Teenage Drug Abuse - Part One

Our teenagers are buying, selling, stealing and using drugs and as parents we have to step up and do whatever we possibly can to keep this from happening in our own homes. As a parent of two teenage daughters, one 15 the other 17, I speak from experience.

My own daughter who just turned 15 last month had been hiding her drug use from all of us for more than 2 years. I was completely beside myself when I received a call from the high school just days before this last Christmas break. The discipline office contacted me to let me know that I had to come pick my daughter up from school since she was being suspended for 5 days due to indecent exposure. The young lady that I thought I knew crushed my heart as I walked into the deans office and found her "high as a kite". Instead of any fear of being in trouble with her parents, she couldn't stop giggling. Once we brought her home, I immediately called the county police to report her for drug use. My first and most important act was to show her that this choice was not acceptable and I was going to take this very seriously.

The police officer stood in our dining room talking to our daughter about the horrific events he had seen take place over his years in service, when kids and alcohol/drugs mix. My daughter continued to giggle. He explained to my husband and I, with our still stunned and vacant expressions, the statistics in our county and how drug abuse has become such a major issue in high schools. I was so taken aback. Naive. I then became angry at myself for not knowing, for not seeing the signs, for not educating myself and for not being there for my daughter who obviously had a problem.

Over the next 4 months we would see our daughter through a series of hospitalizations, court ordered counselors and even court ordered group homes. Heart wrenching as it was, it was even more enlightening. I have become a very educated and proactive parent when it comes to teens and drug use. My daughter was released from her last hospitalization one month ago and has been doing exceedingly better. Throughout our 4 months of doctors, new medicines, counselors and plenty of tears I learned that my daughter was Bipolar and would need medicine for the rest of her life.

It has been a painful, terrifying roller coaster ride. For my husband, my daughter and her sister, as well as myself. We have all learned so much and come so far. We know that this is an ongoing story and that Bipolar disorder will not go away over night and that her addictions to drugs and alcohol will continue to be a battle for her. She still meets with an addictions counselor once a week and takes her medicine daily.

I still remind myself everyday that I must be ever ready and watchful. I am her protector. I am responsible for her safety. She is learning to take responsibility for her own actions and how to control the impulses that started this journey of hardship.

To learn more about teenage drug abuse please visit my blog here. There are other countless websites dedicated to serving the community of parents, teens, educators and the general public who wish to learn more about the drugs our children are choosing to use, how they get them and what effects they are wrecking in these young lives.

Please feel free to share your story, if you know a teen who has been or is using drugs and alcohol.