Troubled Teens Resources

Teen crisis intervention programs are often the result of media hype. That can be a two edged sword. Parents need to be aware of the dangers confronting their troubled teenagers, but by the same token, if the media goes too far in demonizing a drug, the ultimate effect may be a dilution of the anti-drug message. As this writer puts it, not every drug can hold the title as the worst.

“This is the problem with having a demon drug of the moment: all of them can’t possibly be “the worst” and “most addictive” and “most dangerous,” but if you look at the news coverage of each new scare, that’s exactly what the coverage claims. When crack came out, it was “more addictive than heroin,” (the previous worst drug ever), now meth allegedly makes crack look like “child’s play.”

One possible result of media overkill is that now cocaine may have come out looking like a benign substitute for meth and heroin. After all, it is associated with the fast life culture promoted by Hollywood. Kate Moss, the high fashion model that all predicted would lose her career due to her much publicized cocaine use, is experiencing an even more successful run.

“There seems to be less of a stigma about” cocaine, said Dr. Herbert Kleber… “People don’t feel nearly as much the need to hide it,” he said. “They feel that they can use it in a more open fashion.”

(Source)

Perhaps what should be demonized is simply addiction itself. Be it to a drug, or food, or sex, perhaps the lesson teens need to hear is to never to abdicate their power to anything outside themselves. That can be encouraged by teaching the importance of individuality and the power of choice.