More and more of Argentina's young people are becoming addicted to drugs, and many feel that musician Cristian "el Pity" lvarez, leader of Argentine rock band Intoxicados, is the source of the problem. His lifestyle, his music, his well-publicized drug use, and his iconic influence have placed El Pity at the forefront of drug culture. El Pity has been personally struggling with drug abuse for a long time, and he always tells his fans not to make the same mistakes. El Pity has always said that he does not think it is ok for anyone to do drugs. But to many people El Pity's warnings against drug use don't match his actions.

In the past few years, the amount of adolescents and young children in Argentina who take drugs like marijuana and "paco" (Argentine slang for freebase cocaine) has substantially increased. Many people believe that this dramatic rise in drug abuse is related to popular music that young people listen to. Musicians like El Pity are idolized, and their drug use is emulated. El Pity and his band Intoxicado seem to glorify drug use - in fact, the band's name is slang for getting high.

El Pity is an influential figure in Argentine youth culture. When you travel in Argentina, you'll hear his popular songs being played as cell phone ringtones. El Pity's been popular for many years -- you'll find the logo of El Pity's old band, Viejas Locas, spray-painted all over Argentina. His music is played in popular bars and dance clubs. Walking the streets of Buenos Aires you'll see people wearing Intoxicados or Viejas Locas t-shirts. Stories about El Pity are also commonly seen in popular newspapers and TV shows. With El Pity's popularity and high profile, it's easy to believe he's a major influence on young people.

Unfortunately for El Pity, drug abuse is a part of his life. He's had a well-publicized arrest for possession, and there's popular footage of an obviously high El Pity bragging about the amount of drugs in his pocket as he's being interviewed. El Pity often speaks out against drug abuse, and he's often quoted at concerts as saying "lets hope none of you will ever be addicted to something." El Pity works to stop drug abuse by recording anti-drug messages and public service announcements. While El Pity has a drug problem, and he struggles with abuse publicly. But do his actions glorify drug use, or is he a role model against drug use?

In an internet interview, Pity said he did not encourage, and that he did not want, young people to emulate him. But can his message really be that clear? Teens seem to ignore his messages discouraging drug use -- they consume more and more drugs every year. Unfortunately, it seems that many young people don't understand the seriousness of drug addiction. While El Pity achieves international fame and success as a drug abusing music star, teens all over Argentina become addicted to all manner of drugs. Schools don't teach about drugs and drug addiction, and it seems that parents and other family members are ignorant of the drug problem, or they tend to avoid the topic. When teens do find out about drug addiction, it is usually too late.

Drugs are not a joke, but it seems that most teens treat it as such. Many young people have songs about legalizing drugs, drug use anthems, and songs glorifying drug use -- and most of these songs are by El Pity and Intoxicados. Regardless of El Pity's personal feelings about encouraging drug abuse, his songs are definitely pro-drug use. While it's not clear that El Pity's music is the cause of Argentina's rising drug problem, it is evident that the influence of his music, combined with the lack of awareness of many parents and the poor efforts of the Argentine education system allow so many teens to turn to drugs.

El Pity was once quoted as saying that he wanted to be the "last intoxicado" -- the last person to be high on drugs. Unfortunately, his efforts to publicize his own drug abuse have served to glorify drug use. You could say that he's more likely the first Intoxicado, because his influence has helped to create an entire generation of "intoxicados".