Learn How to Help Your Teen Face the Danger of Drugs

The following article was written by a blog contributor.

Adventure and exploration are part of any healthy coming of age story. Your teen may have at least a few misadventures as they grow into adulthood.   Overreacting to a teenager coming home late may well create a distance or motivate your teen to act out in irresponsible ways.

By staying in touch with your teen and initiating meaningful conversations as often as possible, you will be better able to gauge their mood and what kind of challenges they’re dealing with. If they’re bee-lining it straight up to their room after school or constantly staying out late, it may be a red flag that they are engaging in habitual alcohol or marijuana use. At this point, it’s important to act – tolerating a potential addiction is serious stuff.

Intervening Without Alienating

The toughest trick is executing a respectful intervention without driving a wedge between you and your teen. It’s important to express that social use of alcohol can be part of a well-rounded lifestyle, but also that abusing substances can lead to dissociation and derail academic and career ambitions.

One of the hardest things about being a parent is letting go and trusting your teen. Speak from the heart, and offer support and resources if they’re slipping into unhealthy habits.

Drugs & the Law: A Sticky Situation

No one wants to see a promising young life ruined by careless mischief, but it happens all the time. Young people are prone to peer pressure and sometimes drugs can lead to a downward spiral that accelerates rapidly. In these types of situations, the consequences may not be so clear, but of course, the criminal justice system does not take possession, production or trafficking lightly.

The criminal defense lawyers at Shaffie Law espouse a strategy that combines getting young clients the help they need, while pursuing an aggressive, well-crafted argument to defend the evidence and stop the prosecution in their tracks. If your teen is arrested for any of the above-mentioned charges, seek out an experienced lawyer without hesitation.

The Danger of Rose-Coloured Glasses

You may think that your teen would never succumb to drugs, drinking and poor decision making, especially if they are quiet, studious and well-behaved. The truth, however, is that often quiet, repressed teenagers are seduced by drugs because of the false confidence and sense of danger that they offer.

Another danger is that your teen could be manipulated by others to buy drugs or even hold large quantities as a favour. With cannabis, roughly three pounds is grounds for trafficking charges and the laws surrounding harder drugs like cocaine and opiates are even stricter.

The Fentanyl Crisis

Make sure your teen understands the additional dangers of the fentanyl crisis.  Popular party drugs like MDMA are often cut with fentanyl these days, and there have been a countless number of tragic deaths as a result. Safety education is key.

This information may be a bit scary, but it’s important to consider. Try and be as open and honest as possible with your teen and don’t treat them like a kid, it’ll only make matters worse.