Teen Substance Abuse

Table of Contents
The Adolescent Brain
Experimentation
Spotting an Addict
What to Do

The teen substance abuse issue is often portrayed as a crisis of epic proportions. Parents are encouraged to speak to their teens on a regular basis about the risks of drug and alcohol abuse, and the airwaves are filled with stories about teens who were injured or even killed due to drug and alcohol addiction. It can be tempting to chalk this up to mass hysteria. After all, adolescence has always been considered a time of exploration and it’s likely that teens have been experimenting with drugs and alcohol since those substances were first discovered. The truth is, however, that teen substance abuse is on the rise and it’s dangerous. In fact, the numbers seem to back up the hysteria. For example, of the teens surveyed by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America in 2011:

• 62 percent had a full alcoholic drink by age 15.
• 45 percent didn’t see daily heavy drinking as problematic.
• 22 percent used marijuana in the previous year.
• 25 percent reported using a prescription drug not prescribed for them.
• Read more Teen Substance Abuse Statistics

While some of these teens may be able to experiment with drugs and alcohol in this manner and still grow up without any noticeable problems, others will develop dangerous addictions as a result of their explorations. In fact, the adolescent brain is particularly vulnerable to addiction, making even casual tries of drugs and alcohol a terrible idea.

The Adolescent Brain

Over the past 20 years, advances in science have made it easier than ever for doctors to truly understand what is going on in the mind of an average adolescent. The results are a bit startling. According to an article produced by National Public Radio, during adolescence, the two halves of the brain are not quite connected. The brain uses these connections to make good decisions. Teens might seem impulsive, reckless and prone to taking risks because they’re not at a point in their lives when their brains are functioning properly. Teens might be more prone to trying drugs and alcohol, even though they might know that the substances are dangerous, simply because they don’t have the reasoning part of their brains up and running.

Drugs such as heroin, prescription medications and marijuana can loosen inhibitions and make it even harder for teens to make good decisions. It’s possible, therefore, for teens to do even stranger and more dangerous things while they’re under the influence. For example, some needs who use heroin may be tempted to share needles. Or, they may be tempted to engage in unprotected sex with people they don’t know while they’re under the influence. These two behaviors could cause the teens to develop HIV/AIDS. According to an article published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than 50,000 teens were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2009. It’s easy to see how drug use would play a role.

In addition, according to the NPR article, adolescent brains are still growing and adapting new pathways and connections. When an adolescent takes in a substance, major changes in the brain can result, leading in addiction. The brain uses a series of chemicals called neurotransmitters to communicate. When one part of the brain receives information, it releases dopamine and that dopamine attaches to another part of the brain. It’s a bit like feeling an electrical current, but the jolt is so tiny that the person might not even feel it. When a teen takes some forms of drugs or alcohol, those substances act like dopamine in the brain, and the whole brain lights up with activity. The teen might feel extremely alert and aware, and with all of this sensory information, the teen might also feel a sense of extreme peace and happiness.

The teen’s brain is so suggestible, however, that it might develop more dopamine receptors in response to this drug use. The teen might feel a more powerful punch from the drugs and alcohol, and that change could persist throughout the teen’s life. He or she might always be hard-wired for addiction as a result. Other teens might develop the reverse sort of change, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. These teens might turn off dopamine receptors in their brains, or stop producing new dopamine receptors, as their bodies try to deal with the flood of dopamine. These teens might feel incredibly listless and low when they don’t have drugs, and then simply feel normal when they do. Once again, this could set them up for a lifetime of addiction.

Abuse or Experimentation?

As mentioned, not all teens who experiment with drugs and alcohol become addicted to those substances. Even though they’re at higher risk for addiction, some teens just don’t seem to fall prey to the disease. Some teens do become addicted, however. According to a survey published by the >National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA), one in eight high school students has a diagnosable addiction to drugs and alcohol. While some teens might be at higher risk for addiction, it’s impossible to tell at a glance who will become addicted and who will not. The environment and biology both play a role, it seems, and when the two parts seem to mesh, addiction occurs.

The difference between abuse and experimentation is a matter of degree. Teens who experiment with drugs or alcohol may try the substances from time to time, and then simply go on with their lives without giving the matter another thought. They may consider it a one-time test they passed, and they may not be tempted to use again. These are the lucky teens, but others are not quite so lucky. The teens who abuse substances find it impossible to walk away from them, and sometimes, those tendencies develop after just one hit. These teens begin abusing drugs and alcohol compulsively. The teen may be:

• Staying home from work or school in order to use
• Neglecting friendships or family relationships
• Stealing or borrowing money in order to feed the habit
• Risking personal health and safety

The teen’s actions are, in large part, being controlled by the addiction. The teen might even want to stop abusing drugs or alcohol, but find that he or she is simply unable to stop using. This is the hallmark of abuse and addiction.

Spotting an Addict

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, doctors can sometimes spot an addict by asking questions in a CAGE format. The doctor asks the patient if he or she has tried to Cut down on abuse, feels Annoyed when asked about the abuse, feels Guilty about the abuse and uses the substance as an Eye opener at the beginning of the day.

The Ohio State University Medical Center says, by contrast, that teens are often not even asked about their drug or alcohol use when they visit their doctors. Instead, their addictions typically appear when the teen is injured as a result of the addiction, or the teen starts to exhibit depressive symptoms and attempts suicide. More doctors are asking their patients about their abuse, but clearly more needs to be done.

Parents are in a unique position to spot drug abuse in teens because they live with the child and know what “normal” behavior looks like in that child. Teens who are using drugs and alcohol might display major changes such as:

• Extreme hyperactivity or extreme lethargy
• Red eyes, needle marks, a bloody nose or smoky breath
• Need for extreme privacy
• Refusal to go to school, participate in sports or talk to family members
• Changes in grooming habits
• New friends who have the same warning signs

Teens with a family history of substance abuse, or those who have a history of depression, may be at greater risk for addiction, and these teens should be monitored a bit more carefully as a result.

What to Do

Teens who experiment with drugs or alcohol do need a firm talking to. The teen may simply not understand the risks of the behavior, and parents should do their part to explain why even simple tastes of these substances are so dangerous. In addition, if teens are experimenting with illegal drugs, they could face serious law enforcement action and this could keep them from entering good schools and getting profitable jobs. Since teens can’t make these reasonable judgments on their own, they need their parents to help.

Teens exhibiting major symptoms of addiction need more than a firm chat. In fact, they often need to enter a structured detoxification and rehabilitation program. Here, they can work with doctors to remove the substances from their bodies, and they can learn more about how to resist temptation in the future and stay clean for a lifetime. We offer many programs that can help teens through the recovery process. At Newport Academy, our programs are tailored by gender, so each teen gets the specific help he or she needs. Please call us and schedule an appointment today. We’d like to help.