What you can do about the Abuse of Stimulants

Some parents may be prepared for their children to be found abusing marijuana or alcohol or maybe even prescription drugs. But few parents are prepared for the large number of illicit or prescription drugs that will be abused by teens or young adults. By becoming familiar with problems associated with abuse of these drugs and by having open conversations with their children, parents can do much to prevent abuse of these drugs.

Is the Abuse of Stimulants Really a Threat?

When youth begin abusing drugs, unfortunately, they develop secret, private lives. If they used to confide in their parents, it will almost never happen now. All a parent will see is the personality and lifestyle changes that show up.

If you can inspire your child to stay completely sober until he (or she) is 21 years of age, based on studies of drug abuse statistics, he is virtually certain to never have a problem with drugs.

You need to understand what stimulants are, what effects they have, what their names are and what the hazards of abuse are. You need to understand these things quite well because you need to educate your own children. Using your judgment, this education needs to start when they are quote young. Many children are offered drugs by the time they are ten years old, and they will probably know people who are drinking, using drugs or selling illicit substances soon after this time.

The first step is increasing your understanding. This is said with the complete understanding that this is a challenging task. The purpose of this booklet is to make this step easier. There is a lot of information in this booklet. You may need to study it a little at a time as it may be too much to try to take it in all at once.

You may not think it is needed. But studies show that there will be drugs in your child’s environment sooner or later. The fact is that both you and your child need to be prepared for this.

While there may be some overlap in these categories, here are the most common types of stimulants that are being abused:

Illicit Stimulants

• Cocaine and crack cocaine
• Methamphetamine

Prescription Stimulants

• Amphetamine
• Ritalin or Concerta (methylphenidate)
• Adderall (dextroamphetamine)

Club Drugs and New Synthetics Hitting the Market

• Ecstasy (MDMA)
• BZP
• Mephedrone
• MDPV
• Methylone
• And others.