You may be surprised how I discuss drugs with my own children?  

In my 10 years of Substance Abuse Counseling, I have done hundreds probably close to a thousand of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Assessments. Every assessment is very thorough and takes a looong time for both myself and my not so happy client sitting in front of me. I have taken extensive drug history’s from hundreds of individuals ranging in age from 19-70 male and female struggling with one or multiple addictions. As a result, I have seen the patterns and progression of every type of substance through these assessments. My 9 and 11 year old girls know very well that drugs are bad and that addiction destroys lives. I have always been honest about what I do for a living. Its not enough to tell your kids drugs are bad don’t do them and I will tell you why. All drugs are not equally the same. Some drugs you can take one time or multiple times and you may not become addicted and it won’t kill you after trying it one time. On the other hand there are drugs that you can become addicted to after one use and could kill you that one experimental time. An Adolescents mind will think if all drugs are bad and I experimented with marijuana and nothing bad happened to me then that must hold true for all the other drugs, right? Wrong!! Adolescents love to hear about the gory details of pretty much anything especially boys. They are curious and have a real thirst for information. I know my children are constantly asking me questions. So here is what I have told my girls about drugs…this information was imparted over time of course based on appropriate age and how the situation presented itself for a teachable moment. I am going to generalize because there is always an exception to the rule but for learning purposes for adolescents this is what I tell my kiddos..All drugs are bad, some could you kill you and most importantly doing drugs can prevent you from feeling happy and wanting to play with your friends. This will make your Mommy and Daddy worry and they will be very sad..

*Alcohol is a very dangerous drug. It kills and destroys more lives than most any other drug.I encourage you to not drink because you may have your grandfathers addictive gene. You won’t know if you have it until you have a drink. If you decide to drink you need to know you could die after one time if you drink too much too fast. No liquor. Don’t drive. Always check yourself and ask yourself do I have grandaddys addiction for alcohol? Am I drinking more than my friends and more often. If so, tell me the minute you think this is the case.

*Cigarettes and tobacco won’t kill you after one time trying it but you will become addicted within a few weeks and it’s one of the most difficult addictions to beat. Cigarettes will kill you eventually but you just don’t know when or how long that will be. Do not smoke. Boys hate it and it makes you look unattractive.

*Heroin is the devil’s drug. He loves to tempt people with this drug because it makes you feel like your riding a rollercoaster all day..but guess what..once you try heroin you won’t ever be able to feel the joy of a rollercoaster again because all you want to do is sit in a dark room and stick a needle in your arm. Heroin could kill you after one time and you will be subject to a life of darkness because you have been tricked by the devil and he will not let go of you willingly. Never try this drug!

*Methamphetamine, Ice, or Crank you probably won’t die after trying this once but could easily become addcited after a few times. This drug will really make you look ugly. Your face and body will have sores all over you. It makes you stupid and crazy because you can’t sleep for 3 days when you take this drug. Its super bad. Don’t ever try this drug!

*Crack cocaine is typical smoked and is very bad. You most likely won’t die after trying it one time but you may want to die after trying it. It will make you feel horrible once it wears off and you will regret it! It’s not a fun drug and is highly addictive. I don’t know anyone who has done crack cocaine that hasn’t had negative consequences. Do not try this drug ever!

*Prescription pills. Do not ever take any medication that is not prescribed to you. Regardless who tells you it’s okay. Its okay to take pain medicine if a doctor pulls your tooth or you break your leg. But once you are feeling better do not keep taking them. Do not ever take any pills that are not from inside our house. Your friends are not pharmacist and you could die after taking one pill. You don’t know what your taking. Do not try pills.

*Cocaine is sometimes considered a party drug because it makes some people feel good. But it will make you feel really awful when it wears off. You most likely will get a 3 day cold because it breaks down your immune system and you can’t fall asleep. You probably won’t die after trying it once but you could end up dropping out of school if you do use it and instead of being cool you will be a big fat loser.

*Acid, LSD, Mushrooms you most likely won’t die after trying once it’s unlikely that you become addicted but they cause you to hallucinate and if you don’t have a strong ability to regulate your reality from non reality you may find yourself at theemergency room and you will have to admit to the doctor what you took and he will tell you to sit there till it wears off…and you will feel like a total moron.

*Marijuana is legal in some parts of this country. Its not legal in Alabama so if you smoke it and get caught you could go to jail. It will not kill you and is the least addictive of all the above. But it does cause a lot of problems for a lot of people. It makes you hungry so you could get fat. It can also make you lazy so you could fail out of school. It also can cause health problems to your beautiful healthy lungs.

Tell your children the truth about each drug. Don’t group them together. Your kids need to know the real truth and the dangers of experimenting with each one.

Stop the overdose deaths.

Chesie Roberts,MS, LPC and Mother.

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