Teenagers and Drugs: A Series on Substances

One of the most dangerous behaviors we face as educators, counselors and parents is not educating ourselves on the common issue of teenagers and drugs. With some statistics reporting that almost 50% of teenagers have used an illicit substance, drug abuse is a far more common problem than many people give credit. The “head in the sand” approach is simply not effective with handling serious issues like drug abuse that many of our teenagers face. In fact this approach of pretending these problems exist elsewhere is damaging. Take the time to stop this pattern and learn what drugs are most likely to be abused by a teenager, routes of administration and what side effects may be experienced with their use. Many of our teens know more about drugs than their educators. What was true even ten years ago about what teenagers were abusing, has changed ten fold in the world of drugs. Now a teen faces drugs such as Ecstasy and Hydrocodone with increasing pressure. Not sure what these drugs are? Keep reading!

This series explores four categories of drugs. Although any drug as the potential to be abused, we will explore the more commonly abused drugs for this population demographic. Specifically club drugs such as Ecstasy and GHB, alcohol, marijuana, and opiates such as Heroin and those that are prescribed such as Hydrocodone will be discussed in this series. We will look more in depth at drug descriptions, common nick names (street names) if applicable, and what dangers the user faces. The act of abuse is short term, yet sometimes the consequences last a lifetime; sometimes a life.

Education is the key to prevention. Become an informed, up to date educator, and know what is going on in your classroom. Students who use drugs pose a potential problem to themselves and others in the classroom. Once you become armed with this knowledge, you could pass it on to your students. Explore what they already know, and offer them the opportunity to see the true reality of use and abuse. Use this series as a jumping off place and continue furthering your knowledge on this potentially dangerous problem.

The major purpose of this series is education. This series will provide teachers, counselors and parents alike the knowledge on what some teenagers are up against. If you know a teenager that is already abusing a substance, these articles will help focus on what the substance is and possible short-term and/or long-term damaging effects, which may be helpful with medical or chemical dependency counseling treatment. There is a major problem concerning teenagers and drugs. These problems should not be dismissed or ignored. Explore all articles in this series and further your education in the realm of substance abuse.