What You Can Do if Your Teen Is Using Drug
Pick up your teen’s mp3 player and go to the “Top 25 Most Played” section. Listen for references to alcohol, drugs, or other risky behaviors. Use these references as talking points to start a dialogue with your teen.
Visit social networking sites like MySpace.com, and browse the profiles of teens to see what they say, what their interests are, and what they are doing online.
Monitor your teen’s comings and goings. Get to know the who, what, where, when, and why of their daily activities.
Can you name your teen’s favorite TV show? Watch it with him or her and discuss story lines that deal with drug use.
Go to a video sharing Web site and type in “smoking weed.” Watch some of the videos and see if your teen’s recent behavior matches the reactions of people who are high. If you suspect that your teen has a problem, don’t wait.
State your concerns and what you intend to do to help your teen, whether she wants it or not. Early intervention is the best intervention.
When confronting your teen, don’t get angry. Be firm but also make it clear that you love your teen and you will do anything to help them lick their problem.
The Facts About the New Highs
| DRUG | HOW IT’S CONSUMED | THE HIGH | HOW TEENS GET IT |
| DXM (dex, skittles, robo, tussin) | Swallowed | Drunken feeling, hallucinations | In over-the-counter cold medications and cough syrups |
| Ritalin (kibbles & bits, pineapple) | Swallowed or snorted | Increased alertness and energy, euphoria | From other kids who have prescriptions |
| Salvia divinorum (ska pastorum, sally-d, shepherdess herb) | Smoked, chewed, ingested in liquid form | Euphoria, loss of motor control | Not illegal in US. Can be purchased from head shops and online |
| Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet, Codeine | Swallowed or injected | Euphoria, feelings of well-being, drowsiness | Stolen from medicine cabinet, purchased illegally online |
| Xanax (xanabar, monkey bars) | Swallowed | Euphoria, sluggishness | Stolen from medicine cabinet, purchased illegally online |
Hope O 11/02/10
I am 15 years old and I currently attend a public school. I can honestly say that prescription drug abuse is rampant. Drug use in general is totally out of control. Drugs are nothing to mess around with. It really is a shame that teens will take anything to get high. The main issue with this is that prescription drugs are so easy to obtain. Every parent has prescription drugs in their medicine cabinet and peer pressure can really get to people. I am an intern for a parenting blog called radicalparenting.com. On this blog, writing interns give advice to parents from a teenager’s perspective and write about teen issues. We have an article called “Rising Popularity of Prescription Drug Abuse” that is similar to this article. Feel free to check it out:
http://www.radicalparenting.com/2009/11/14/rising-popularity-of-prescription-drug-abuse/
Thanks!
Hope
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