Teen Drug Use

3 de octubre de 2020

3 min de lectura

As a parent, you play a crucial role in your child's life. As your child grows to become a teenager, you'll likely start worrying about new risks your child might experience. The use of substances like tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs is one of these risks.

Why Teens Use Drugs

Common risk factors for teenage abuse of drugs are:

A behavioral or mental medical condition like anxiety, depression, or ADHD
A family history of drug abuse
Feelings of social rejection or low self-esteem
Risk-taking or impulsive behavior
A history of traumatic events like being a victim of abuse or a car accident

Teens experiment with and continue using drugs for various reasons, including:

To feel good: Drugs interact with the brain's neurochemistry to produce pleasurable feelings.
To fit in: A lot of teenagers use drugs to fit in with their peers who are doing drugs. They might fear they won't be accepted if they don't use drugs as well.
To feel better: Some teens suffer from social anxiety, depression, physical pain, and stress-related disorders. They may use drugs to try and lessen the distress feelings. Stress particularly plays a substantial role in experimenting with drugs and continuing their use.
To do better: Society is extremely competitive, where the pressure to perform academically and/or athletically can be intense. Certain teens might start using drugs like prescription or illegal stimulants to help improve or enhance their performance.
To experiment: Teens often look for new experiences, especially the experiences they perceive as daring or thrilling.

What Are the Signs of Teen Drug Use?

Tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana are the most common substances used by teens. By the time they hit the 12th grade, around two-thirds of teens have already tried alcohol, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Around half of teens in the 9th grade through 12th-grade report they experimented with marijuana and around four in 10 students in the 9th grade through the 12th grade have used cigarettes. Around two in 10 students in the 12th-grade report using the prescription medication without a prescription.

There are certain signs you can look for to see if your teen is "high" or intoxicated on a drug, however, it depends on which substance they used. Signs you can look for include:

Cold medications: Slowed or rapid heart rate, sleepiness
Tobacco products: Irritability, frequent smell of tobacco, discolored lips, teeth, or fingertips
Inhalants: Smell of solvents like gasoline, runny nose, irritability, or confusion
Cannabinoids: Sleepiness, reddened whites of eyes, excessive happiness, lack of motivation, excessive hunger, paranoia

Types of Drugs Teens Use

Teens abuse nearly every drug that adults abuse. Along with alcohol, common drugs abused by teens include:

Tobacco products: Cigarettes, chewing tobacco, and cigars
Cold medicines: Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) and Benadryl (diphenhydramine).
Cannabinoids: Marijuana and hashish
Stimulants: Cocaine, amphetamines, and methamphetamine
Depressants: Benzodiazepines and barbiturates
Inhalants: Ammonia and gasoline
Narcotics: Codeine, morphine, oxycodone, heroin, and Vicodin (hydrocodone)
Club drugs: Ecstasy (X)
Hallucinogens: Mushrooms, acid
Dissociative anesthetics: Ketamine, phencyclidine/PCP
Others: Anabolic steroids

Ways to Help your Teen if they're Abusing Drugs

If you suspect your teenager is addicted to alcohol or drugs, the first step is recognizing there's a problem. Ways you can help them are:

Talk to them. It's never too early to intervene. Using drugs casually can quickly turn into addiction or abuse and cause legal trouble, accidents, or health problems.
Focus on their behavior (not them as a person). Stress to them that drug use is dangerous, but this doesn't mean they're a bad person.
Encourage honesty. Let them know you're concerned and speak calmly to them. Back up your suspicions with specific details and verify any claims they make.
Regularly check-in. Know their whereabouts, spend more time with them, and ask them questions when they return home from being out.

It's important to seek professional help if your teen is engaged in drug abuse. Contact their doctor or another healthcare professional or a counselor.

Also, having a support network that can help both you and your teen is essential too.

Do You Suspect Your Teen Has a Drug Abuse Problem?

Subscribe to Healthread so you can connect with other people just like you who are finding ways to cope with their addiction or ways to help their teen's addiction. Regardless, having a support network to turn to will let you know you're not alone in this and there is help available as well as others going through the same pro

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En esta página

Why Teens Use Drugs

What Are the Signs of Teen Drug Use?

Types of Drugs Teens Use

Ways to Help your Teen if they're Abusing Drugs

Do You Suspect Your Teen Has a Drug Abuse Problem?

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