Drug use in Ecuador begins at age 12 (quote).

It is one of the biggest

problems that Ecuador has to face nowadays. In Ecuador there is a
serious problem with drugs been used in teenagers. If this continues
to happen the next generations will vanish and there wont be a good
future for Ecuador. Lack of education, allowing possession of small
amounts of drugs, and not enough rehab centers to solve the current
problem are one of the few gaps that the government has to solve in
order to solve the drug addiction in teenagers.
Drugs are spread among all Ecuador, especially in big cities that are
high industrialize and where demand is higher. One of the cities that
have the highest consumption of drugs is Guayaquil. Experts tell us
that is affecting young ages in a pronounced scale. We can see this for
the fact that a school in Guayaquil which was intervened by the
Minister of Education. A newspaper from Ecuador explain the Ministry
of Educations intervention, the author says The Ministry of Education
intervened a fiscal school Aguirre Abad of the city of Guayaquil, one of
the emblematic public schools of this port city, with the aim of
implementing control measures and training to banish discipline
problems and drug use which occurs among students (Andes). The
Ministry of education is trying to solve this problem by giving education
to students and parents. They will make them know the consequences
that drug use will cause in the future. This is a difficult task because
most of these parents do not have enough education to understand all
the effects and causes that drug consumption brings; some of these
parents are not even literate. Guayaquil is characterized as a
developed and industrialize city, therefore its level of education should
be higher that other undeveloped city. Yet Aguirre Abad is a free school
that gives education to those whose economic resources are
insufficient. For the reason that Guayaquil is a port city, they will have
all social classes and a big demand for drug consumption.
In Ecuador there is about 5000 people that needs a free rehab
center. The only rehab center provided by the government can hold 36
patients. () This is a mayor problem because there needs to be a
solution to the current problem. There is an over-population in rehab
centers. Its similar to a disease that needs to be treated and needs to
be cure. There is no a good promise for Ecuadors future if most of our
youth is affected by drugs.
Also agriculture plays a mayor role in these aspect of drugs, If an
land owner has better revenue when he sells marihuana, he is going to
be tempted so that he can make more money than he does. A
kilogram of marihuana is sold at a cost of $700 dollars () , and a
kilogram of potatoes is worth about $2. The transportation cost is
about the same price, they are both located in remote places and they.

The government is not controlling all of the industrial transports that

go through the highway; therefore is easier to rotate drugs around the
country. Drugs also bring an environmental impact when they are
produced in mass. Experts say that they can kill most of the water life
near marihuana plantations (KATHLEEN CAULDERWOOD) It is also
mentioned that the insecticides that marihuana plantation uses will kill
all the vegetation around them. On the other hand is really easy that
marihuana will cause salinization or erosion.
Pop Culture is also present in this issue of drug consumption. Pop
culture is giving the idea that drugs are not harmful and make you look
cooler if you consume. An study say 279 most popular songs of 2005,
33 percent were found to reference drugs or alcohol (Tim Stoddart) If
pop culture continues to advertise this in their messages future society
will perceive drug addiction as something normal and un-harmful. Pop
culture is targeted to teenagers therefore pop culture should transmit a
positive message to teenagers. Media is one of the biggest reasons
why teenagers are curios with drugs.