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.”

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Sometimes troubled teenagers think that what actually constitutes teen age drug abuse and addiction is up for debate. Ask them to answer yes or no to the following questions just to see how they perceive addiction.

No online questionnaire is going to suffice for professional counseling for teens at risk, but actually seeing how your teenager perceives addiction might give you an opportunity to educate them. There are no wrong or right answers in this exercise , just an opportunity to see the extent of drug awareness your teen exhibits.

1. Do you sometimes get angry or disappointed at yourself for not being able to quit using drugs?
2. Do you undergo personality changes or mood swings related to your drug use?
3. Do you sometimes put using drugs ahead of your significant relationships in your life?
4. When you use drugs, does it take more to get you high than it used to?
5. Have you ever been in trouble with the law due to drug use, for driving, possession of drugs, selling or other drug related activity?
6. Has your drug use caused fights and arguments with family members or friends?
7. Does using drugs make you feel depressed, angry, or upset?
8. Have you broken promises to yourself that you will quit or cut back on your drug use?
9. Has a major area of your life been negatively affected by your drug use (work, close relationships, health, school, self esteem)?
10. Are most of your friends into using drugs?
11. Do you find it necessary to lie to employers, relatives or friends in order to hide your drug use?
12. Have you ever thought that you have a drug problem?
13. Has your sleep been significantly affected by drug use (either sleeping too much or not getting enough sleep)?
14. Have you ever been encouraged by others, whom you trust, to stop or cut back on your drug use?
15. Have you ever wished that you could talk to someone who could understand your drug-related problems and offer real help?

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