4. Explaining drug mis-use

• Drug addiction is a disease process beginning with experimentation and moving through recognisable stages. Loss of control is due to the pharmacological effects of the psychoactive drugs.
• Those drugs which produce the greatest euphoria (notably Ecstasy) also produce the greatest tolerance and dependence.
• Adolescents run a higher risk of drug dependence than the normal adult because of their relative physical, psychological and emotional immaturity.
• Although drug experimentation does not automatically lead to dependence, adolescents run a serious risk of progressing down this pathway.
• Many adolescents who experiment with drugs on an on-going basis begin by playing truant ('bunking') from school, placing themselves in high risk circumstances leading to anti-social behaviour which includes drug use.
• For individuals with emotional and inter-personal difficulties drug use exacerbates their initial problems. Although drug use provides a short-term release from problems in the long term drug use will make these problems more difficult to resolve.
• Most adolescents begin by smoking cigarettes or Marijuana, drinking, or, in more recent times, taking Ecstasy.
• Since this experimentation has few or benign consequences, the adolescent enters the drug world with an unfounded illusion of control. They typically think "It's just for kicks."; "I'm in control."; "I only take Ecstasy at weekends."
• These justifications may be partially true for the adolescent who is just embarking on the pathway of drug experimentation , but it is exactly these kind of attitudes that facilitate increased drug consumption. They are a central component of the "gateway" phenomenon.
• Thus, some experts have stated "Any drug use by adolescents is to be regarded as abuse".

Parents can be of invaluable help in drug prevention if they can spot the signs of drug use at an early stage.

These signs include:

• Exaggerated adolescent behaviour
• More mood swings than usual
• Inability to concentrate or to do homework
• Sudden drop in grades at school
• Change of peer group (new friends)
• Unwillingness to answer questions about their social activities
• Money goes "missing" at home

This is not an exhaustive list. Individuals react in unique ways. So, if your child displays some of the above symptoms, this does not automatically mean they are using drugs, although it is very possible that they are.

All adolescents are in the risk category since theirs is a time of stressful change where they are thrust into new and more demanding adult roles.

Early experimentation is reported to lead to regular use, and for all too many individuals, to compulsive patterns of use. Such progression can take as short a time as 6 months, or can be more gradual and take up to 3 years. This fact makes early intervention an absolute necessity.

Parents should make the effort to acquaint themselves with the facts about drugs and should try to relate to their adolescent children in an open, concerned manner. Parents can source information about drugs from the Health Boards, their GP or from voluntary agencies such as EURAD.

Drugs are illiegal because they are dangerous - They are not dangerous because they are illegal.