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While attitudes towards mental illness have changed over the years due to research, the establishment of government programs, and advocacy from numerous non-profit organizations, there is still a stigma surrounding mental illness due to misconceptions, misinformation, and prejudice. Often ignorance and a lack of empathy can handicap people’s ability to understand someone who behaves differently from them or the societal norms they are accustomed to.

The younger a person is when he or she first uses a potentially addictive substance, the more likely the person is to become addicted to that substance and develop a substance use disorder. Substance use is especially dangerous to teens and young adults because the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain that is responsible for decision making, continues to develop into a person’s mid-twenties.