Drug and alcohol addiction and abuse. Recognition. Prevention. Treatment
20/20 Parenting. Recognizing and mitigating early vulnerabilities and risk factors.
Drugs & Alcohol - Crystal Meth
[ Page 1 of 5 | print friendly version ]Reflections
My first-hand encounter with teenage drug addiction
I would have told you our family life was very happy. My husband and I are close. I am a family physician; he is a pediatrician. We have 5 children. Family is most important to us. We have had many good times together.
Life changed when our beautiful 11-year-old son began getting into trouble at school and at home. Originally a happy, outgoing kid, he became rude, aggressive, and defiant. We arranged counseling, but our boy just laughed that off. Marijuana was found in his school locker. He was expelled and charged with drug possession-in grade 7.
A new school offered a new start. Teachers were anxious to help but the telephone calls soon started again. Initially, complaints were about disrespect and truancy---common adolescent behaviour. Then he was charged repeatedly for marijuana possession, vandalism, and graffiti. Court appearances, probation, community hours, John Howard Society intervention, expulsion from another school-all had no effect.
We could not understand. Where had we, his parents, gone so terribly wrong? We became ashamed and embarrassed. This was not supposed to happen to our family.
Things escalated. Our son lied and stole. We found burned knives, pipes, plastic pop bottles, burned pen barrels, and even marijuana plants growing in their individual greenhouses under clear plastic 2-L bottles in a remote part of our garden. Our worst discovery was $1100 in $20 bills, Zip lock bags, and a large amount of pot and hash. Our son was clearly a drug dealer at the age of 15.
