The honourable judges.

The Respected audience.

Dear my friends.

Assalamualaikum warahmatullaahi wabarakaatuh.

First of all, I would like to thank the almighty god, who has been giving us his mercy and blessing until
we can meet together here in this Ingsyaallah blissful meeting without any trouble.

Secondly, may Shalawat and Salam be with our Prophet Muhammad Saw. who has guided the human
being from the darkness to this bright world today.

And last but not least, I’d like to thank the MC and the judges for giving me the special opportunity to
join the contest.

Ladies and gentlemen…

Good morning. I hope you all are feeling as good as I am right now and may be goodness always be
with you.

Well…Talking about goodness, happiness and blissful, they are all gift that comes from God and
ourselves. Although basically, happiness is a blessing given by God to humans, but we humans have
to to find that happiness. Not only feel happy physically, but also happy spiritually and mind.

How do we find our own happiness? We can find some positive activities such as socializing, reading
books, playing footballs, doing some chores, etc. But there are many people who do such horrible
activity which leads their mind into temporary fun moment which is actually a dark hole. It is drug.
The topic that I would like to bring it here now is about “Drugs Abuse and Its Effects for Younger
Generation”.

It was quoted from the Head of the National Narcotics Agency, Commissioner General Petrus
Reinhard Golose, in Palembang, that the prevalence of drug users in Indonesia in 2021 was around
1.95 percent, or in other word, it was increased up to 0.15 percent from 2019, which is in summary
1.80 percent. That means around 3.99 million people in Indonesia have been exposed to drugs.

Indeed, the prevalence of drug users in Indonesia is still far from the international average, which is
5.5 percent. However, this could be an alarm that Indonesian their selves have been affected. It is
such as horror.

In general, drugs or narcotics are medicines that have medical benefits, as long as they are used
under the supervision of a doctor which usually cause a decrease in consciousness, hallucinations,
and excitability to be used when we are being operated on. It is like two sides of coin, unfortunately,
excessive use can lead to abuse to addiction. Drugs can have a bad impact on health if it is misused.

Then why is there such abuse? In this modern era which is full of internet and social media
connections, there are so many cases of drug use being carried out by the younger generation under
the pretext of seeking temporary happiness due to some stress or following the wrong trend of
friendship circles. In fact, drugs do not provide benefits or pleasure, but only misery, illness and
suffering with long-term effects. It is both for their body and their future.

Research say that humans’ brains grow and develop until they are at their middle 20’s. By taking
drugs in the early can affect with developmental processes occurring in the brain. It can also affect
their decision-making. Their brain would be damaged slowly but surely due to its working system
that has been broken by its drug.

There are many signs that can be seen if someone is using a drug. Such as:

 Memory lapses and poor concentration.

 Having bad mood every single time.
 Quick emotional changes or mood swing.
 Having drastic change such as missing the class, getting bad grades.
 Losing their interests in their hobbies.
 Careless such as not taking showers, changing clothes, or brushing their teeth.

From several signs that I have stated before, it could be seen clearly on how drugs can destroy the
goodness and balance in our life.

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Have you ever heard some news about a 16 years old of Indonesian high schooler who was a drug
dealer and he is aware of his actions? Or some teenagers who addicted to consume drugs? Who
should be responsible? Well, the answer starts with parents.

Parents hold a very important role in educating and watching their children. They are the closest
persons living side by side with their children, in this case. Another one who hold a power to tell and
educate people or our environment is us.

We, as students, teachers, parents and educated people, have a power to socialize how dangerous
drugs are for the future. There is not a shred of pleasure that can be taken from drugs, both users
and dealers. When a user is addicted to drugs, his brain will be damaged slowly and gradually he will
become confused with the chronic diseases that appear in his body.

Losing hope, motivation and life without direction.

How do we prevent it?

There are many ways on how we educate people about the danger of drugs. For example, as a
parent; be close to them. Be friend and be mindful. Teach them with respect and such friendly ways.
Never judge by one side when they have difficulties, confusion and stress. Lead them patiently but at
the same time toughly. They will feel they are being protected without feeling superior. Thus, we can
educate them about the danger of drug in a good way. Be there and help them to identify their own
self who they truly are.

Then, schools hold a very strong power to educate younger people. Students almost spend their half
days there. Many positive activities can be done. Schools can offer and hold educational seminars
about the dangers of drugs to all of the students. Schools can provide guidance and counseling
facilities for students who seem to have problems. Teachers can educate the students during the
class. It is a place to gain education and fulfil our mind with some positive income.

As for us, in this modern era with internet power, we can use social media such as Facebook,
Instagram, TikTok and many other platforms to socialize about the danger of drugs. Use the internet
for positive things we could do. It might look little but we have no idea it would help people out
there. Tell them how drugs can destroy our life. Let’s embrace them as best as possible. We can also
provide some good contents such as persuade people to do some hobbies like gardening, sports,
daily activities, chores, reviewing some books or movies, etc., in some videos. Trust me, it will help
people to distract stress and entertain people in a good way.

As Allah said in Surah Al A’rof: 157

‫َو ُيِحُّل َلُهُم الَّط ِّيَباِت َو ُيَح ِّر ُم َع َلْي ِه ُم اْل َخ َباِئَث‬

Which means "And lawful for them all that is good and forbidden for them all that is bad"

Let us fight the negativity by positivity. Drugs bring nothing but miserable life. Let’s protect each
other. Healthy mind, healthy life.

I think that’s all from me. Thank you very much for your attention. Good morning and best wishes.

Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakaatuh.