The Risks of Teen Drug Use…More Than Just Addiction

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With addiction and drug abuse teens are at risk for a host of peripheral social problems, including suicide, violence, mental health difficulties and poor academic performance. Get educated about the risks facing your teen, and learn what really helps if there is a problem.

The Real Risks of Teen Drug Abuse

Teens that start experimenting with drugs or alcohol run a great risk of developing a substance abuse problem or even a dependency; and even those youth who do manage to avoid addiction suffer through any involvement in drug taking behaviors.

Not only is the use and misuse of alcohol or illicit drugs a very risky behavior, it is also especially detrimental to the still developing minds and bodies of teenage users, and the negative health consequences of use are magnified in still growing adolescents.

In addition to the risks of addiction and the direct risks of physical and mental developmental delays and deficits, participation in even recreational drug or alcohol taking behaviors increases the risks for a host of peripheral social, academic, psychiatric and legal challenges; and those youths who do not engage in substance use and abuse are far better protected against a great many serious challenges during adolescence.

Parents who can keep kids from experimenting with drugs and alcohol until the age of majority protect them from a range of problems, and may even save their lives.

In addition to the risks of addiction, to chronic mental and physical health deficits and to acute overdose or poisoning; the peripheral risks of drug or alcohol experimentation include an increased risk of suicide, decreased academic performance, greater rates of mental illness, more violence both committed and experienced and a greater likelihood of traffic accidents and DUI's.