Expert Offers Parents 10 Tips to Help Prevent Teen Drug Addiction

by Sue Scheff

 Parenting a teen in today's society is not an easy task. Communication with your teenager is key to his success on many levels; however, as a mother who raised two teenagers, I know it is easier said than done. Drug and alcohol use among teens is an issue parents need to be aware of. There are many good kids making some very bad choices. 

A common misconception among parents is thinking that a teen is only smoking marijuana as a phase. Marijuana and the substitutes for it, such as “spice,” are more risky and dangerous than what was available in years/generations prior. These drugs can be laced with higher levels of PCP, which can literally alter the mind of your teen and cause brain damage.

Drug use (substance abuse) is a serious cry for help, and making your teen feel ashamed or embarrassed can make the problem worse. Here are some common behavioral changes you may notice if your teenager is abusing drugs and alcohol:

• Violent outbursts, rage, or disrespectful behavior
• Poor or dropping grades
• Unexplained weight loss or gain
• Skin abrasions or needle track marks
• Missing curfews, running away, truancy
• Bloodshot eyes, distinctive “skunky” odor on clothing and skin
• Missing jewelry, money
• New friends
• Depression, apathy, withdrawal, and generally disengaged from the family
• Reckless behavior

My 10 tips to help prevent substance abuse:

 1. Communication is the key to prevention. Whenever an opportunity to talk about the risks of drinking and driving or the dangers of using drugs presents itself, take it and start a conversation.

2. Have a conversation not a confrontation. If you suspect your teen is using drugs, talk to her. Don't judge her; instead, talk to her about facts behind the dangers of substance abuse. If your teen isn't opening up to you, be sure you find an adolescent therapist who can help. 

3. Addict in the family. Do you have an addict in your family? Sadly many families have been affected by someone who has allowed drugs to take over his or her life. With this, it is a reminder to your teen that you want him to have a bright future filled with happiness. The last thing you want for them is to end up like [name of addicted relative].

4. Don't be a parent in denial. There is no teenager who is immune to drug abuse. No matter how smart your teen is, or athletic she is, she’s at risk if she starts using. I firmly believe that keeping your teen constructively busy, whether through sports, music or other hobbies, will put her at less risk to want to experiment. However don't be in the dark thinking that because your teen is pulling a 4.0 GPA and is on the varsity football team that he couldn't be dragged down by peer pressure. Go back to my number one tip—talk, talk, talk. Remind your teen how proud you are of him, and let him know that you’re always available if he’s being pressured to do or try something he don't want to.

5. Do you even know what your teen is saying? Listen, or watch on text messages or emails, for code words for medicaiton being abused or specific drug activity: skittling; tussing; skittles; robo-tripping; red devils; velvet; triple C; C-C-C-; and robotard are just some of the names kids use for cough and cold medication abuse. Weed; pot; ganja; mary jane; grass; chronic; buds; blunt; hootch; jive stick; ace; spliff; skunk; smoke; dubie; flower; and zig zag are all slang for marijuana.

6. Leftovers. Are there empty medicine bottles or wrappers in your teen’s room or car (if they own one)? Does she have burn marks on her clothes or her bedroom rug, and ashes or a general stench in her room or car? Be sure to check all pockets, garbage cans, cars, closets, and under beds, etc., for empty wrappers and other evidence of drug use. Where do you keep your prescription drugs?  Have you counted them lately? Teens and tweens often ingest several pills at once or smash them so that all of the drug’s affect is released at once.

7. Body language. Tune into changes in your teen’s behavior. Are his peer groups changing? Is he altering his physical appearance or suddenly lack hygiene? Are his eating and/or sleeping patterns changing? Does he display a hostile, uncooperative, or defiant attitude, and is he sneaking out of the house? Are you missing money or other valuables from your home?

8. Access to alcohol. Look around your home—are alcoholic beverages (liquor, beer, or wine) easily accessible? Teens typically admit that getting alcohol is easy, and that the easiest place to get it is in their own homes. Be aware of what you have in the house and if you suspect your teen is drinking, lock it up! Talk to them about the risks of drinking, especially if they are driving. 

9. Seal the deal. Have your teen sign a contract stating that she promises never to drink and drive. The organization Students Against Destructive Decisions (formerly known as Students Against Drunk Driving), www.saddonline.com provides a free online contract you can download. It may help her pause just the second she needs, to not get behind that wheel.

10. Set the example, be the example. What many parents don't realize is that they are the leading role model for their teen. If your teen sees you smoking or drinking frequently, what is the message you are sending? At the same time, many adults enjoy a glass of wine or other alcoholic beverage, and the teen needs to understand that they are adults and there’s a reason the legal drinking age is 21.

A very important piece of advice I share on a daily basis, which I learned the hard way, is that you have to be a parent first, even if it means your teen hates you. The hate is temporary. Your teen’s future, health, and safety depend on your parenting. Friendship will come later—and it does.

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Depressed teens mostly struggle alone

By Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times

Some 2 million Americans adolescents experienced a bout of major depression last year, but only about a third of them got any help in dealing with the sadness, irritability,  anxiety, guilt and loss of interest and energy that are the hallmarks of such episodes, a report says.

The new findings, tallied by the federal government'sSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, were issued Thursday to kick off a month of national activity aimed at raising awareness of childrens' mental health. With about 15% of high school students in the United States reporting they have seriously contemplated suicide in the past year, many of those efforts are geared toward identifying those at risk and intervening early to prevent self-harm.

Each year, 4,400 Americans between the ages of 10 and 24 commit suicide, and 149,000 seek emergency care for self-inflicted injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While shocking, these acts rarely come without some early warning: Researchers have found that 9 of 10 young suicide victims suffered from diagnosable mental illness at the time of their death, and that 63% showed overt symptoms of mental illness in the year before their suicide.

The latest study found that roughly 8.1% of the population between 12 and 17 years old reported experiencing a period of depressed mood lasting two or more weeks in the preceding 12 months. As he or she ages from 12 to 17, the report found, a child grows more likely to have a depressive episode. Almost 15% of girls 15 to 17 years old described to survey-takers a major depressive episode in the preceding year, compared to an average of 6.4% of boys 15 to 17 years old who did so. Teenage boys were consistently less likely to report depression -- or to get help for it -- than were girls, a pattern that continues into adulthood.

Young teens who experienced such depression were far more likely to have abused prescription drugs in the past month than those who were not depressed (19.2% vs. 6.6%), to smoke cigarettes daily (3.6% vs. 1.9%), and to report heavy alcohol use in the preceding month (4.2% vs. 1.9%).

The report is based on a national survey of drug use and health conducted in 2009.

Pamela S. Hyde, administrator of the agency releasing Thursday's findings, said they underscore the importance of catching and treating mental health problems early in kids. Doing so, she said, "can turn a life around and reduce the impact of mental illness and substance abuse on America's communities."

Currently, relatively few get help, the survey found. Some 34.7% of those reporting depression in the past year said they have received treatment of any kind. In that group, 58.5% said they had seen or talked to a physician or other professional about depression, but did not take any medication in treatment of it. Another 34.7% saw or talked to a physician or professional and took prescription medication for depression. The remaining 6.7% took prescription medication, but did not consult a professional about their mood disturbance.

The report comes against the backdrop of building momentum for efforts to identify youngsters who are at higher risk of mental illness and steer them toward early help. In Massachusetts, a statewide programrequiring all primary care physicians to screen children insured under Medicaid for mental illness risk has helped boost such screening to 74% of all teens, up from 20%. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Society for Adolescent Medicine all recommend routine screening of adolescents for early signs of depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses.

Teen Screen, a standardized mental health screening test designed by physicians at Columbia University, is now offered to adolescents with parents' permission at more than 550 school and community sites across the country, and is widely used by physicians to identify kids who may be at higher risk of depression or other mental illness.

"We know the earlier we identify these conditions, the prognosis for an adolescent is so much better," said Leslie McGuire, deputy executive director of Teen Screen. With earlier warning of a child's psychological suffering, psychotherapy may be all that's needed, and more intensive therapies, including prescription medication, can be avoided, she said. "But we have to find them first."

Manvel teen gets 12.5 years for providing lethal synthetic drugs

A federal judge Monday sentenced Wesley Sweeney, 18, to 12½ years in prison for his confessed role in providing synthetic hallucinogens that led to the death of Christian Bjerk, also 18, and the hospitalization of a 15-year-old boy in Grand Forks in June.

By: Stephen J. Lee, Grand Forks Herald

FARGO — A federal judge Monday sentenced Wesley Sweeney, 18, to 12½ years in prison for his confessed role in providing synthetic hallucinogens that led to the death of Christian Bjerk, also 18, and the hospitalization of a 15-year-old boy in Grand Forks in June.

One of 11 charged in a Grand Forks synthetic drug conspiracy, Sweeney is the first to be sentenced for causing death and bodily injury.

Sweeney admitted buying two hallucinogens on June 10 from Adam Budge, now 19, in East Grand Forks and then providing the drugs to Bjerk and C.J., the 15-year-old, in an apartment in northwest Grand Forks. Bjerk drove him to Budge’s home to buy the drugs and later to a party in Grand Forks, Sweeney said.

About 5:45 a.m., June 11, Bjerk was found dead on a nearby lawn. C.J. and Sweeney, who also took the drugs, were found nearby, disoriented and incoherent, and were hospitalized.

Facing a federal charge that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence, Sweeney took a plea deal in late August.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Myers has identified Andrew Spofford, 22, as the “hobby chemist,” who ordered chemicals from Europe, Asia and Houston to make the hallucinogens in his rented home near UND. In less than a week, the drugs killed two and led to serious health issues for a handful of others, including juveniles, Myers said.

Bjerk died June 11. Elijah Stai, 17, died June 15 in Altru Hospital after taking the drug June 13 in East Grand Forks.

‘Nightmare’

“I want to take this time to apologize to the family of Christian, and my family and the community,” said Sweeney before U.S. Judge Ralph Erickson imposed a sentence. “Christian was one of my best friends and I never wanted any harm to come to him.”

He was lied to by Budge about the nature of one of the drugs he bought, Sweeney said, and that it was three friends pooling their money to buy and take drugs together. He blamed years of addiction to drugs for clouding his judgment.

About 32 family members and friends of Sweeney, including two Catholic priests, filled one side of the court room. Several, including Sweeney’s parents, Mary Jo and Robert Sweeney, read prepared statements to Erickson emphasizing Sweeney’s problems with drug addiction. His father said his dream was that his son would finish high school and college and return to take over the family farm near Manvel, N.D.

About 10 family members and friends of Bjerk sat on the other side of the room. His parents, Keith and Debbie Bjerk, gave tearful statements about the impact of his death.

“I go to the cemetery every day and pray the rosary with my son,” Keith Bjerk said.

In pointed criticism of Sweeney’s family, Keith and Debbie Bjerk said they warned their son to stay away from Sweeney last spring because they saw him as a bad influence with a criminal record.

When told to stay away from Sweeney, Christian would ask why, Bjerk said during his statement. “I think we all know why now.”

Sweeney’s attorney, David Dusek, told Erickson that Sweeney did not sell any drugs to Bjerk or C.J., but took the drugs himself, too, in a tragic “nightmare,” that started with three friends partying.

Sweeney put the powdered hallucinogen in “lines” on a table and offered it to anyone, ingesting some himself. “He didn’t encourage anyone else to take it,” Dusek said.

Sweeney is not a violent criminal, but rather a longtime addict who needs help, Dusek said.

Plea deal

Sweeney faced a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years, based on the death of Bjerk and injury to C.J., the 15-year-old boy who spent two days in intensive care in Altru Hospital.

Based on the circumstances of Sweeney’s case, including prior criminal history, federal sentencing guidelines indicated a range of about 21 years to 27 years, according to statements in court.

Myers recommended 13½ years, saying Sweeney had provided timely help to the investigation that led to several other sources in Grand Forks as well as outside of North Dakota.

“We are pleased with this sentence and feel justice was done,” Myers said after the hearing.

“I lost a son,” Keith Bjerk said after the hearing. “Even if it was a life sentence, it wouldn’t seem like enough because it can’t replace my son. But it’s probably fair.”

Sweeney’s family declined comment after the hearing. His mother, crying loudly and nearly collapsing, was helped by friends into a meeting room. Sweeney spent about 15 minutes in the court room greeting and hugging family members and friends after the hearing. He will remain in custody until he’s transferred to federal prison near St. Cloud, Minn.

Unusual hearing

It was an unusually long sentencing hearing of more than two hours, in which families of Sweeney and Bjerk described lives of affluent people.

Myers acknowledged it was not a typical drug trafficking sentencing.

“This case illustrates that drug trafficking does not discriminate,” Myers said. “It affects every social and economic position in our society.

Before pronouncing sentence, Erickson remarked on how unusual it was in a drug trafficking case to have so many people appear, including to speak for or against the defendant.

He sentences drug criminals on almost a daily basis, he said, and usually “the court room has no one in it.”

Often, such drug criminals are seen as “throw-away people,” Erickson said. “But they’re not. They hurt like you hurt.”

But it seems in the “surging” drug epidemic “nobody pays any attention until it hits home.”

The judge said the evidence of lives ruined, such senseless crimes, is heart-breaking.

“These chemists who make this junk, you wouldn’t trust to make spaghetti sauce,” Erickson said.

Previously, Myers has said in court that Spofford bought chemicals from sources in Europe, China and in Houston. On Monday, he told Erickson that Sweeney’s information helped move the investigation “to sources outside of North Dakota.” Myers said later the investigation also has “an international component,” but said he cannot provide any details about it.

Second sentence

Also Monday in the same conspiracy case, Erickson sentenced Ronald Norling III to 27 months in prison, probably in Duluth, for his admitted role. Myers says Norling distributed the drugs Spofford made that included synthetic hallucinogens as well as their “analogues,” or chemical cousins. Cocaine, marijuana and ecstasy also were distributed.

Last week, Spofford’s roommate, William Fox, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for his role in the drug conspiracy.

Nine of the 11 charged have taken plea deals with Myers, including Spofford and Budge, who are expected to be sentenced in coming months. Two others may reach plea deals, too.

Teens, Cutting, and Self-Injury

"Amanda" was feeling overwhelmed. Her parents were preoccupied with financial worries. Her algebra teacher had assigned tons of homework. And her best friend was not speaking to her because of a fight they had a couple of days earlier. Amanda felt alone and afraid. After a particularly tough algebra exam, she felt her world was caving in. She ran into a stall in the girls' bathroom, rolled up her sleeve, and cut her left arm as hard as she could with her nails. She drew blood, but she continued to scratch and cut. In her mind, self-injury was the only way she could deal with all the stress.

A few minutes later, her feelings of hopelessness subsided. And self-injury gradually became a ritual: every time Amanda was in a stressful or uncomfortable situation, she would "release" the bad feelings by cutting her left arm with her nails or even with a razor blade. She carefully concealed the scars to avoid questions from friends and families

Besides cutting and scratching, hitting/bruising, biting, picking at skin, and pulling out hair are some of the other ways teens use self-injury to cope with intensely bad feelings. Sometimes teens injure themselves regularly, almost as if it were a ceremony; other times, they may hurt themselves at moments when they need an immediate release for built-up tension. When teens feel sad, distressed, anxious, or confused, the emotions might be so extreme that they lead to acts of self-injury (also called cutting, self-mutilation, or self-harm). Most teens who inflict injury on themselves do so because they are experiencing stress and anxiety.

Self-injury is an unhealthy and dangerous act and can leave scars, both physically and emotionally.

Stress and Self-Injury

Everybody experiences stress. But stress can feel very different for different people. Sometimes it is characterized by feeling nervous or jumpy. It can also include feelings of intense sadness, frustration, or anger.

These feelings are often (but not always) caused by things that happen during the day (such as a car accident or a fight with a friend). They can also be caused by something that is going to happen in the future (such as a big test or a dance recital). Stress also appears in different levels, or degrees.

Some people naturally feel higher levels of stress than others. For examples, two performers in a school play might feel drastically different about performing. One might be excited; the other might feel dizzy and nauseous.

This difference may be due to a person's biological makeup, or it might be due to a traumatic experience at a very young age. While these feelings may be triggered by a certain event or by many bad things happening in a short period of time, intense feelings of frustration could also be related to a person's upbringing. Children of abusive parents might lack good role models for dealing with stress in a healthy way.

Just as everyone experiences stress in unique ways, everyone deals with stress in different ways. These ways of lessening bad feelings are called "coping mechanisms." There are healthy coping mechanisms, like:

• Exercising.
• Playing the piano or drums.
• Meditating or praying.
• Talking with someone you trust.

There are also unhealthy coping mechanisms, like:

• Drug use.
• Alcohol abuse.
• Cigarette smoking.
• Self-injury.

Psychologists have found that self-injury can rapidly get rid of tension and other bad feelings. But, like drugs and alcohol, self-injury provides only a quick fix. Besides the physical consequences, one danger of self-injury is that the habit can last into adulthood. That's why it's crucial that teens learn safe, healthy, effective coping strategies so they can deal with anxiety and stress appropriately into adulthood.

Are Body Piercing and Tattooing Forms of Self-Injury?

Not necessarily.

Imagine a boy about 13 years old who accepts a friend's challenge to play "bloody knuckles" (punching each others fists until they bleed). Then consider a girl around 15, who lies about her age at a booth in the mall and gets her eyebrow pierced. Or perhaps you've known a teen couple who got matching tattoos with each other's names.

The thing that distinguishes self-injury from other forms of physical harm is the elevated mood a teen experiences after self-injury. So the above examples -- although potentially dangerous in their own right -- are typically not acts of self-injury.

Is Self-injury Like Suicide?

People who self-injure to get rid of bad feelings are not necessarily suicidal. Self-injury is almost the opposite. Instead of wanting to end their lives, those who inflict physical harm to themselves are desperate to find a way to get through the day without feeling horrible.

Though the two concepts are different, self-injury should not be brushed aside as a small problem. The very nature of self-injury is physical damage to one's body. It's important for the self-injurer to seek help at once.

Can You Prevent Self-Injury?

A person may not be able to stop injuring themselves "cold turkey." But seeing a counselor or joining a support group will likely help to ease the frequency and severity of self-injury. Intense negative feelings may cause a person to feel isolated from the rest of the world, so a social support system is important to fight self-injury.

There are effective treatment strategies for those who self-injure. The forms and causes of self-injury are unique to each individual. A psychologist or counselor will be able to tailor a treatment strategy to each person.

IMPORTANT: Seek Help Immediately for Self-Injury

If you have urges to self-injure, or have already done so, confide in someone who can help you find a better way to cope with bad feelings. That might be a parent, an older sibling, a minister, a rabbi, a guidance counselor, health care practitioner, psychologist, social worker, or another trusted grown-up.

Do the same if you know of someone who inflicts physical harm on his or her body. Self-injury deserves immediate attention.

Severity, Duration of Teen Depression Help Predict Remission

By TRACI PEDERSEN Associate News Editor

Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on November 24, 2012

In teens with depression, there are two factors that seem to predict whether the symptoms will go away without treatment: the severity of the depression and whether it persisted for at least six weeks.  This is according to a new study published this week in the journal Pediatrics.

The researchers also looked at other factors that might predict the duration of depression, including substance abuse, family history and abuse. But these other factors “did not predict which adolescents would stay depressed,” said Dr. Laura Richardson of the Seattle Children’s Research Institute and an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington.

The results are important because the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended in 2009 that teens be screened for depression in primary care settings. The goal of the study is to avoid unnecessary treatment for those with temporary symptoms.

The researchers screened 444 participants ages 13 to 17 from Washington and Idaho in 2007 and 2008; 113 of them had a positive screening for depression.

At six weeks, 47 percent of those teenagers still screened positive. At six months, the portion dropped to 35 percent, said the researchers.

“As we institute broad-based screening of adolescents in primary care settings, we are likely to encounter an increased number of youth who have short episodes of depression that resolve with monitoring and support,” the researchers said.

Studies have shown a relatively high rate of placebo effect when teens who screen positive for depression are treated with medicatios. The researchers, however, have said that it might be instead that the depression simply resolves itself.

Approximately 12 percent of girls and 4.5 percent of boys in the U.S. have had a major episode of depression in the previous year.

The researchers noted there’s a need to figure out which adolescents should have treatment and which just need “watchful waiting” once their primary care doctor diagnoses depression. They added that teens who are suicidal or who have major functional impairment should be treated.

First study of eating disorders in teen ER patients suggests an opportunity to spot hidden problems

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Could the emergency room be a good place to spot undiagnosed eating disorders among teens, and help steer them to treatment? A new study from the University of Michigan suggests that could be the case.

Researchers screened more than 940 teens and young adults aged 14 years to 20 years for eating disorders, as part of their visit to the U-M Emergency Department for any non-psychiatric reason.

They found that 16 percent – more than one in every 6 – had indications of an eating disorder. Those that did were also much more likely to also show signs of depression and substance abuse – conditions that often go hand-in-hand with eating disorders.

The results are published in the November issue of the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

The researchers, from the U-M Medical School's Department of Emergency Medicine and Department of Psychiatry, and the Center for Eating Disorders of Ann Arbor, MI, also noted that more than a quarter of the patients with signs of eating disorders were male – a higher percentage than might be expected.

Contrary to most people's perceptions of eating disorders, but consistent with what experts know about the condition, the patients who screened positive for eating disorders in the ER were more than three times as likely to be obese than those without eating issues.

Although anorexia nervosa is the most commonly known eating disorder, and calls to mind images of unhealthily skinny teens, bulimia and binge eating are also eating disorders – and are known to be associated with overweight and obesity.

Suzanne Dooley-Hash, M.D., who led the study, works as an emergency physician at U-M. She started the effort because she had a sense that eating disorders were more common among ER patients than the care teams there might think – it's just that no one was asking about it.

For many teens and young adults, ER visits are more common than regular doctor visits -- or the only form of medical care they get. In fact, teens who received public assistance of some sort were more likely to have signs of eating disorders in the ER study population.

So the idea of screening for eating disorders there, and helping at-risk teens get treatment after they leave the ER, could be an effective way of stemming problems before they become even more serious. Similar approaches have been taken for drug and alcohol abuse, risky driving, and other risky behaviors.

The new study was part of the UConnect study, led by Rebecca Cunningham, M.D., who is senior author of the new paper and an associate professor of emergency medicine, and Maureen Walton, MPH, Ph.D., a co-author of the new paper and research associate professor of psychiatry. Cunningham also holds an associate professorship at the U-M School of Public Health and directs the U-M Injury Center.

The researchers acknowledge that the study represents patients from one hospital, located in a university town, and say that further research would be needed to confirm the findings' applicability before any interventions are designed.

"They come in for other things – and it's up to health care providers to know what to look for," says Dooley-Hash, an assistant professor of emergency medicine who has worked to educate her fellow emergency physicians about eating disorders and how to spot high-risk teens. "ER teams can be equipped to refer patients for care, just as we do for substance abuse. It could be a wakeup call, a teachable moment, a chance to tell them they need to seek help and direct them to resources."

She notes that many teens with eating disorders may come to their physician or an ER with stomach-related complaints but not want to acknowledge that their symptoms are related to an eating issue. Many go undiagnosed for years. On the other end of the spectrum, she says she has seen teens die in the ER after struggling with eating disorders and the depression and suicidal tendencies that often accompany them.

While treatment for eating disorders is not a surefire thing, and can take years, the earlier a patient is diagnosed the better their chances are, she says.

Source: University of Michigan Health System

Coping as the parent of a teen drug addict

By Dawn Hawkins

Parenting a teenager has special challenges that were never faced by the parents in the children's early years. Everything seems to change the day that the children turn the age of 13. Their friends and even their habits begin to change. Parents take a lot of precautions to make sure they have taught their children everything they need to know about drugs and how to stay away from them. Even when parents take the time to do this, children often end up in the world of drugs to the point of addiction.

How to cope as the parent of a teen drug addict:

Finding Help for the Teenage Drug Addict- A teen drug addict needs help as fast as possible if there is to be any hope of recovery. There are aids available that can help your teen overcome their drug addiction. Drug rehabilitation centers are just one way that you can help your teenager get past the drug addiction and on the way to a better life. The programs that are available can't guarantee that your child will become drug free, but it is a good start. It is important that parents make every possible effort to get their drug addicted teen help in dropping the habit.

Finding Help for Yourself- Your drug addicted teenager isn't the only one that needs help. Parents and siblings of a teen drug addict need help as well. This can be easily found by joining groups such asALANON. You should also consider getting one on one counseling to discuss the hardships you have had since discovering that you have a teen drug addict in your home. This will help you more than anything else in coping with being the parent of a teen drug addict.

Items of Value in the Home- As the parent of a teenage drug addict, you have to be especially careful of the valuables in your home. Drug addicts who are looking for their next fix and don't have money will find anyway they can to come up with the cash they need. That means they will steal from anyone they can. Keep a close eye on your valuables. Keep them locked up and check on them everyday. This is one of the most aggravating parts of parenting a teenager with a drug addiction. They are taking away from their own family members to support their habit. Don't be surprised if your valuables go missing. You may want to look for them in the local pawn shop. The most important thing to remember is that you have to fill out a police report or the pawn shop will not give out any information.

Cash/Gift Cards- Do not give your teen drug addict any cash or gift cards. Gift cards might sound safe, but they really aren't. The truth is, the drug addict will find a way to sell the gift card in order to get the drugs they want. It is the same for other types of gifts as well. Although you have to feed and clothe your children, you do not have any obligation to give them gifts no matter what the occasion is.

Searching your Teens Room- As the parent of a teenager, you have every right to search their room. If you suspect that your teenager has brought drugs into your home, feel free to search the room. Any drugs in the house become your responsibility. Don't feel bad about searching the room of a teen drug addict. You will likely find drugs and drug paraphernalia at some point. That is when you can confront your child about his/her drug use.

Teen Drug Addicts Privacy Issues- By all rights, teenagers don't have any rights except the ones that you afford him/her. If you feel it necessary to invade your teens space because of possible drug addiction, by all means, do so. If you don't, your child could be in serious danger. Parenting is your job, not worrying about whether you are right or wrong to invade your teenagers privacy.

It is not easy coping with a drug addict at any age. Having a teenager who has a drug addiction is much worse because you are legally bound to keep them in your home until they become of legal adult age. There are ways to cope with the teen drug addict to keep your sanity along with the rest of your family. There may be times that you want to give up on your teenager because of the drug addiction. That is the easy way out. Do everything you can to help your teenager before they become an adult. Once they reach the adult age level, you lose complete control in helping him/her find a solution to their drug addiction.

Paradigm Malibu is devoted to the provision of state of the art Teen Drug Treatment, Adolescent Behavioral Health, Mental Health and Emotional Health Treatment. To learn more about our services, please visit our web site at: www.paradigmmalibu.com