How to Talk to Your Teen About Drugs

Last Updated on September 5, 2020 by Ellen Christian

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of National Institute on Drug Abuse. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you been wondering how to talk to your teen about drugs? With all of the misinformation out there, it’s an important discussion to have. I’ll admit that I was a bit of a problem teenager when I was growing up. I was reasonably confident that I knew everything there was to know about talking to my teenagers about drugs, but I wasn’t as aware of all of the facts as I thought. This post has been sponsored, but the story is my own.

How to Talk to Your Teen About Drugs

National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week^SM (NDAFW) is an annual, week-long observance that brings together teens and scientific experts to SHATTER THE MYTHS about substance use and addiction. This year, it happens January 25-31, 2016, and is sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), both part of the National Institutes of Health.

National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week was started in 2010 to help bring awareness to some of the myths about drugs and alcohol that teens often hear from the Internet, TV, movies, music, or friends. Teens hear all sorts of things about drugs and drug use that aren’t accurate. Since NDAFW started, the number of community-based events held to SHATTER THE MYTHS has grown to more than 1,500  throughout all 50 states and several international sites. These events create a safe place for teens to ask questions about drug and alcohol use, without judgment or lectures. As much as we try to be non-judgmental and open-minded when talking to our teens, we are parents. As parents, we’re prone to lecture or give “helpful advice” when what our teen may want is simply a safe, non-judgmental place to start a discussion. This 12-question multiple-choice quiz was created for teens and adults to take to test their knowledge about drugs. Use the results from your quiz and your teens’ quiz to start a conversation about drugs and alcohol. Here are just a few things that I learned when I took the quiz. Did you know that MDMA (Ecstasy) is also called Molly? Have you heard the song by Tyga called Molly? He’s not talking about his girlfriend. Did you know that about 9 percent of people who use marijuana become dependent on it? The number increases to about one in six among those who start using it as a teen, and to 25 to 50 percent among daily users.

Take a moment to take the National Drug & Alcohol IQ Challenge and have your teen take the quiz and compare your results. Then sit down and use that information to have a discussion about the results. I didn’t know anywhere near as many drug and alcohol facts as I thought I did. If you find out your teen is using drugs, get help from a professional today.

Ellen Christian

Ellen is a busy mom of a 24-year-old son and 29-year-old daughter. She owns six blogs and is addicted to social media. She believes that it doesn’t have to be difficult to lead a healthy life. She shares simple healthy living tips to show busy women how to lead fulfilling lives. If you’d like to work together, email info@confessionsofanover-workedmom.com to chat.