This document discusses the dangers of drug and alcohol use among teenagers. It begins by defining drugs and explaining how they affect the brain and body. It then lists the most commonly used substances by teenagers and discusses why teens may be vulnerable to drug experimentation due to their still developing brains. The document covers warning signs of drug abuse, common excuses used to hide drug use, and recommendations for actions parents can take to help prevent drug abuse among their children.

1. Are your children likely to be
affected by drugs?

2. A DRUG IS ANY SUBSTANCE OTHER
THAN FOOD WHICH CHANGES THE
WAY THE BODY OR MIND FUNCTIONS.
A drug is a substance you ingest, snort, shoot up, drink,
smoke, etc. It changes the way you feel, oftentimes in a good
way at first. It enters your bloodstream through either your
stomach or your lungs, and gets taken up to your brain. It
then changes your brain chemistry, causing a high or a
numbness.
The brain is the organ that is
MOST SENSITIVE to drugs.
The brain often gets the most
exposure to a drug, because it gets
the most blood.

4. NATIONAL DRUG & ALCOHOL SCENE
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
5%
7%
9%
11%
12%
13%
17%
23%
44%
54%
Cocaine/Crack
Ecstasy
LSD
Heroin
Marijuana
Inhalants
Rx Drugs
Cough Medicine
Meth
Alcohol
The Partnership at Drugfree.org, PATS 2012

5. CANDY OR DRUGS?

6. WHAT DRUGS LOOK LIKE:

7. DRUG DEALERS WANT TO MAKE MORE
MONEY, SO THEY BULK UP THE DRUGS
„ Since drugs cost a lot of money, drug dealers may “cut”
their drugs with sugar, baking soda, flour, paracetamol,
lead, procaine, strychnine (rat poison) in the drugs to save
on product cost
„ Marijuana is MOST OFTEN cut with lead or glass (to
increase weight)! Yikes!

8. WHY DO TEENAGERS TAKE DRUGS?
„ To feel good
„ To feel better
„ To do better
„ Curiosity and “because others are doing it”

9. DRUG DEALERS KNOW THIS!
„ They will say everything and anything to convince
your child to buy the drug.
„ “You’ll forget about your problems”
„ “You’ll feel more confident”
„ “You can’t get hooked on it if you just use it once”
„ Everyone’s doing it.

10. SPECIALVULNERABILITIES
„ Family history – predisposition to drug or
alcohol problems
„ Close friends who use drugs or alcohol
„ Early first use
„ Trauma
„ Diagnosed or undiagnosed depression/
other mental health disorders

12. Taking a medication that was not prescribed to you.
Purposefully taking the wrong dosage of a prescribed medication.
Taking a prescribed medication for something other than its intended
purpose.
SO,WHAT EXACTLY IS
PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE?
the number one cause of accidental death is drug use.

13. Over half of teens (56%) do not see a great risk in trying prescription pain relievers
without a doctor’s prescription.
Prescription drugs are much more difficult to detect than street drugs.
Prescription drugs are much easier to obtain than street drugs.
WHY ARE TEENS TURNING TO
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS?

14. HOWYOU CAN HELP
Lock up your medicine cabinet.
Monitor the quantities of medications kept in
your home.
Dispose of expired and unused medications.
SAFEGUARDYOUR MEDICATIONS:
WHAT SHOULDYOU LOOK FOR?
Missing pills
Unfamiliar pills
Empty cough and cold medicine bottles or packages

15. HOW DO TEENS FIGURE OUT
WHAT TO DO?
Teens visit websites, chat rooms, and blogs to obtain dosage information,
identify pills, and learn about drug interactions and effects.

16. What’s the most
dangerous drug
amongst teenagers?

18. Why does it matter
whether your teen is
experimenting with drugs
and alcohol?

19. TEENS’ BRAINS ARE STILL UNDERDEVELOPED
„ Earlier development of the back of the brain and later development of
the front of the brain
„ Less than optimal planning and judgment
„ More risky, impulsive behaviors
„ Minimal consideration of negative consequences
„ Because the brain is not fully formed, consequences to the brain can be
more disastrous

20. DRUGS IMPACT
PERFORMANCE

21. Alcohol and marijuana are the
two most commonly found
substances in the bodies of
drivers involved in fatal
automobile accidents.

22. WHAT ARE THE DRUG
PENALTIES IN THAILAND?
„ Fines
„ Prison sentence
„ Death penalty

23. DRUGS AND ALCOHOL INCREASE THE
LIKELIHOOD OF RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOR
AND SEXUAL TRAUMA
- Increased risk of having sex with
someone they wouldn’t have otherwise
- Increased risk of being forced or
coerced into sex
- Increased risk of having unprotected
sex (with risk of pregnancy or STD)

24. ROHYPNOL-
DATE RAPE DRUG
„ Makes user very relaxed, confused, “spaced-out”
„ Takes away all inhibitions, making people do things they
normally wouldn’t
„ Can make user pass out or slip into coma if taken in large
dose or mixed with other drugs
„ Affects your self-control - is used in “date rape” and other
assaults because it can make you unconscious and
immobile
„ Causes a kind of amnesia; user does not remember what
they said or did while on the drug
„ Comes in a form of a pill, or sometimes powder mixed with
a drink, or put into someone’s drink

25. DRUGS IMPACT MOOD
„ I’ve consistently seen

26. Drugs are addictive

27. THE TRUTH ABOUT DRUGS AND ALCOHOL
„ Some people will use drugs and alcohol and be okay.
They’ll be able to stop when they decide to.
„ Others, who have low serotonin or low dopamine,
either from genes or from environment (trauma,
neglect, abuse), will get “hooked” more easily on any
behavior or substance that reinforces dopamine/
serotonin (food, sex, marijuana, cigarettes) and will
use the behavior or substance to medicate
themselves.

28. DEFINITION OF ADDICTION:
„ Using a substance (or
compulsively doing a behavior)
…in spite of consequences.

29. Ø Immediate effect of drug use is an increase in dopamine and
serotonin, which the brain experiences as very pleasurable
Ø Continued use of drugs reduces the brain’s dopamine production
Ø Because dopamine is part of the reward system, the brain is “fooled”
that the drug has survival value for the organism.
Ø The reward system responds with “drug seeking behaviors”
Ø Craving occurs and, eventually, if there’s
long-term use of a drug, dependence.

30. UNFORTUNATELY
„ It is impossible to tell who has low
serotonin or low dopamine
„ …before symptoms start.

31. How do you know if your child
may be under the influence?
Here are some of the warning
signs to look for:

32. PHYSICAL AND HEALTH SIGNS OF
DRUG ABUSE
„ Eyes that are bloodshot or pupils that are smaller or
larger than normal.
„ Frequent nosebleeds could be related to snorted drugs
(meth or cocaine).
„ Changes in appetite or sleep patterns. Sudden weight
loss or weight gain.
„ Seizures without a history of epilepsy.
„ Unusual smells on breath, body, or clothing.
„ Shakes, tremors, incoherent or slurred speech, impaired
or unstable coordination.

33. BEHAVIORAL SIGNS
„ Drop in attendance and performance at school--loss of interest in
extracurricular activities, hobbies, sports or exercise--decreased motivation.
„ Missing money, valuables, prescription or prescription drugs, borrowing or
stealing money.
„ Acting isolated, silent, withdrawn, engaging in secretive or suspicious behaviors.
„ Irritability
„ Sudden mood changes, irritability, angry outbursts or laughing at nothing.
„ Periods of unusual hyperactivity or agitation.
„ Sleeping in class
„ Lack of motivation; inability to focus, appears lethargic or “spaced out.”
„ Appears fearful, withdrawn, anxious, or paranoid, with no apparent reason.
„ Using incense, perfume, air freshener to hide smell of smoke or drugs.
„ Using eyedrops to mask bloodshot eyes and dilated pupils.
*Note! Many of these behaviors are “typical” teen behavior and may have nothing to do with
drug use; but the suddenness of changes, or the occurrence of several changes at once,
should alert you to the possibility of a problem.

34. HERE ARE SOME OFTHE MOST FREQUENTLY
USED EXCUSES OF DRUG ABUSE
„ I was keeping/holding it for a friend.
„ A drink got spilled on me
„ I just took a sip - I didn't know it had alcohol in it.
„ That smell is my new incense.
„ It's only alcohol - at least I don't smoke dope.
„ It's only marijuana - at least I don't do hard drugs.
„ I just tried it once and I'll never do it again.
„ It's normal to experiment when you're a teenager.
„ Weed is natural!
„ My eyes are bothering me - I probably have allergies.
„ I'm just tired.
„ If you think I am bad, you should see what my friends
do.

35. WHAT CANYOU DO AS A PARENT?
„ Lock your liquor cabinet.
Brandon started on his course with alcohol and drugs at about the age of 13 when his
parents went out of town and he decided to raid their liquor cabinet. He chose the
clear liquor because it was the easiest to replace with water.
„ Look closely at your child.
To cover up the physical signs that he was using drugs, Brandon would pull his hat
down over his eyes, put gum in his mouth, and putVisine in his eyes to take away any
redness.When he came home, he would avoid conversation by giving his parents short
yes or no answers.
„ Don't think your child is too young to be exposed to drugs.
The first time Brandon smoked marijuana, he was 16, and knew a lot of people who
were already smoking it. By the time he was 18, he was smoking and drinking on a
daily basis.
„ Know who your child's friends are.
„ Are you paying for your child's drugs?
Brandon's parents would give him money to buy clothes or eat out, and he'd save that
money to spend on drugs.
„ Check their bedrooms.
Good places to look for drugs: under mattresses, under dressers, under cabinets, or
even attached to the back of the drawers. Brandon's favorite place was in his closet,
inside pockets of clothes and jeans he never wore.

39. DO NOT TALK TOYOUR CHILDREN
ABOUT DRUGS WHEN:
„ You’re angry
„ They’re drunk or high
„ You aren’t prepared

40. HAVE A CONVERSATION, NOT A
CONFRONTATION:
„ Talk to them when they’re young!
„ Give lots of praise and positive feedback; if your children have good self-
esteem, they’ll be more likely to resist peer influences
„ Ask open-ended questions:“what do your friends say about drugs?”
„ Show your concern if you suspect drug use:“You haven’t been yourself
lately”
„ Watch your tone- even though you may want to scream and yell, you
are more likely to be heard if you stay calm and relaxed.
„ Show your love; physical connection can play an important role.
„ Talk about your own memories of being a teen and the mistakes you
made.

41. WHAT WILLYOUR CHILD NEED TO DO IF
THEY SHOW SIGNS OF ADDICTION?
„ Reducing consumption will not work, they will need to stop using the substance
entirely. Half-measures do not work.
„ Research ways of boosting serotonin and dopamine levels naturally (getting sunlight,
sharing about your feelings with someone you trust, doing sports, getting massages,
etc)
„ Consult with a counsellor and a psychiatrist. If your child have a chemical imbalance,
they may benefit from getting on a medication that raises serotonin (SSRI). If they’ve
suffered from trauma, they may benefit from speaking to a counsellor.
„ Attend 12-step fellowship meetings (AA, NA).These groups are for individuals who
are wanting to stop using/drinking or want to stay stopped.
„ Go into rehab.This will enable your child to detox and access therapy, but since there
is no cure for addiction, rehab will have to be followed up with other recovery-based
strategies (ie: 12 steps, counselling, psychiatry).