Street Drugs and Mental Health

by Beth McHugh | More from this Blogger

04 Nov 2007 03:37 PM

Parents of teenagers often worry about their children becoming involved with drugs, and rightly so. Statistics show that, by the age of 20, the majority of young adults have either tried drugs on one or two occasions, take them on a regular basis, abuse drugs or are addicted to them.

Knowledge is a valuable tool in a parent's arsenal against drugs, as is knowing how to talk to your pre-teen and teenager about drugs. Just saying "no" to drugs isn't always the best approach for a parent to take. Yet talking to your child about illegal drugs can be both daunting and difficult, especially if you have no experience of drug-taking yourself. A parent in that situation can lack credibility simply because they haven't tried drugs themselves and the teenager quite naturally thinks your words sound more than a bit hollow when you simply say "Don't!".

It can be easier if you as a parent have experienced and seen first hand the down side of drug-taking, although of course the canny teen will often use that experience against you. However, whether or not you have had a personal encounter with illegal drugs, knowledge is still power. Hence I will be writing a series of article on the most common drugs your children will be confronted with, their common side effects, the attraction of them to users and, most importantly, how to talk to your teen without making them take a defensive attitude (one of life's difficult tasks but it can be achieved!)

Over the coming weeks, we will be looking at ecstasy, hallucinogens, heroin, marijuana, benzodiazepines, speed, cocaine, ice, and other street drugs. For each drug, topics such as immediate versus long-term effects, tolerance, dependence, withdrawal, and overdose will be discussed in order to give you, the parent, a better perspective on dealing with drugs in the life of your child.

Contact Beth McHugh for further assistance regarding this issue.

Related Articles:

Diagnostic Criteria for Substance Dependence

Is It Really Substance Abuse?

The link between IQ, binge drinking, and hangovers

Childhood behavioral problems and binge drinking

When Usage Becomes Abusage: Recreational Drugs

When Substance Abuse becomes Substance Dependence

Learn more about Beth McHugh

Beth McHugh began her career as a geologist and worked both in industry and as a university researcher.

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margaretp (40) 04 Nov 2007 07:24 PM

I think if parents were able to put down their alcohol, zanax perscriptions, and all the legal drugs that they are on, the teenager might understand what "drug free" really means. Most teenagers now just head to their parents medicine cabinets for a quick high.

Beth McHugh (12962) 04 Nov 2007 08:32 PM

The excessive use of drugs, both in teenagers and in adults, is merely a symptom of a deeper, underlying problem. People is such situations need understanding, education and most importantly, love. While parents do not always lead healthy lives, there is little point in denigrating those who are already punishing themselves.