AHS Views

Matt Stevens, a British soccer player who was due to play in the 2011 World Cup games in New Zealand, was suspended for taking drugs. He’ll get the addicton help he needs, but since his suspension could be for as long as two years, there’s not much hope he’ll be able to play by that time.

The coach believes it’s due to becoming a celebrity. It’s true that being a celebrity opens doors that may otherwise have been closed, and there may be more temptations - more invitations to take drugs, spending more time in drug-oriented environments - you don’t have to be lined up to play in the World Cup to be offered drugs or to be a celebrity.

Playing football in college, for example, opens you up to the same temptations, and the same celebrity, even though it’s on a smaller scale. If you’re on a popular team, you’re going to be adored by fans and they’ll try to get hooked up with you one way or another - sometimes it’s with an offer of drugs.

In either case - and parents whose kids are going off to (or are in) college and will be (or are) ‘on the team’ should pay special attention to this - the person has to be prepared.

If your son, or daughter, is already taking drugs prior to going to college they should get prepated by getting addiction help services before they go. They already have problems that are driving them to drugs and those problems are likely to get worse in college where the environment is even more challenging.

Treatment for drug addiction or abuse gets down to the bottom of why the person is taking drugs in the first place and addresses those issues so they are no longer a problem. So, when they are offered drugs in college, they’re more likely to be able to say no.

Parents hope that going to college will straighten their kids out. But exactly the opposite is often true. Any problems they have now will be magnified. Get addiction help before they go - don’t wait until the problem is worse.

The new National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) monitoring the future survey was released yesterday. It’s a survey of kids in grades 8, 10 & 12 about their drug use. I don’t know how many kids who were asked if they take drugs denied it, but over 15% said they’ve abused prescription and over-the-counter drugs. One out of six - scary.

An article on JoinTogether.com made the point that authorities think the prescription drug abuse trend is going to be a hard trend to fight since most kids get them from their family and friends. 40% said they take their parents’ old prescription drugs that are still in the medicine cabinet. It’s not the usual place police would look for illegal activity.

While this is no surprise to us - it will probably shock parents. I would hope it will be enough of a shock to get rid of those drugs one way or another.

But prescriptions are expensive. There’s a tendency to hang onto them in case you need them again.  In that case, the best thing to do is lock them up.

Parents should realize that if one in six kids is doing this - their own kids are going to come in contact with them. There’s no guarantee they’ll refuse the drugs when offered.

Many a good family, with good kids who are apparently happy and doing well in life, find themselves needing addiction help for their son or daughter. These days, more kids are likely to experiment with prescription drugs than marijuana or any illegal drug.

Keep an eye on your kids, and talk to them about the dangers of prescription drug addiction and all the horrible side effects - including overdose and death - and if they need help, contact Addiction Help Services to find a program that works for your situation.

Some parents think they can’t do anything about drugs in schools - and the dangers they pose for their own kids. But taking action can help. Here’s the story of a woman who made a phone call about drug use to a local school. Her suspicions were followed up on, a search was done, and 10 kids were busted with stashes of prescription drugs and illegal substances. It was the school’s drug ring.

That one phone call is going to prevent prescription drug addiction (and other drug problems but, really, prescription drug addiction is the most prevalent), drug-related crime, and probably a few overdoses, deaths, injuries and illnesses.

I would hope the kids who were busted will get addiction help as well. The bust might also save their lives.

We recently had a rash of vandalism on our property. We knew who it was - a gang of kids that went to the school down the street. They stole a kids bike and threw it at our car - making a horrible mess - they knocked over our mailbox and punched dents in it, the broke our sprinkler heads. And a few other things. We knew when they passed by and waited on the street and confronted them. A few of our neighbors, whose property had also been vandalized, joined us. They stood in front of their property. We also went to the school and spoke with security - they knew who the kids were. They already had a reputation. And we called the police, who actually came and parked across from our house when the kids were due. The vandalism stopped. But, that’s what it took.

Taking action works. 

If you want to protect your kids, take action. And if they already have a problem, get them the addiction help services they need.