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Teenage Drug Addiction and Treatment Options

In the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, teens and their parents indicated that their biggest concern is drugs.

Teen drug use can be detrimental not only to the teens themselves, but to their families and the larger social communities of which they are a part. Teens are especially vulnerable to drug addiction due to:

• the availability of drugs
• their relatively immature psychological and physical development
• lack of coping skills to fight addiction
• peer pressure.

In their 1998 survey, CASA found that nearly ten percent of the responding teens between ages 12 and 17 had tried illegal drugs, including marijuana, cocaine and inhalants. In a more recent 2002 survey, 8.3 percent in this group reported drug abuse. While this drop in teenage drug abuse is heartening, teenage drug addiction is still a problem.

According to the Parents' Resource Institute for Drug Education (PRIDE), teen drug addicts are more likely than non-teen drug users to:

• carry a gun to school
• drop out of school
• get in trouble at school or with their parents
• have run-ins with the police
• have serious disciplinary issues
• take part in gang activities 
• think about suicide 
• threaten others.

While the drug use in and of itself is a serious problem, the tendency towards violence against themselves and others is also a major issue.

What Contributes to Teenage Drug Addiction?
While some teens may use drugs to fit in or be popular, most teen drug abusers initially turn to drugs as a way of avoiding problems. In fact, children of alcoholics and drug abusers are more likely to become teen drug addicts and engage in drug abuse as adults. This is due to the fact that they rarely develop proper and healthy coping mechanisms and instead turn to the addictive patterns they have witnessed in their parents.

Even if a teen’s parents are not alcohol or drug abusers, teens with an unstable family environment (whether due to marital conflicts, mental illness or economic and social difficulties) are more likely to suffer from depression and low self-esteem, making them more likely to abuse drugs. On the whole, teen drug addicts more often suffer from depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem more than teens who don't use drugs.

Like adult drug abusers, teen drug addicts seek a social group of other drug abusers for escape from their pain and troubles.

What Kinds of Drugs do Teen Drug Addicts Abuse?
In addition to alcohol, teen drug addicts have access to a variety of drugs. The following lists some of the more common drugs teen use:

• Amphetamines (known as speed, uppers, dexies, or bennies) are swallowed, inhaled or injected. Teen drug addicts use amphetamines to make them feel alert and energized or to temporarily boost their self-esteem. Prolonged use can cause hallucinations and severe paranoia.
  
  
• Cocaine and Crack (known as coke, snow, blow, nose candy, white, big C, freebase, or rock) are inhaled through the nose, injected or smoked. Like amphetamines, cocaine and crack give teen drug addicts a brief and intense feeling of energy. Because these drugs elevate both heart rate and blood pressure, both cocaine and crack can cause teen drug abusers fatal heart attacks. These drugs are considered to be extremely dangerous and addictive.
  
  
• Ecstacy or Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) (known as XTC or Adam) is a synthetic, mind-altering drug that has hallucinogenic and amphetamine-like qualities. MDMA originally gained popularity because it was believed to have aphrodisiac effects. Which is not true. Instead, MDMA induces a general sense of openness, and energy. Problems users encounter are similar to those found when using cocaine and amphetamines. It is believed that the long-term effects of MDMA cause damage to the parts of the brain that involve thought and memory.
  
  
• Over-the-counter cold and cough medicines contain the active ingredient dextromatorphan (DXM) and are readily available to teenagers. Teen drug addicts take these drugs to hallucinate and have an "out-of-body" experience. Teen drug addicts take these drugs by swallowing cough and cold medicine (in any form) in large quantities. Sometimes, teens extract DXM from the medicine and snort it in powder form. DXM can cause brain damage or even death to teen drug addicts.
  
  
• Inhalants (including glues, paint thinners, dry cleaning fluids, gasoline, felt-tip marker fluid, correction fluid, hair spray, aerosol deodorants, and spray paint) are sniffed or "huffed" by teens. The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse reported that almost 17 million Americans have inhaled the intoxicating fumes from common household products.
  
  Like ingesting cough medicine, inhaling is a common form of teenage drug abuse because it involves legal, everyday products. Teen drug abusers use inhalants to achieve a feeling of giddiness and confusion. Teens who sniff inhalants can die from the severe toxic reactions inhalants cause. As with all drugs, teen drug abusers who use inhalants can become dependent on them to boost their self-esteem or handle stress.
  
  
• Marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug in the United States. As such, it's one of the major culprits of teenage drug addiction. Often called a "gateway drug," frequent teenage drug abuse of marijuana often leads teen drug addicts to abuse stronger drugs like cocaine or crack. While marijuana is usually smoked, it can also be mixed or baked into foods (such as brownies or cookies) or brewed like tea. Marijuana affects mood and coordination of teen drug users and is especially bad for the lungs.

What are the warning signs of teen drug abuse?
Talk to your teens about drug addiction and drug abuse. After you talk to them, maintain an open line of communication with them and be aware of warning signs. While these warning signs are not a definite indicator, they are some of the most common ones. They include:

• constant excuses for behavior 
• the disappearance of valuable items or money 
• finding paraphernalia, such as cigarette rolling papers, pipes, roach clips, small glass vials, plastic baggies, remnants of drugs (seeds, etc.) 
• loss of interest in family and school activities
• making a new set of friends 
• sudden drops in grades 
• sudden increases or decreases in appetite or weight 
• unexplainable mood swings and behavior.

Treatment for Teen Drug Abuse
Depending on the severity of the teenage drug addiction, treatment for teen drug abuse ranges from inpatient treatment at a drug rehab center to outpatient counseling and therapy. Specialty boarding schools or resident treatment centers for teens may be a good choice for teens with severe drug addictions because they provide 24-hour monitoring, support, and guidance.