Troubled Teens Resources

Articles about teen age drug abuse focus a great deal on meth, heroin, and club drugs. And rightfully so given the prevalence of their use amongst teens. But marijuana is still the most common drug used by teens, so much so that it is close to becoming normalized due to the casual attitudes towards it, emanating from both teens and many parents. But that is not how it is being viewed by the juvenile courts.

One day, a Texas judge was curious if all of the teens standing before him in court would test positive for drugs. He wasn’t expecting that every single one of them would. Wondering if there is a correlation between pot use and truancy, the judge intends to implement a good deal more drug testing in order to find out.

“Ball ordered the students and their parents to report to the Alcohol and Drug Awareness Council..where… counselors will perform interviews to try to identify the problem, and based on the information gathered, will decide whether education or a referral to a level of care is appropriate. No drug charges were filed against the students who tested positive in truancy court because they were not in possession of drugs at the time, Ball said.

Marijuana may seem like an “old school” drug, but its popularity is still going strong among today’s youth…

More than 80 percent of local seniors say the drug is “easy to get”…the average age of first use among Texas students is 13.5 years old, according to the Texans Standing Tall Report Card, meaning most students are in middle school when they first try the drug.”

(source)

If you overhear one of your teens talking about some good “skunk”, they were not referring to the animal of that name. An obstacle that those who fight against teenage drug abuse must continually overcome is the notion that marijuana is a harmless recreational drug, without any lasting ill side effects. However, if you read about troubled teens and drugs a good deal, you’ll have noticed more and more mention of reports surfacing in Great Britain that suggest otherwise. Potent weed is referred to as “skunk” and it isn’t your father’s marijuana anymore.

“The devastating effects of skunk cannabis on the nation’s mental health are revealed here for the first time, showing where the drug has hit hardest around the country.

Some areas have suffered a tenfold increase in people mentally ill from using the drug.

Nationally, skunk smokers are ending up ill in hospital in record numbers, with admissions soaring 73 per cent. The number of adults recorded as suffering mental illness as a result of cannabis use has risen sharply from 430 in 1996 to 743 in 2006.

The government data shows how the damaging effects of the drug have swept across England…as the debate over the drug’s dangers continues, figures released by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Abuse (NTA) show that more than 24,500 people are in drug treatment programmes for cannabis – the highest ever.

It is the most commonly misused drug by children, accounting for 75 per cent of those requiring treatment. That’s 11,582 under-18s – more than double those in treatment for cannabis abuse in 2005.

And more adults (13,087) are in drug treatment programmes for cannabis abuse than for crack or cocaine.”
(source)

A common debate found in discussions of teen age drug abuse is how harmful pot may or may not be. There are copious defenses written of it’s use - on the internet, in medical literature and in various arguments before the court. And as is always the case with pot, you have one side who dismisses the negative health and psychological ramifications and the opposing view who paints pictures of marijuana users becoming psychotics unable to cope with life.

Where the truth lies is still up for debate, but a recent study asserts that there is no long term brain damage indicated in even the most dedicated pot smokers.

“A new study of cognitive changes caused by heavy marijuana use has found no lasting effects 28 days after quitting. Following a month of abstinence, men and women who smoked pot at least 5,000 times in their lives performed just as well on psychological tests as people who used pot sparingly or not at all, according to a report in the latest issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.”

“The down side of pot use is that though it may leave brain cells intact, it may not allow the teen user to keep his emotions or life in the same pristine shape.

Although researchers found no irreversible cognitive defects from a lifetime of marijuana consumption, pot users are not a happy lot… most heavy users admitted that the drug has a negative impact on all aspects of their lives from job performance and physical health to mental well-being and satisfactory socializing.

Heavy smokers also have substantially smaller incomes and lower levels of education than nonusers or light users, despite the fact that the education and income levels of their families are the same….”

(source)

Karen’s daughter Erin has just begun her high school career, entering the new school year as a freshman. A time that ought to be celebrated as an important threshold in a child’s life is now viewed with a great deal of trepidation by parents struggling with troubled teenagers. Karen had been concerned over some of the friends her daughter has been hanging out with at the end of eighth grade. She blew it off as just harmless teens with tattoos and rock star dreams.

Picking up her daughter after the first day of school, Karen was alarmed to see her standing around with the same tattooed kids who, if anything, looked more radical than they had last year. Erin immediately became belligerent when Karen questioned her about who they were.

Parents of young teens who have not yet dealt seriously with the issue of teenage drug abuse need to understand that an essential aspect of teen crisis intervention is for both the teen and parent to be educated about all aspects of drugs and drug culture.

If Karen’s suspicions that her daughter’s new friends do drugs, what signs should she look for? Trouble Teen.us offers some basic guidance. Follow the link to view the entire list of questions.

Are your teen’s friends concerned about him or her?
Has your teen ever returned home drunk?
Does your teen use marijuana?
Are there signs of heavier drug use?
Is your teen huffing?
Has your teen ever run away?
Is your teen sexually active?

If parents don’t think that their teens are using drugs and alcohol they might what to read up on the studies that have been done, and take a good hard look at the teen sitting across the dinner table from them tonight. Teen age drug abuse has unfortunately become a norm instead of an isolated phenomena.

“In a survey taken in 1995, two-thirds of all of the 12th grade students interviewed said that they felt that they had to choose whether or not to use drugs before they graduated from high school. In studies done in 1998 and 1999, 56 percent of 12 to 17 year old reported that marijuana was easy to get and 72 percent of this group reported that alcohol was very easy to obtain. By the time they are 17 years old, 56 percent of adolescents state that they know a drug dealer.

Among the substances abused are: alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, opiates, “club drugs” (ecstasy, etc.). stimulants, hallucinogens, inhalants, prescription drugs, and steroids.

Drug and substance abuse among teenagers, is substantial. Among youth age 12 to 17, about 1.1 million meet the diagnostic criteria for dependence on drugs, and about 1 million are treated for alcohol dependency.”

(source)

KD

A good friend did this week-end what, I imagine, thousands of parents across America are doing. Renting limos for their teenager’s proms. She made a specific point of instructing the driver, in front of all of the teenage passengers, that if any alcohol or illegal substance were to be discovered or if any one of the teens were acting intoxicated, that he was to call her immediately. She made it clear to the teens the consequences that they would face if any deviation from the rules occurred.

A recent study indicates that parents remain the strongest influence in a teen’s life. Use your power as a parent. Teen crisis intervention starts with prevention and education. The following are suggested guidelines to use in letting your teen know exactly what your position is on drugs and alcohol and the consequences for violating the rules.

TIP 1: Clearly state what actions you expect your teen to take when confronted with substance use. Teens who know what their parents expect from them are much less likely to use substances, including alcohol.

TIP 2: Talk about the alcohol use that your children observe. Parents need to make it clear how they want their children to handle substances, such as alcohol and tobacco. Children need to have controlled exposure to learn the rules of acceptable use.

TIP 3: Help your teen find leisure activities and places for leisure activities that are substance-free. Then, keep track of where, with whom, and what your teen is doing after school and during other free times.

TIP 4: Limit the access your children have to substances. Teens use substances that are available. They report that they sneak alcohol from home stocks, take cigarettes from relatives, and obtain marijuana from people that they know well.

TIP 5: Inform teens about the honest dangers that are associated with alcohol use and abuse. Although teens are not highly influenced by such information, some discussion of negative consequences has some impact on the decisions they make.

Especially emphasize how alcohol clouds one’s judgment and makes one more likely to be harmed in other ways.
(Source)

Huffing used to be what the big bad wolf did to blow the three pigs’ houses down. Now it’s what drug abusing teenagers are doing to blow their life apart. It’s under the radar but apparently escalating and, as with all substance abuse, dangerous to the point of being fatal

Brain, blood, lungs, heart, liver, kidneys are just a few of the organs which undergo damage when troubled teens decide to get high by huffing. It has been indicated that huffing may precede marijuana use and can begin in late childhood or early adolescence. It’s appeal lies in it’s easy availability and instantaneous high. Little known is the fact that it is addictive with few treatment programs available to address a high rate of relapse among recovering users.

“Most parents are in the dark regarding the popularity and dangers of inhalant use. But children are quickly discovering that common household products are inexpensive to obtain, easy to hide and the easiest way to get high. According to national surveys, inhaling dangerous products is becoming one of the most widespread problems in the country. It is as popular as marijuana with young people. More than a million people used inhalants to get high just last year. By the time a student reaches the 8th grade, one in five will have used inhalants.”

Here is a list of substances commonly abused

Volatile Solvents

• Adhesives
  model airplane glue, rubber cement, household glue
• Aerosols
  spray paint, hairspray, air freshener, deodorant, fabric protector, computer keyboard cleaner
• Solvents and gases
  nail polish remover, paint thinner, type correction fluid and thinner, toxic markers, pure toluene, cigar lighter fluid, gasoline, carburetor cleaner, octane booster
• Cleaning agents
  dry cleaning fluid, spot remover, degreaser
• Food products
  vegetable cooking spray, dessert topping spray (whipped cream), whippets
• Gases
  nitrous oxide, butane, propane, helium

Anesthetics

• Anesthetic
  nitrous oxide, ether, chloroform

Nitrites

(Nitrite room odorizers)

• Amyl
  “Poppers,” “Snappers”
• Butyl
  “Rush,” “Locker room,” “Bolt,” “Climax,” also marketed in head shops as “video head cleaner”

From the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition