According to Webster's dictionary, peers are persons of the same rank, social position or ability. One definition for pressure is a compelling influence or force.

 

Just about everybody has a group of people to whom they belong or associate with who have some traits or activities in common. The members of the group influence one another and there is usually a common theme of agreement amongst them on various issues. There will be some in the group who have strong or very strong views on certain things and they will try to influence others in the group to have the same views. Sometimes these views are based on good sound observations, data and experience and act as a positive influence on the other members of the group. This leads to a stronger group who have high standards and often do good works and benefit not only themselves but also others in the community. Other times, as we have all experienced, these pressures come from a strong influential person,

usually with fixed ideas about things, whose influence can lead the group into trouble and even illegal activities.

 

Sometimes it is very hard to take a position contrary to a strong influential peer person as one does not wish to fall out of favour with the rest of the group. An easy solution is to just go along with what one thinks the rest of the group are doing even though it is against their own beliefs or feelings. This idea however leads to great stress and trouble for the person because they have compromised themselves and now feel bad about what they have done even when pretending to others that they are in agreement with whom they believe is the stronger or more influential person.

 

There is a defence against this that anyone can do and that is to inform oneself about the subject of contention. Search out and acquire accurate data or knowledge and get a complete certainty on it so that one has the knowledge as their own. This is the only defence that one can acquire that will hold up against peer pressure no matter how strong. If a person truly understands something because of their own study and research they are proof to attack from false data and lies. Not only can they hold their position against false influences they can argue back from a position of truth and strength and counter any untrue arguments with knowledge. Whether they can change the mind of the perpetrator is unknown but at least they can hold their position from the influence of the perpetrator no matter what they say. This is true of all situations but here we are looking at that concept as it applies to drugs. 

 

For instance say a teenager is off to a party where there will be drugs present or drug use. With no actual knowledge of what drugs are and do, they can be much more easily talked into “having a go” by some fast talking pusher. Realise that no matter what the pusher, promoter, “friend” says, they only have one purpose in mind and that is to get the person hooked, NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY. It can be for a number of reasons, from their own guilt for failing themselves up to simply making money.

 

If the teen (or anybody) has complete knowledge and certainty about drugs, drug taking and what drugs do and what taking them inevitably leads to they have no trouble staying healthy and clean. Their certainty and confidence is their strength and defence. In fact a person who really knows something about something no matter the subject won’t just defend their position they will attack and quite often vehemently the other person’s bad intentions or stupidity.

 

It works like this; if a person has true knowledge about something they have certainty about it. This puts them in control of it and that leads to taking responsibility for their actions about it which puts them at cause over it which means they can’t be affected by it. 

 

Today, television, movies and the internet, are bombarding us all with information and products. On the internet alone, there are thousands of sources of information about drugs that are strictly there to promote their use. So, left to their own devices, a person of any age can easily be led into the belief that drugs are harmless, desirable or even beneficial. This makes it even more important that the actual data about drugs and the effects they cause is made available and delivered to balance this onslaught.

 

The Narconon program presents the student with the true data about drugs for the student to consider, understand and take, or not, as his own. It does not lecture at or advise the student what to do with the data or course of action he should take. While this might seem adventurous the results show that young people are much smarter than is commonly believed. In fact it is because they are given the choice whether to accept the data or not is a fundamental to the success of the program.