Teen Drug Use - 34 Warning Signs

Nothing is more destructive to a teen and/or their family than the use of drugs. Consequently the
earlier the intervention the better. The problem is that in most cases teens are using drugs for
several months or even years before parents become aware of it. Even when parents do become
aware of drug use, they often underestimate the extent of their child's involvement.

34 WARNING Signs of Drug Use

If you are suspicious your child may be using drugs, don't ignore the warning signs. Children
seldom grasp the concepts of addiction. Most view themselves as imperious to peril. For some
teens, the stress of adolescence and pressure from their peers is overwhelming, and drugs
become an enticing escape from their real world.

Neglected appearance/hygiene
Poor self image
Grades dropping
Violent outbursts at home
Frequent use of Eye Wash
Unexplained weight drop
Drug Paraphernalia
Slurred speech
Curfew violations
Running away
Skin abrasions
Hostility towards family members
Chemical breath
Glassy eyes
Red eyes
Valuables Missing
Possessing unexplained valuables
Stealing/borrowing money
Change in friends
Depression
Withdrawal
Apathy
Reckless Behavior
No Concern about future
Defiles Family Values
Disrespectful to parents
Lying/Deception
Sneaky behavior
Disregards Consequences
Loss of Interest in healthy activities
Verbally abusive
Manipulative/Self-Centered
Lack of Motivation
Truancy

If many of these signs seem applicable to your child, and their behavior, do not despair. Denial and
shame in response to drug abuse, for the user or their family, will only serve to be additional obstacles
to overcome. Know that many young people can be helped, and there is effective help available.

Parental Awareness
Parents often say they want to know everything that is going on in their children's lives. But is that
really true? Parents need to be aware that drug use generally begins months, or even years, before
parents actually do become aware of their teens drug use. Certain topics, such as children's sexual
behavior, underage drinking, and gang violence are subjects so uncomfortable parents often choose
to ignore them, or perhaps only lightly approach them, often cloaked in denial, hoping these issues
will not affect their family. Parents recognize consequences of these issues can be frightening.
However, silently clinging to the denial and hope that these issues will not be part of their children's
lives can create an equally devastating consequence. And no topic is any more frightening to a parent
than teen substance abuse.
Parenting presents continuing challenges. Putting on blinders will never create resolutions. The subject
of teenage drug abuse is very wide and multifaceted, involving many drugs and their variations. It will not
be possible to cover all information regarding teenage drug abuse here, but rather it is our desire to broaden
your information so that you may feel more confident about parenting decisions surrounding teenage drug
use as it pertains to your children. For even when a parent does become aware of drug use, they often
underestimate the extent of their child's involvement.

Why do kids use drugs?
As we search for solutions that would protect our children from the perils of substance abuse, the questions
arises as to why they would ever want to use them at all. From an adult perspective the repeated question
is, "Who's to blame?" Often looking to transfer responsibility, the adult population frequently points the
finger of blame outward. Depending on who you ask you may hear a range of criticism that includes the
media, peer influence, lack of supervision from school officials, drug pushers, law enforcement's lack
authority, law enforcement's overreaction, kid's role models, parental indulgence, to lack of parental
involvement. There is no denying that these can be contributing factors, as outside influences can be
very powerful.

But to ascribe blame solely on outside influences would be not only an exaggeration, but would be saying
our kids are nothing more then victims of circumstance and thus would remove them from the accountability
of their own choices. Where adults tend to look outward for 'the answers', the kid's explanations tend to point
more towards themselves. They tend to explain it from a more personal choice, something inside them urging
them on; wanting to fit in, a curiosity, or need for excitement.
Understanding the teenage perspective holds important keys. There are many pressures teens deal with on a
daily basis. When kids are asked why they began using drugs, they do not look outward to outside influences.
Rather their reasons include those similar to the following responses:

They want to fit in, to feel part of the group

To rebel against adult authority

To escape their problems

To hide their feelings of inadequacy, and low self esteem

The thrill and excitement of taking a risk

Wanting to feel grown up
The 'Gateway' Drugs
Most adolescents do not begin with the so-called hard drugs such as cocaine, crystal meth or heroin. Usage
generally begins with drugs that are much more easily accessible and, in the adult population, are legal;
nicotine and alcohol. Usage frequently begins with easy access to these in the home, be it the home of
their family, friend or relative. Tobacco and alcohol are believed, by many experts, to be the gateway or
entrance to a path towards drug abuse.
Generally, even teens recognize the serious health risks associated with smoking. Yet, if they are willing
to smoke, it's an easy link to drinking alcohol. By this time, they have demonstrated they are risk-takers
so the obvious next level is to marijuana. From there it can be a dangerous, even deadly spiral towards
other drugs, and the destructive behaviors that go along with them.

Understanding Addictive Behavior
No matter what drug is involved, the disease of addiction appears to follow a predictable course. Typically,
the user begins out of some level of curiosity. If the initial experience produces pleasurable results, the individual
will more then likely move on to recreational use, such as with friends, at parties or on the weekends. As they
come to enjoy the drug more and more, it is inevitable that the usage will increase, such as using during the week
on a regular basis. Soon, their lives become more and more centered around getting the drug and finding opportunities
to use it. It begins to interfere with relationships, school, work, and other formerly productive areas of interest in their
lives. By now the drug-dependency, the addiction, have taken control, and the individual is unable to function
without the drug. If there is not a physical addiction, there is most certainly a psychological dependency upon
their drug of choice. And if their drug of choice is not easily accessible, they will resort to whatever it takes to
obtain that drug.

Marijuana - What You Need to Know
The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that marijuana is the illegal drug most often used in this country.
Studies show nearly 50% of teenagers try marijuana before they graduate high school. Many parents of teens
experimented with marijuana in their college days, and now find it difficult to talk to their kids about the use of
marijuana. But today, marijuana use begins at a much younger age and there is a much more potent form of
marijuana available to the kids today.
Kids site their use of marijuana as a way for them to cope with life's problems, to deal with anxiety, anger or
depression, a way to escape, something to do so as to ease boredom. Long-term studies of high school students
appear to demonstrate a pattern that few young people use other drugs without first having tried marijuana. Of
itself then, marijuana is a gateway drug.

The Silent Epidemic - Huffing/Solvents/Inhalents
There are over 1,000 common household and classroom products that can be used as inhalants, according to the
National Institute of Drug Abuse. Huffing is a form of drug abuse that is on the rise with our young people at an
alarming rate. These products are so common, you most likely would not be alarmed if you saw a teen buying them.
After all, would you stop to realize that something as seemingly harmless as hairspray, whipped cream or air freshener
could be used as harmful drugs? These products typically contain gases such as butane or toluene, which can harm
the liver, kidneys and bone marrow, and also cause brain damage.

Most huffers begin very young. According to a study by The Cape Cod Islands Partnership to Reduce Substance
Abuse it was found that 1 out of 5 students had tried 'huffing' by 7th grade. And inhalants were found to be the 3rd
most abused substance, behind tobacco and alcohol, in the 12-14 year old age group, per the National Institute on
Drug Abuse. A California physician, who lost his 13 year old son to huffing spray-can propellants said he knew more
about inhalants than most parents, yet there were important things he didn't know. "I didn't know about Sudden
Sniffing Death. I didn't know about the brain damage." He also said he didn't know it was habituating, and that it
wouldn't be easy for his son to stop. Kids can die from abusing inhalants repeatedly, or even just once.
States a Wichita Juvenile Court Judge, " . . . I see a lot of kids coming into court in all kinds of trouble and all kinds
of problems. The one group of kids that scares me the most are kids using inhalants, or huffing as they call it." Would
you recognize the warning signs of huffing?

" Chemical smell on child or child's clothing
" Correction fluid on nose, fingers, or clothing
" Markers in pockets
" Red eyes, nonsensical talk, irritability
" 'Drunk' appearance, slurred speech
" Unusual breath odor
" Decreased appetite
" Frequent headaches
" Sores around mouth
" Lack of concentration
" Low grades, school absences

Meth - The Equal Opportunity Destroyer
Crystal meth, crank, speed, glass, ice . . . meth amphetamine drugs go by many names and have many forms.
Typically, it is found in powder or crystallized forms and can be smoked, inhaled, eaten or shot-up intravenously.
Users are referred to as 'tweakers'. It's very available and cheap to buy, and produces an extended 'high' making
it extremely tempting to the young and foolish.
Meth speeds up the central nervous system causing physical and psychological effects that, at first, seem pleasurable:
increased alertness and energy, decreased need for sleep, euphoria and increased sexuality. Meth is highly addictive
as users often continue using to avoid the inevitable 'crash' when the drug's euphoric effects begin to wear off. Meth
tricks the body and brain into believing it has unlimited energy supplies, which is how meth users are able to stay awake
for long periods of time. But these chemical imbalances in the brain and sleep deprivation result in hallucinations, extreme
paranoia and often bizarre, violent behavior.
Once meth entraps the user it wreaks havoc with their body from weight loss and malnutrition, to welts on the skin known
as 'crank bugs', shortness of breath, hyperactivity, severe depression, paranoid delusions and suicidal tendencies.

A Letter from a Teenage Addict

I'm a fifteen year old alcoholic/addict, though I've been clean and sober for seven months now. Right now I want to persuade
you not to shoot heroin or anything else. Drugs force us to cross the invisible line of fact and reality. Sometimes so often that
you forget where that was, and will have trouble finding where that line used to be. When you first shoot up, you will most likely
puke and feel repelled, but soon you'll try it again. It will cling to you like an obsessed lover. The rush of the hit and the
way you'll want more, as if you were being deprived of air. That's how it will trap you.
Soon your money will run short and your 'suppliers' will start asking 'favors, Instead of giving you the occasional freebie,
all because they know they've got you hooked and they can see the way your body aches for it. All this is part of crossing the line.
Finally, when you have humiliated yourself in every way you could possibly think of, the darker side hits; ongoing despair
and deep depression.
With me, it was the thrill and the rush that made the need tolerable I felt like there was nothing without it and freedom within it.
I would walk with my arms folded up so that people would not see how swollen they were from missing my vein and the with
puss bubbles with a black dot on top from me poking through my vein with a needle. I still struggle with thoughts of 'were the
hard times really that bad or were they part of what made them so good?' Then I realize that I was just pretending that I
enjoyed the mania so that it would not hurt so bad. Someone once described withdrawals as tiny, evil animals; chewing
their way out of your skin, and as if all your pores were opening like a dehydrated plant for just one more drink of toxic
water. I paid dearly for an expensive assassin to still my life, mind and body. I am now glad it did not succeed. So please,
for the love of all that is dear to you, just think before you welcome a killer into your body.

Intervention
The goal of this document has been to provide an overview of teen drug abuse and to make you keenly aware of the
warning signs. Again, if the warning signs indicate that intervention is necessary,