Parents: Know the Signs of Drug Use in Teens

Every parent wants to keep their child safe — but knowing what to watch for isn’t always easy. One concern many families face is the possibility of drug or alcohol use. While it may seem early, experimentation can begin as young as age 12 or even younger, so it’s important not to assume your child is too young for the conversation.

“If we catch these behaviors early and we intervene, we can have better results,” says Yasaman Ahmadieh, D.O., a pediatrician at Sutter.

Signs of Substance Abuse

Watch for these signs that could mean your child is using drugs or alcohol:

• Academic performance issues: Your child might not be spending as much time on homework or their grades may be declining.
• A new friend group: Your child may start spending a lot of time with different people.
• Behavioral changes: Your child may seem depressed, anxious or emotionally not themself. “Don't chalk it up to just being teenagers. It's always easy to do that, but any behavioral changes you are noticing means there's something else going on,” Ahmadieh says.
• Dangerous behaviors: Often, when people are using drugs, they do other things that are unsafe, like driving under the influence or taking part in risky sexual activity.
• Irritability: They may seem annoyed and spend a lot of time in their room.
• Social withdrawal or isolation: You may notice that your child isn’t going out with their friends or doing things they used to enjoy.
• Other signs: You may notice sleep disturbances, overeating, undereating or weight loss.

These signs don’t necessarily mean your child is using drugs, but they can mean there’s something that deserves attention.

What Parents Can Do

It’s important to have open, honest conversations with your child. Ahmadieh points out that drug use happens for a reason. “It starts with experimentation, but continued drug use usually happens when the adolescents are suffering from mental health problems. They numb the pain with alcohol or drugs,” she says. They could be coping with anxiety, depression, ADHD or other mental health issues.

It’s understandable for you to be upset if you find out your child is using alcohol or drugs. Ahmadieh recommends processing your feelings before talking to your teenager. Explain to your child that you’re worried about them and you want to help.

Teenagers are usually afraid to tell parents about alcohol and drug use, so it helps if parents are welcoming, even if it’s hard. You can still be firm about boundaries. For example, it might be appropriate to monitor your child’s location and phone. However, Ahmadieh does not recommend drug testing at home. “If you’re concerned enough that you want to do drug testing, you should talk to your pediatrician or physician,” she says.

Since addiction and mental health problems can be genetic, you may want to share your own challenges with substance use or mental health if you feel comfortable doing so.

If your teen admits to using drugs or alcohol, they may say they’ll quit. Even if they do, Ahmadieh still recommends getting professional help for the other issues that may have led to drug or alcohol use.

“If someone is using drugs or alcohol to numb their pain, the pain doesn’t just go away overnight,” Ahmadieh says. “If they have depression, anxiety or any other mental health problem, we need to take care of it. It’s not fair for the teenager to carry this pain. We need to help them process whatever is going on.”