What to Look for in Your Teen

The Aristocrats! blog just featured "Is My Teenager Using Drugs - the Warning Signs" which highlights inhalant abuse as well as other common drug cover-ups. This is a good read for parents of any teenager. Here are a sample of what to look for in your child, from their post:

"Changes in friends- Sudden distancing from long time healthy relationships toward new and otherwise strange friends. Older crowds or less motivated peers can indicate a move toward a drug related crowd. A clear indicator is a drastic change in playgrounds and playmates, often toward clearly less desirable people and places. Sudden interest in a church youth group or joining marching band is obviously not of concern. Getting busted at a RAVE is.

Increased secrecy about possessions or activities. Hiding objects or unusual secret activities often indicate drug use. Some degree of modesty is always present in teens with regard to things like crushes, friend dilemmas, or other normal behaviors. Hiding things is a different matter. Locks on bedroom doors or boxes indicate that a teen is hiding something, and that something is probably bad.

Evidence of use of inhalant products (such as hairspray, nail polish, correction fluid, common household products); Rags and paper bags are sometimes used as accessories. There have been cases of Teens huffing as many as 50 cans of household chemicals such as air freshener a month. Huffing produces a very short but damaging high which needs immediate re-use to continue. Huffing of common items is almost always a gateway to broader drug experimentation."

Here is a list of more inhalant-specific warning signs.