How to tell if your teenager is using drugs or alcohol |17 July 2008

Take a closer look

- If your child has been drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, or smoking marijuana, the smell will be on his/her breath. Any smoke he/she has been around will also soak into his/her clothing and hair.

- You should also be suspicious if your child enters the house chewing gum or other forms of breath fresheners or smelling of freshly applied lotion or perfume. He/She is probably trying to cover up the odour of cigarettes, drugs or alcohol.
- If your child has been smoking marijuana, his/her eyes will be red and heavy lidded and the pupils will be narrow.

- If he/she has been drinking alcohol, his/her pupils will be dilated, and he/she may have difficulty focusing on you.
- Intravenous drug use leaves needle marks, usually on the arms, but occasionally other places like the legs. Long sleeves may be an attempt to hide something.

- Snorting cocaine causes nosebleeds and eventually eats away at the septum inside the nose.
- If there are strange burns on his/her lips or fingers, he/she may be smoking a substance through a hot glass or metal pipe.  Sores or spots around the mouth, a chemical odour or a runny nose can also indicate inhalant use.

- Ecstasy causes involuntary teeth clenching, increased affection and a loss of inhibitions. Also look for a fascination with sights and sounds and excessive water consumption.

Mood changes

- Signs that your child could have just been using some kind of illegal substance, for e.g. alcohol, marijuana, or something else include being loud and obnoxious, laughing hysterically, tripping over his/her own feet and knocking things over, gloomy, withdrawn, unusually tired and narrow-eyed, throwing up or feeling nauseous.

- You should also pay attention to your teenager's behaviour over time. If your teenager has become silent, angry, withdrawn, and uncommunicative, and this has lasted for at least a few weeks, something else is going on. While there are a number of reasons for a child to be moody, you should certainly consider the possibility that he/she has formed a habit of substance use.

Car accidents

- If you suspect your teenager has been using illicit substances recently, see if the car has any clues to offer. Maybe his/her driving is noticeably more reckless or maybe there's a new dent in the front of the car and he/she cannot explain how it happened.

- Examine the inside of the car too; does it smell like marijuana smoke or alcohol fumes? Are there any bottles, pipes, bits of mirrors or other drug paraphernalia rolling around on the floor or hidden in the glove box?
Deceit or secretiveness

- Your child starts lying about his/her evening and weekend plans; he/she is either vague about where he/she is going or his/her alibis don't work (she can't describe the movie she supposedly just saw; or the friend she's supposed to be out with just called looking for her).

- He/She says that parents will be at the parties he/she is going to but can't give you a phone number, and comes home intoxicated.

- He/She gets in way past her curfew or estimated time, and he/she has got a seemingly endless string of excuses to justify his/her behavior.

- Even if you find evidence of substance use -- drunken or high behaviour, a beer can or a marijuana rolling paper in his/her room – he/she has got someone or something else to place the blame on.

- When excuses fail, he/she will respond to your inquiries and concern by telling you that it's none of your business.

Decreased motivation

- Your child's grades start falling and there's no obvious reason for it. He/She gives you a weak explanation.

- He/She may be skipping school and spending less and less time on his/her homework.

- He/She appears to be losing interest in other activities as well. You're getting calls from teachers, head teachers, saying that your teenager has been skipping his/her classes, activities, or practices, and when he/she is there he/she is not putting any effort into the activity.

Missing alcohol, cigarettes, money or valuables

- Teens will start stealing alcohol from home, hoping their parents won't miss it, or filling liquor bottles back up with water to bring them to the original level.

- If one or both of their parents smokes cigarettes, they can always take some from the pack (or take the whole pack).

- If they need money to buy drugs, then they'll start going through their parents' wallets, stealing money, or else will steal valuables like jewelry to sell for money.

Cash problems

- He/She is increasingly concerned about getting more money but volunteers no explanation as to why. You should wonder what he/she is spending it on, especially if he/she doesn't turn up with any new clothes, CDs, or other material items.

- On the other hand, if he/she suddenly seems to have a whole lot more money for clothing, CDs, or other items, way beyond what he/she reasonably should in his/her circumstances, consider that he/she could be dealing drugs.

Change in friends

- You notice that your teenager is hanging out with a different groups of friends. It’s normal for teenagers to make new friends, but these friends worry you for some reason. You suspect or know that they use illicit substances. Perhaps these new friends are older and seem to be more promiscuous and independent, with less parental supervision and less interest in school.

It is important to keep in mind that if a child shows any of the above behaviours, it does not necessarily mean that he or she is using drugs or alcohol but it is worth being attentive.

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Drugs - specific symptoms

Marijuana: Glassy or red eyes, loud talking, inappropriate laughter, sleepiness, loss of interest and motivation, weight gain or loss.

Alcohol: Clumsiness, difficulty walking, slurred speech, sleepiness, poor judgment, dilated pupils.

Depressants e.g. cannabis: Slow down the nervous system and so relieve anxiety and tension. The user tends to feel relaxed and this feeling may be interpreted as pleasure. The user seems drunk as if from alcohol but without the associated odour of alcohol, difficulty concentrating, clumsiness, poor judgment, slurred speech, sleepiness, and contracted pupils.

Stimulants e.g. cocaine: Arouse the nervous system, increasing alertness and energy, diminishing fatigue and delaying sleep. They also elevate mood but may also increase anxiety and restlessness. The symptoms include: hyperactivity, euphoria, irritability, anxiety, excessive talking, depression or excessive sleeping at odd times, may go long periods of time without eating or sleeping, dilated pupils, weight loss, dry mouth and nose.

Inhalants e.g. glue, correction fluid: Watery eyes, impaired vision, memory and thought, secretions from the nose or rashes around the nose and mouth, headaches and nausea, appearance of intoxication, drowsiness, poor muscle control, changes in appetite, anxiety, irritability.

Hallucinogens e.g. ecstasy, LSD: Stimulate the nervous system but distort perception, heightening awareness and sensory experiences. There is generally little physiological effect. They can elevate mood but can induce anxiety and panic. Symptoms include: dilated pupils, bizarre and irrational behavior including paranoia, aggression, hallucinations, mood swings, detachment from people, absorption with self or other objects, slurred speech and confusion.

Heroin: Needle marks, sleeping at unusual times, sweating, vomiting, coughing and sniffling, twitching, loss of appetite, contracted pupils, no response of pupils to light.
Tobacco/Nicotine: Smell of tobacco, stained fingers or teeth.