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To rebel.  Disillusion with the established values of elders, particularly materialistic values, may cause a young person to take to drugs.  But this is a negative and self-destructive approach to the problem.  There is plenty of scope for people with ideals to work for a better world.

To pursue false values.  This can be applied to those who may be called philosophical or intellectual users.  Their use of drugs arises from a mental outlook that pleasure is the chief pursuit of life.  Drug culture is projected to them as identifiable with all that is glittering, titillating, exciting and exhilarating.  As such they naturally fall a prey to drugs.  They do not see the seamier side of addiction until it is too late.
There are also those who would like to appear to themselves like 'super stars' and have an artificial desire to boost their image.  Or they try to be like someone else.

Curiosity and pressure from friends.  This would occur in a social group where a person does not want to risk being left out, and feels he or she has to act as expected.  It is a case of a person having false values where the approbation of others dominates his or her perceptions of right and wrong.  Girls are especially susceptible to drugs through their boy friends who encourage them to 'give it a try'.  This is allied to the curiosity for 'freaky perceptions', and novel experiences.
In this situation the person should consider whether the company is really of any value worthy  of attention.  Also the influence of a single individual with character doing what is right can earn the person more respect than going with the crowd.  Also he or she can be an influence to wean away some of the others who are wavering, to his or her own way of thinking.

To try and escape family and career problems.  Family and career problems may drive people, especially youth, to the despair of taking drugs.  Some parents drive in their hopes and expectations in their children, for high grades in their studies, or for following a particular career.  Often the child finds he cannot meet with these expectations and he cannot handle his emotions of hurting and disappointing the parents.  He then goes to drugs for help. Some people also are faced with decisions which are hard to take and they try to escape the problem by taking to drugs.

To escape loneliness and boredom.  This situation can arise with sportsmen who want to excel and with students who are under pressure to catch up with their studies for the examinations.  It can also happen with people whose occupations involve them in long hours of stress such as truck drivers and business men.  These people do not know where to draw the line between striving and relaxing and the incentive of more money induces them to take drugs for greater effort.

To try to relax.  When a person needs to relax, medical drugs can be given under the supervision of a physician.  The problem arises when a person is pushing himself or herself too hard to achieve certain goals and the pressures are beyond the abilities of the body to withstand, and drugs are used.