Substance Abuse Treatment
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Adolescent Substance Abuse

Adolescents may be involved with legal or illegal substances in various ways. Experimentation with substances during adolescence is common. Unfortunately, teenagers often don’t see the link between their actions today and the consequences tomorrow. They also have a tendency to feel indestructible and immune to the problems that others experience.

Using alcohol and tobacco at a young age increases the risk of using other substances later. Some teens will experiment and stop, or continue to use occasionally without significant problems. Others will develop a dependency, moving on to more dangerous drugs and causing significant harm to themselves and possibly others.

Adolescence is a time for trying new things. Teens use drugs for many reasons including curiosity, because it feels good, to reduce stress, to feel grown up, or to fit in. It is difficult to know which teens will experiment and stop and which will develop serious problems.

In a survey taken in 1995, two-thirds of all of the 12th grade students interviewed said that they felt that they had to choose whether or not to use drugs before they graduated from high school. In studies done in 1998 and 1999, 56 percent of 12 to 17 year olds reported that marijuana was easy to get and 72 percent of this group reported that alcohol was very easy to obtain. By the time they are 17 years old, 56 percent of adolescents state that they know a drug dealer.

Teenagers at risk for developing serious alcohol and drug problems include those:

  • with a family history of substance abuse
  • who are depressed
  • who have low self-esteem
  • who feel like they don’t fit in or are out of the mainstream

Adolescents abuse a wide rage of substances. Listed below are several common substances abused by Adolescents.

  • Prescribed medications (such as Ritalin and OxyContin)
  • Inhalants: Known by such street names as huffing, sniffing, and wanging. The dangerous habit of getting high by inhaling the fumes of common household products is estimated to claim the lives of more than a thousand children each year. Many other young people, including some first-time users, are left with serious respiratory problems and permanent brain damage.
  • Over-the-counter cough, cold, sleep, and diet medications (such as Coricidin)
  • Marijuana: About one half of the people in the United States have used marijuana, many are currently using it and some will require treatment for marijuana abuse and dependence.
  • Stimulants: The possible long-term effects include tolerance and dependence, violence and aggression, and malnutrition due to suppression of appetite. Crack, a powerfully addictive stimulant, is the term used for a smokeable form of cocaine. In 1997, an estimated 1.5 million Americans age 12 and older were chronic cocaine users.
  • Club drugs: This term refers to drugs being used by teens and young adults at all-night dance parties such as "raves" or "trances," dance clubs, and bars. MDMA (Ecstasy), GHB, Rohypnol (Rophies), ketamine, methamphetamine, and LSD are some of the club or party drugs gaining popularity. Because some club drugs are colorless, tasteless, and odorless, they can be added unobtrusively to beverages by individuals who want to intoxicate or sedate others. In recent years, there has been an increase in reports of club drugs used to commit sexual assaults.
  • Depressants: These are drugs used medicinally to relieve anxiety, irritability, and tension. There is a high potential for abuse and, combined with alcohol, effects are heightened and risks are multiplied.
  • Heroin: Several sources indicate an increase in new, young users across the country who are being lured by inexpensive, high-purity heroin that can be sniffed or smoked instead of injected. Heroin has also been appearing in more affluent communities.

Symptoms of Substance abuse include the following:

  • Sudden personality changes that include abrupt changes in work or school attendance, quality of work, work output, grades, and discipline
  • Unusual flare-ups or outbreaks of temper
  • Withdrawal from responsibility
  • General changes in overall attitude
  • Loss of interest in what were once favorite hobbies and pursuits
  • Changes in friends and reluctance to have friends visit or talk about them
  • Difficulty in concentration, paying attention
  • Sudden jitteriness, nervousness, or aggression
  • Increased secretiveness
  • Deterioration of physical appearance and grooming
  • Wearing of sunglasses at inappropriate times
  • Continual wearing of long-sleeved garments particularly in hot weather or reluctance to wear short-sleeved attire when appropriate
  • Association with known substance abusers
  • Unusual borrowing of money from friends, coworkers, or parents
  • Stealing small items from employer, home, or school
  • Secretive behavior regarding actions and possessions.
  • Poorly concealed attempts to avoid attention and suspicion such as frequent trips to storage rooms, restroom, basement, etc.
  • Different substances lend themselves to different groups of symptoms. The most glaring symptom in all cases is a change, sometimes a radical one, in behavior.
    • Other physical signs of substance abuse are: slurred speech, memory impairment, lack of coordination, and impairment of attention.

There are three categories of substance abuse:

A. Use: The occasional use of alcohol or other drugs without developing tolerance or withdrawal symptoms when not in use.

B. Abuse: The continued use of alcohol or other drugs even while knowing that the continued use is creating problems socially, physically, or psychologically.

C. Dependence: At least three of the following factors must be present:

a. Substance is taken in larger amounts or over longer periods of time than the person intended.
b. A persistent desire with unsuccessful efforts to control the use.
c. Large periods of time spent obtaining, taking, or recovering from the substance.
d. Frequent periods of intoxication or detoxification especially when social and major role obligations are expected (school, social situations, etc.)
e. Continued use even while knowing that the continued use is creating problems socially, physically, and/or psychologically.
f. Increased tolerance
g. Withdrawal symptoms
h. Substance taken to relieve withdrawal symptoms.
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