Teenage Drug Abuse. Is your teen involved in drugs?

• Additional things to watch for:

• Room or clothing smelling of smoke or chemicals.
• Incense being used to mask smells.
• Bottles of eye drops.
• Breath mints or breath freshener.
• Room deodorizers (used to mask smells)
• Small containers such as eye drop bottles which are not eye drops.
• Pez containers or other small containers.
• Unmarked liquids.
• Spills of stuff you cannot identify.
• Burn marks on furniture or clothing.
• Chemical stains or burn marks on clothing, bedding or fingers.
• Secretive use of the computer.
• Going to dances known as raves. Raves are known for club drugs such as ecstasy GHB and ketamine which are almost always readily available.

I know that many of the things listed above are a normal part of children growing up. It is your job as a parent to check this list and decide what things apply to your situation. One or two by themselves probably do not mean much, but if you have a number of concerns in different areas, then you may already have an out-of-control teen and you will need to do more investigating and a lot more work.

Ok now we come to the hard part. You have found drugs or drug paraphernalia on your child, or worse yet, you have got the phone call that all parents dread, from the police or the school, saying your child was found with drugs.
Take a deep breath.... and consider your actions. A lot will depend on how you deal with this first drug crisis. If you feel like yelling at your child, take a time out yourself until you have calmed down. Getting upset or shouting will only make your child defensive and you will lose the opportunity to use this as a valuable lesson.

If you have found drugs, either on your child or in their room or clothing you will need to take action but preferably not in an accusing way, as this will most likely make your child clam up and be uncooperative. Try and talk calmly. Ask why they have the drugs or why they are using drugs. Listen to them. Let them talk.

Let them know that because you love them, you will not allow them to harm themselves by using any drugs. Assure them that you love them no matter what, but you do not like what they are doing and it will not be tolerated. If you have already been clear about your feelings over drug use, then this will not come as any surprise to your child. If you have never really talked to your child about drug use, you may need to start by explaining why drugs are not acceptable, citing things such as health issues, being illegal and the possibility of time in detention or juvenile hall or jail.

Let them know that you are taking this seriously and you will be checking up on them and also there will be repercussions. These may vary from taking away privileges such as phone, cell phone or Internet use, or driving a car. Explain that any drug use make them unsafe to drive and that a car is a dangerous weapon and that they may kill someone else if not themselves.

You may have to resort to getting a drug test kit. Parents will often get one and then do not want to use it. However, one of the saddest stories I ever heard was from a seventeen year old girl whose mother bought a test kit and then never used it because, as she told her daughter, she did not want to seem like she distrusted her. The daughter told me that she wished so much that her mother had put her foot down and used the kit. That way she would have got help sooner. So, if you feel the need to get a drug test kit, do not just threaten but USE IT. One of the worst things any parent can do is to threaten and then not follow through. If you threaten any consequence, then you MUST follow through, or your credibility with you child will be lost.

You may also want to speak to their school if it is likely that they got drugs from some of their school friends. Most schools have counselors and some have police officers assigned to the school. An informal chat with either one can help and should be confidential. You can also check to see if your school or local area has any type of drug prevention programs. If not, consider helping to start one. If your child is into drugs, then you can be sure other kids are too.