Helping parents fight drug abuse
Keeping teenagers drug and alcohol free can be an especially difficult challenge parents face. There are many emerging teen drug trends they need to be aware of.
For example, the heroin epidemic sweeping the country is primarily among middle and upper class 18 to 22-year-olds. Coroner officials reported there were 29 heroin-related deaths in Lake County alone last year. With many heroin users, their first experience with drugs is a prescription pain reliever provided by their very own doctor.
Teenagers with an opioid-based prescription are three times more likely to wind up misusing these drugs after high school, according to the Michigan study. Many of them turn to heroin when prescription drugs become too expensive or unavailable.
Parents also need to watch out for the use of synthetic marijuana, a dangerous and unpredictable product that many teens believe to be a legal and "natural" alternative to real marijuana.
Fortunately, parents are not alone in this. Gateway Alcohol & Drug Treatment Centers recently published a free guide to understanding teen drug and alcohol abuse, available at http://recovergateway.org/teens.
This includes information on the signs and symptoms of teen drug use, teen drug trends, effects of drug use on developing brains, tips for talking to your teen about drugs and alcohol.
Concerned parents can also visit RecoverGateway.org to access free information on prevention and treatment. To talk to our treatment specialists about teen drug or alcohol treatment options in Lake County, Illinois call our 24-Hour helpline at 877-505-HOPE (4673). With more than 45 years of experience treating teens and adults, Gateway is here to help.
Karen Wolownik Albert
Executive Director of Lake Villa