Troubled Teens Resources

It is amazing that childhood remedies - simple medicines designed to alleviate the discomforts of the common cold, are now a target in the campaign against teen age drug abuse. But when troubled teens are determined to get high, they will find any possible method available to do so.

DXM is the primary ingredient in cough medicines that teens seek as an intoxicant. It can be found in your medicine shelf and at your local drug store. But as parents wise up and start putting these simple medicines under lock and key, as are drug stores, teens are simply turning to the internet.

“There are a number of disreputable websites that provide “how-to” guides to get high off of DXM. These sites include information recommending how much DXM to use, suggest other drugs to combine with DXM, provide instructions on how to extract DXM from cough medicines, promote drug abuse in general, and even offer for purchase a raw, unfinished form of DXM for snorting.”

Recent legislation passed in the house,the Dextromethorphan Distribution Act of 2007, is designed to thwart the sale of bulk DMX.

“In 2005, two teenagers in my district died after overdosing on unfinished DXM they bought on the Internet,” said Congressman Rick Larsen. “The loss of these children is a tragedy that will be forever felt by their families and communities. We cannot continue to allow this dangerous drug to be only a click of the mouse away from our homes and our children. I urge the Senate to act quickly and approve this common sense measure to protect our kids.”
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Death recruits dedicated soldiers in the war against teen age drug abuse. Bereaved parents galvanized to action by the deaths of their sons and daughters have been responsible for creating countless programs for troubled teens and campaigns directed at educating teens and parents about drug addiction and culture.

One father, devastated by the accidental overdose of his 19 year old son, has taken his battle closer to the front lines by establishing DAMMAD (Dads And Mad Moms Against Drug-Dealers), dedicated to busting the dealer by providing a means for citizens to leave anonymous tips.

“Since founding DAMMAD following the death of his 19 year old son from a prescription drug overdose in January 2001, Steven Steiner Sr. and his wife Julie have provided law enforcement with over 2600 tips, resulting in 77arrests and 37 convictions in states including Georgia, Maine, New York, Pennsylvania,South Carolina and Mississippi. So far $10,100.00 dollars in reward money has been paid to tipsters.”

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Such efforts have become even more valuable when everyday citizens sometimes are too frightened to contact the police. In the world of hip hop, street cred is partly predicated on not providing evidence of a crime to the police. Certain super stars in that world are spearheading a campaign that has resulted in intimidating willing witnesses from testifying. Websites like these serve to provide a very safe route for the transmission of tips that can lead to taking a few dealers and ‘gangstas’ off the street.

Don’t let death be the inspiration for you to be active in your community. Find the local anti-drug programs that are doing a good job and support them. They are fighting for your teenagers, too.

Teen who dislike random drug testing won’t like this gadget. Those teenagers who have become experts in skewing their drug testing results will particularly be dismayed by this device, as well as the reckless teenagers who think it’s a blast to drive around half drunk or stoned.

In fact, if these become widely used, teen age drug abuse will have suffered a blow. Chalk one up for the good guys. It’s presently in use in Australia, but if it’s as effective as it appears to be, it won’t be long before they are in use everywhere.

“The world’s first roadside drug screening unit took just 15 minutes to claim a scalp yesterday after police set up their new drug-testing bus at Yarraville.

The fourth driver stopped and tested by the 12-strong unit returned a positive saliva test for methamphetamines. His second sample also tested positive.
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The saliva test can detect speed, marijuana and some party drugs that contain traces of amphetamines.

The test unit is operating on a 12-month trial and will expand its activities as police become more familiar with the methods and technology.

It will operate every day this week around Melbourne and in the new year will be extended to rural areas, as well as targeting dance parties and raves.

In recent weeks police had warned they would also target the long-distance trucking industry - long associated with rumours of amphetamine use.”
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The consequences of rampant teen age drug abuse reach deeply into the community, spawning an underground economy manned by thugs and the source of endless violence. Drug deals gone bad, turf wars, and drive-by shootings occur on a daily basis in almost every American city. The tragedy is that so much of this bloodshed is committed by teens.

Teens that the public is not permitted to identify because of their age. The question becomes, are we protecting teens or are we protecting murderers? Increasingly there is concern over the new level of brutality teens are now participating in.

This past summer, there were several incidents in Jersey City of teenagers committing violent “wolf pack” attacks… it was reported that a group of girls robbed and attacked a woman in her 20s as she was walking …they pulled her hair, dragging her to the ground.

On Aug. 25, five young persons were responsible for several beatings, including an attack on a Vietnam veteran, which the juveniles also videotaped.
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In June, a woman in her forties was attacked…by a 16-year old male in such a manner that she needs to wear braces and to have a year of reconstructive work on her teeth and jaw.”

These aren’t minor crimes that can be addressed with a stint in a brat camp. Do you have a right to know who these teens are? New legislation in this New Jersey city - and in many cities across the nation - will allow the public to know the names of the violent teens in their neighborhood.

“We believe that knowledge is important and believe people should know who the criminals are in their community,”

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Teen age drug abuse can often start innocently enough. A sports injury or any type of surgery can, unfortunately, provide the teen with their first taste for narcotics through no choice of their own. But if a severe injury necessitates a long period of opiates, it can leave it’s recipient an inadvertent addict.

“At 15, Jared Hess began using prescribed painkillers in his battle with chronic kidney stone problems, and by 18 he was addicted to Oxycontin, an opiate-based painkiller he was given for his illness.

The Owings Mills resident, now in his fourth year of recovery and working as an advocate for Faces and Voices of Recovery, spoke at a news conference earlier this month in Washington D.C. to announce the start of National Alcohol Drug and Alcohol Recovery Month.
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Overall, an estimated 7 million Americans abused prescription drugs in 2006, the report revealed. That’s up 9.3 percent from an estimated 6.4 million in 2005.
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Hess… was given Oxycontin during a month-long hospital stay and continued to use the painkillers against doctor’s orders after he was discharged. He went into recovery January 2003, seeking help at an in-patient facility. He said the recovery process never really stops.

“I think about recovery every day, primarily because it’s my job, but it’s always with you,” he said.”

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Unfortunately many of these addicts are met with the same disapproval extended to those who have no medical excuse for their adventure into drugs. If you have a teen who requires a heavy pain med, consult with your physician on how to best avoid this type of tragedy.

Read more on prescription abuse at Teen Options.

Do you feel blindsided? You just went through your son’s bedroom, you were only picking up laundry, and there it was. What is it, a stash, is that what they call it? You don’t know the lingo of teen age drug abuse yet but you do know your pain pills when you see them. And you know damn well that’s pot.

You look around the room at the trophies, the photos of him on the swim team, his awards. You just had a great golf outing with him. What in blue blazes is going on?

Some parents are just plain irresponsible. They don’t see casual drug use as any more than a rite of passage. But then there are those conscientious and dedicated parents who did it right, they feel that they have a good relationship with their kids. The possibility of their teen using drugs just didn’t ever seem possible.

“By all accounts, Jimmie Moyer was a typical American kid. He played sports, his family took vacations together, there was nothing – nothing at least immediately visible – to suggest that he was at risk for drug addiction.

But around the time he was 12 years old, Owens said, Jimmie began to smoke pot. Over an extended period of time, his drug of choice changed to methamphetamine and his usage soared, to the point where he was using significant amounts per day.”
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After a long battle with methamphetamine addiction, he came to his family asking for help in his own personal war against the drug. His family sent him to a recovery facility out-of-state to separate him for the drug dealers and users that he knew.

Six days into that recovery program, he took his life.”

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Teenagers tend to be self-righteous in their political ideals these days. They deplore exploitation and war yet seem to have no idea what their teen age drug abuse supports. Perhaps parents can make headway in convincing troubled teens that their use of illegal drugs is rather hypocritical given the devastation it causes. Not just in their and their families’ lives, but in the lives of the impoverished who grow crops for the drug cartels, to the gangs that make their neighborhoods war zones in the distribution of it.

The following addresses those who advocate for drug legalization and might be food for thought for your teenager.

“Most, if not all, libertarians insist that drug usage is a victimless crime. It isn’t. In today’s world, its victims are legion. Whether they are innocent bystanders killed in gun battles between rival drug factions in American cities, or the thousands of South Americans who have been kidnapped, robbed, or murdered by the powerful drug cartels, any American who uses illegal drugs today has blood on his hands. I disagree when libertarians try to pin all the blame on Uncle Sam. Laws criminalizing drugs don’t drive drug prices into the stratosphere by themselves. The other factor is American demand for those drugs.If you want to work for the decriminalization of drugs, then do so; but until those drugs are legal, don’t tell me that you have a right to use them. If you choose to use illegal drugs, your choice is helping to kill people. This is not, and never will be, your right.”

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Restorative justice has a noble sound to it but it is yet to be seen if yet another hand-holding approach to juvenile delinquency will make much of a dent on teen age drug abuse or crime.

Restorative justice is premised on the idea that a criminal should not be prosecuted by the state, but, instead the state must work with the crtiminal. In addition the criminal, as much as possible, is expected to work directly with those whom they have victimized or harmed.

“The underlying premise is that people are actually happier, more cooperative and more likely to change if those in authority do things with them rather than to them or for them,” says Ted Wachtel, president of the International Institute for Restorative Practices, who brings restorative practices to group homes and schools.

In traditional criminal justice, victims and offenders become passive players in a system dominated by the courts, lawyers and judges. In restorative justice, they take center stage.

“In the process of focusing on the victim, you end up providing a way for the offender to make amends and be re-accepted back into society,” says Mike Gilbert, associate professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio Downtown Campus who teaches a course on restorative justice.”

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Many parents, no doubt, would rather see a gang banger or a chronic drug abuser placed in brat camps where the emotional and behavioral problems that precipitated their crimes be addressed with equal measures of discipline and education. However, claims are that restorative justice has been successful when applied to juvenile offenders for minor crimes.

One of the first concerns that parents of ADHD teens express is that medicating their teen will set them up for full blown teen age drug abuse.If nothing else, some parents feel that it will introduce them into a life long habit of seeking answers from a pill bottle. Though such concerns are understandable, there is no definitive research to support those fears.

What research has shown is that animals used in testing did later demonstrate drug seeking behavior, but the doses that they were administered were 50-200 times higher than any human would ingest.

“What is relevant is what we know about adults and teens who were give medications as children. Ten studies that have addressed this important issue.

• Six of the studies demonstrate clearly that earlier treatment results in reduced substance abuse.
• Three studies show no difference.
• One study shows higher risk for substance abuse connected to earlier treatment.
• No study shows any increased risk of substance abuse when the severity of ADHD is factored in.

Treatment isn’t all that matters. So does treatment response. Studies show that adolescents with ADHD who respond well to their medications are at lower risk for substance abuse compared than those who respond poorly to their medication.

In summary:

• Stimulant treatment of ADHD appears to result in reduced alcohol and drug problems, not increased substance abuse.
• Some ADHD youth and adults self medicate with substances to treat their ADHD and self esteem problems. Treating ADHD with medication may reduce this phenomenon.”

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Troubled teenagers who indulge in binge drinking or teen age drug abuse have given many communities incentive to implement teen crisis intervention measures in order to stop the carnage. Communities who are tired of waking up to headlines listing the latest teen fatalities from drunk driving or drug overdoses.

Being proactive in their community is an uncomfortable role for many parents. And while it is certainly not true that it takes a village to raise a child, it helps if each parent is responsible and vigilant for their own.

That’s why programs like the one in Hinsdale are becoming more prevalent. Parents are being provided a hot line to report drunken teens and adults who allow underage drinking in their home. They also can turn in their teen’s contraband drugs. It may be a small effort, but then, that is how the war is won - one battle at a time.

“On Tuesday, the [Hinsdale]chiefs talked about expanding…Operation STAAT… to get to the root of underage drinking early.
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Neighbors who suspect a teen party can anonymously call a hot line and are encouraged to record license plates of vehicles parked in the vicinity. The program also calls for community service for offenders.
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STAAT offers help for parents who suspect their teenagers have been drinking. Police officers will be dispatched to a home to administer a preliminary breath test. If the teenager fails, a juvenile officer will meet with the youth and set up community service hours. If parents say the teenager continues to drink, he or she can be charged with underage drinking.”

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