

For each drug we present, we'll break down the science. That means we'll be getting into the gory details of damaged brain cells, funky lungs, and muscle spasms.

But first, let us introduce you to another important entity--your brain. Once you see the ins and outs of this amazing organ, you won't want to mess with its delicate workings.

So, heads up. There's some powerful information coming your way.

DRUG STATS

You may be surprised to see that drug use is not that common among your
peers. Check out the stats below from a 2001 NIDA-funded study.

Used illicit drugs in the past month


8th graders   11.7%
10th graders  22.7%
12th graders  25.7%

Note: Table made from pie chart