Teenage Drug AbuseTeenage Drug Abuse - Easy, Cheap and Deadly By Ned Wicker Everyone thought “Jason” was the ideal son. He was an athlete, got good grades and he was well liked at school.
But it wasn’t enough. His mother and father never saw the problem coming, and being solid, middle class, suburban professionals, knew that they were the right kind of parents that would never allow their child to get into that sort of trouble. Mom and dad did their best to protect their son from the evils of the world. When the football coach swore at the team in a moment of passion during practice, they bypassed the coach, the athletic director and made certain that the superintendent of schools to swift and harsh action. If Jason was singled out by a teacher for a disciplinary issue, his parents straightened it out. He was given a generous allowance, a cell phone for emergencies and his parents made sure he understood the need to prepare for college. When the news came they were shocked. Like the other kids at the high school, Jason was aware of the kids who smoked marijuana or drank alcohol. There was an incident a few years back with his older brother, who joined the baseball team at a beer party. The whole team was busted for the affair, but Jason’s parents made sure that the coach and athletic director listened to reason. No action was ever taken against his older brother, on any member of the team. After all, his parents, like many others, looked at beer and marijuana as mere rights of passage, but their son would never do that. Jason thought nothing of smoking grass with his friends, mainly because he viewed it as harmless. His older brother did it and he was doing fine, so why not? But unlike his older brother, Jason had an entirely different relationship with the drug. He enjoyed the experience of getting high, much more than his older brother, as he felt a sense of relief and relaxation, a kind of euphoria. And, unlike his older brother, he wanted to repeat that experience far more often. What his parents didn’t see coming, was the third most-abused drug in their Midwestern town, methamphetamine. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), “Meth has limited medical uses for the treatment of narcolepsy, attention deficit disorders, and obesity.” However the drug is highly addictive. The illicit production of the street drug is produced in both big and small labs, often found in private homes, commercial buildings and even hotel rooms. They are light weight, portable and present a problem for law enforcement. The drug is also smuggled into the United States from Mexico, and in some areas of the country, it has surpassed cocaine and heroin in sales. For Jason, it was just something that gave him an intense high. He had no awareness of any kind that this highly toxic chemical can raise havoc with brain function. Jason like the marijuana high, but he craved the high, and unlike the marijuana, once he used meth, he was quickly addicted. The intense high was created by massive release of the neurotransmitter dopamine into the pleasure areas of the brain. This flood of dopamine can actually cause an increase in body temperature, convulsions and be lethal. His parents never suspected meth. But clearly something was wrong. Jason had become paranoid, and lost interest in football. He told his parents that football was a distraction from his studies. He wanted to concentrate on school. They bought it. His mood swings were a sign, and his altered ability to reason was disturbing. Jason became depressed and told one of his friends that he was thinking of committing suicide. The high that he was craving was harder to achieve, mainly because he was building a tolerance to the drug. He was losing weight and admitted that he didn’t sleep much. One day his behavior became violent at school. For some reason, something triggered an outburst and he lashed out at one of his friends. Jason was hearing or seeing something that wasn’t there and his friend happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The incident turned out to be good for Jason. Nobody got hurt, but Jason’s behavior had to be dealt with by school officials. His parents were called and Jason was soon taken to the family doctor for an examination. His friends also told of his drug use. It was a wake up call for mom and dad, a call for action for the school and a lifesaving event for Jason. He got into treatment, but so many do not. The drug robs them of any life they might have made for themselves, as they become a walking pile of skin and bones. The craving for the intense high is so powerful that food, sleep, family relationships or any outside activities are of no importance. The brain only wants METH and it will control the person so that they get it! Meth addicts are out of control, killing themselves for a high. What fooled his parents was that addicts are not skid row bums as much as they are suburban professionals, or promising athletes, or otherwise upright and valuable citizens. The drug grabs them quickly and holds on until there is nothing left. Jason was lucky. Teenage Drug Abuse Teenage Drug Abuse Teenage Drug Abuse Drugs and Teens: What can parents do?
Even the most conscientious parents may not be able to protect their teens from the predatory lure of drugs, readily available in or around all schools. Borrowing a sports analogy, the best defense against teenage drug use is a good offense. Parents need to equip themselves with solid information about Teenage Drug Abuse , a realistic view of their child and access to professional help if there are any early warning signs of drug use and find a good drug rehab. Warning Signs of Teenage Drug Abuse: School: Are they keeping up with their school work? Have they lost interest in going to school and do they look for excuses to stay home? Call the school and keep track of your child’s attendance in class. I coach football and basketball for middle school and high school. I get attendance records and if a teen has missed class, they don’t play in the games. But do you know your child skipped second period math class? Are there days when you think your child has gone to school, but the attendance records do not match up? Teens who are in trouble with drugs will often begin failing classes, not turning in homework assignments or in general just fall behind. “I can’t believe my son is failing math, it was always his favorite subject.” A new pattern has emerged and it isn’t pretty. Schools have open campuses, allowing teens to come and go. They can easily slip into the community and get into trouble. Health: As a person slips into addiction a variety of physical signs point to drug use as the problem. Are they listless all of the time? Kids don’t want to get up in the morning anyway, but they don’t always refuse to get moving. Weight loss and weight gain are signs. Are there changes in eating habits? The eyes are an indicator. Has the life gone out of their eyes, or is there a major change? Appearance: This can be a difficult area to discern, as fashions change and often times what adults feel is acceptable dress may not have anything to do with current trends. Watch for changes in dress. Does a child lose interest in how they look? Kids want to fit in and there is peer pressure influence on the way they dress. Girls, especially, are bombarded with images on appearance. Has there been an attitude shift? Have grooming habits changed? Attitude and Behavior: As children enter their teen years it is natural for them to want to break away from the family. When teens go to extremes to make sure you don’t know who they’re with or what they are doing, the red flag should go up. When they become secretive and guarded, when their privacy at home prevents your open access to them, look for something beyond mere adolescent rebellion. Money can be a sign. If their only interaction with the parents is to ask for money, and when asked why they need money they refuse to answer, or become indignant, that is an indicator of possible drug abuse. Worse yet, they may steal items from home to buy drugs. Communication is Essential Communicating with teens can be a challenge, especially because they are beginning to spread their wings and desire independence from mom and dad. Stay calm. The most common mistake parents can make is trying to force ideas and values on the defiant teen mind. I was that way. There's a leadership responsibility that always needs to be in evidence, and parents need to be parents. Trying to be “best buddies” is not a good strategy. However, parents need to meet their children where they are at. That means trying to understand the situation from your child’s perspective. Teenagers will probably come up with some very wrong reasoning, seriously flawed ideas and their whole world view will likely be counter to that of their parents. But they have a NEED to be heard and respected. It’s one thing to accept an opinion counter to your own, and it’s quite another to approve of it. Try working with your teen’s ideas and concepts, and have an open and non-threatening discussion about them. You can establish rules of engagement with your teen and agree that both of you are allowed to express ideas and opinions without fear of retribution. The key is to remember that the parent needs to be the one in control. As a chaplain, I do a lot of counseling work and my approach is entirely patient-centered. They establish the themes of the conversation, but even though I am not deciding the topic, or necessarily directing the conversation, I am still in control. Remember that your teenager, like a patient in a hospital, is probably going to be very myopic. He/she will see things only from their perspective. Take a step back and see the entire situation. Go with their feelings, their concerns and walk down their path. Share the experience. Parents are the front line of the fight against Teenage Drug Abuse. Don’t push that responsibility off to the schools. Rather, partner with the school counselors, teachers and administrators, never forgetting that you are the one responsible for your teen. If drug abuse or addiction enters your home, seek professional help and form another partnership in the effort. Be in control. Be honest. Be alert. Be proactive. For more on Teenage Drug Abuse our Home Page Teenage Drug Abuse Teenage Drug Abuse Teenage Drug Abuse Teenage Drug Abuse Teenage Drug Abuse Teenage Drug Abuse HOW TO USE THIS SITE:This site contains five MAIN pages that EVERYONE should read: RECOVERY… Yourself... Your Family... Your Friends... Your Community... The rest of the pages are there for your reference to explain important topics in more detail.  You Can Be ADDICTION FREE FOREVER!Are you or your loved one struggling with addiction?YOU MUST TAKE ACTION NOW! Use this at-home guide to End Addiction Forever:Click here for details!
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