The Low Down on Getting High:  Talking to Your Teens About Drugs

Hopefully you have been talking with your teen about the dangers of drug use since he was very young and now you just need to reinforce the lessons.  If this is not the case, here is a quick way to play catch-up. 

1. Ask him if he has ever met anyone he thought was taking drugs.  It's OK if he doesn't want to give you names, just try to find out if he has had any exposure to the drug scene. 
2. Follow this answer up by asking why he thinks they were high or had been high. 

            a.  If he says the friend was acting weird, ask him if he thinks that acting weird is a good idea, or if he would like to be someone acting that way.  Then talk about some of the dangers of impaired judgment, specifically

• driving accidents
• injury from unwise decisions made while believing you can fly
• harming someone else
• accidental overdose
• depression and suicide

            b.  If he says that his friend claimed to have been high, discuss why someone would make such a claim

• to feel better about themselves
• to impress others
• because others were claiming to be involved with drugs

Then take the time to discuss peer pressure and the value of respecting yourself enough to make your own voice heard.

            c.  If he says that he saw drugs or some other paraphernalia on someone

• ask him how he knew what it was 

Take this opportunity to warn him that just being caught around drugs can have serious effects on his future.

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