Drugs and Your Teen: All You Need to Know About Drugs to Protect Your Loved Ones
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About this ebook
Are you worried that your teen might be trying drugs and alcohol? Are you afraid that their future will be destroyed, along with your family and your finances? Do you know how to determine if they are using drugs or alcoholand what you should do if they are?
Drugs and Your Teen offers a quick, easy-to-read, comprehensive guide that provides answersall the information you need to know for dealing with your kids and drugs. It offers step-by-step instructions in determining whether your child is experimenting, using, or abusing legal and illegal substances, including prescription medications, inhalants, alcohol, and street drugs. Youll review symptoms of use and addiction, and be able to identify pushers and dealers, as well as what sources and what risk factors could pull your child into the addiction hell. Youll also begin to understand the stages of manipulation and abuse your child may be going through.
Learn the responsibilities you bear as parents or guardians; read the methods for testing your children in the privacy of your home; and study the information on prevention of substance abuse and providing treatment. You are not just saving the life of your child; you are protecting the worlds future leaders. Be there for your loved ones; let Drugs and Your Teen help you stand and face your kids and their problems, along with finding a solution through the use of this book.
www.omnidrugscreening.comGianni DeVincenti Hayes
Dr. Gianni DeVincenti Hayes earned a bachelor’s degree from Gannon University, two master degrees from Duquesne University, and a PhD from the University of Maryland at College Park. A former college department chair and professor, a radio show host, and an international speaker, she has published twenty books. Originally from Pittsburgh, she currently resides in Maryland with her husband, daughters, and their families. Dr. Hayes is a victim of a drunk driver, resulting in many reconstructive facial surgeries; hence, she started American Drug Testing Consultants. As a parent, Mr. Michael J. Talley has personally experienced the agony of substance abuse in his own family. His background is in engineering, industrial sales and product management; he left a lucrative software sales position in order to devote his time to working with parents and teaching them how to work with their children in the area of alcohol and drug abuse. He currently lives with his wife, Lisa, in Broomall, PA.
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Drugs and Your Teen - Gianni DeVincenti Hayes
Contents
Introduction
What It’s All About
Welcome
About This Book
About Our Kits
Chapter One
Who’s Who
The Authors’ Stories
The Drug Dealer
A Recovering Addict’s Poem
Chapter Two
Understanding the Problem
The Awful Facts
True Stories
Threat Sources
Why a Drug Problem
Consequences of a Drug-Problem Society
A Discussion with Your Children about Drugs
Actions to Take
Chapter Three
The Keys to Detection
Abuse
Stages of Abuse
Determining Risky Behavior
General Signs and Symptoms
Drug Addiction Information: An Overview
Drug Dependency Characteristics
Drug Categories
Chapter Four
Drugs of Abuse, Part I
Alcohol
Alcohol Self-Test
Amphetamines
Methamphetamine
Marijuana
Medical Marijuana
Synthetic Marijuana
Crystal Meth
MDMA (Ecstasy)
Cocaine
Crack Cocaine
PCP and LSD
Opioids/Opiates
Heroin
Methadone and Suboxone
Benzodiazepines
Chapter Five
Drugs of Abuse, Part II
Inhalants
Prescription Medications
OTC (Over-the-Counter) Drugs
Steroids
U.S. Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970
Club Drugs
Chapter Six
Adolescents, Drugs,
and the Internet
Overview
Youth and the Internet
The Internet and Drugs
Raves and the Internet
Legal Challenges
The Scale of the Problem
Parents’ Job
Protecting Your Children
Internet Lingo
Internet Resources
Fun Web Sites:
Drug Lingo
Chapter Seven
Testing
Windows of Opportunity
What Are the Elements of a Drug-Testing Program in Schools?
The Most Commonly Used Tests
Commonly Used Devices in Home and Workplace
Drug Testing in Schools
Pros and Cons of Various Drug-Testing Methods
Hair Testing
How to Test for Drugs and Alcohol
Specific Testing Directions for Urine Test Kit
The Alcohol Swab Test Kit
Additional Testing Information
DNA Testing
Frequently Asked Questions about DNA Testing
Chapter Eight
Home Base
Safety Starts in Your Home
Parents’ Responsibilities
Parents’ Drug Check List
FAQs
On Discovering Your Child’s Use
Dos and Don’ts for Parents of a Child in Treatment
Typical Questions Therapists May Ask Parents
Effective Treatment Approaches
Gangs and Drugs
Terror Links
Chapter Nine
Resources and Workplace Testing
A Word on Workplace Testing
Department of Transportation (DOT) Drug Testing
Chapter Ten
Prevention and Summary
Steps to Safety
Summing it Up
Final Words
Appendix
Drug Information Charts
Unity Oath
Internet Web Sites
Drugs and Their Effects, Reactions, and Symptoms
How Specific Drugs Are Ingested
Common Street Names for Drugs
Symptoms of Specific Drug Use
Consequences of Drug Abuse
Street Slang (Names)
Our Other Products
Available Products
Workplace Testing Products
Reader Response Card
Endnotes
Glossary
Works Cited
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
We owe debts of gratitude to the many people who have assisted us in various ways to make this book happen. We cannot possibly name them all, but of prime importance are:
Michael and Jerry Lotterstein, for their encouragement, and for setting up the model of what a good book on drugs should contain, along with their dedication and spirit in fighting drug and alcohol abuse through their company, The Drug Test Consultant. This serves as the benchmark in drug- and alcohol-testing products and education, and it was the originator of the Parents’ Package, a drug prevention kit—our SafeBox.
James R. Hayes, for all his hours spent photocopying, gathering information, critiquing, and making this book a reality. His computer assistance has been immeasurable.
Lisa Fratoni-Talley, for her patience, understanding, and extensive time in proofreading, as well as for her loving support.
Mike Talley’s daughter: Melaina Talley, for her input and proofreading skills, as well as her strength of character in dealing with the trials and tribulations of her recovery. She serves as my inspiration in writing this book. Mike Talley’s other daughters, Tara and Nichole, for the difficulties and hardships they went through with Melaina, acting as a buffer between her and me, as well as the maturity they showed in dealing with this long road of recovery while still being sisters in every sense of the word. I never would have made it without them.
Preface
A Letter from Michael Lotterstein,
Founder of The Drug Test Consultant Company
When I became a member of the drug-detection and abuse-prevention industry, I knew an added bonus of my new career would be doing good while making a living. The effects of illicit drug use and trafficking are measured not in the billions, but in the hundreds of billions of dollars, and every effort to contain and defeat this epidemic is of benefit to my neighbors, my community, and my nation.
It wasn’t until I became a father that the impact of my choice really hit home. These were my children I was protecting; the crusade to fight drug abuse began in my home. I knew that, like every responsible parent, I owed it to my family to learn everything I could about the enemy we faced and the weapons and tools available to wage the battle.
Helping our children face the issues of drugs and resist the ever-present temptations they present is a daunting challenge for every parent. It means educating ourselves, staying vigilant, and, most importantly, always being on message
in the ways we communicate with our children.
The authors of this book, Gianni DeVincenti Hayes, Ph.D., and Michael J. Talley Jr., share my commitment to providing the support every parent needs. In these pages, they have given you information on drugs and their effects, drug dealers, signs of abuse, and the means of detecting drug use. More importantly, you will find assistance on how to speak with your children about the issue—a conversation we all find uncomfortable. Knowing how to begin this conversation is the most important step, because open communication with our children is the most powerful weapon we have to protect them. Here you will find vivid, heartbreaking—yet hopeful—stories of the victims of drug abuse; their purpose is to provide you with insight and motivation to make sure they never become your children’s stories.
I hope you will take the valuable information the authors have provided to heart, because the truth is that, as parents, we are all connected by the world of our children. Every child helped by this book means my own children are that much safer, because their community of peers is safer. I want my children and yours to grow up in a safer, healthier world. They deserve it.
Michael Lotterstein
The Drug Test Consultant
Michael Lotterstein, along with Jerry Lotterstein, are the owners of The Drug Test Consultants (http://www.drugtestconsultants.com), who originated the Parents Package (the architect of the SafeBox). They offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to own a drug-testing company.
Introduction
What It’s All About
Welcome
Congratulations on taking the first step in helping your children cope with the issue of drug and alcohol use and abuse by investing in our book. This book will give you direction in determining if your child is experimenting with or seriously indulging in illicit drug usage—and, yes, alcohol is a drug.
Many parents today either deny a drug/alcohol problem exists or refuse to test their children, for fear they will think they don’t trust them. However, addiction worsens if the wheels of motion don’t grind to an immediate halt and if parents don’t live up to their responsibilities to their children. Their children could be walking the streets searching for drugs—or worse. So, thank you, dear parents, for taking on the bold and much-needed obligation of overseeing your children.
We hear parents say, I can’t test my children. They’ll think I don’t trust them.
The truth is that they’ll get over feelings of mistrust—but they won’t get over addiction. Rest assured that you are doing the right thing by purchasing this product and that you are being a good, loving parent. If you did nothing, you would be remiss and ultimately responsible for your children’s addiction, as well as all the problems that stem from that condition: thievery and other crimes, overdose, personality distortions, poor grades, and much more. And, if your children are minors, you can be held accountable for any crime they commit, even if that crime is an accident. Parents have gone to jail for their children or have paid hefty amounts in compensatory damages to victims. The longer you wait to test your children, the deeper their drug use and abuse could become.
As the authors, we have our own very personal reasons for undertaking this project and wanting to help you. We invite you to read about us and what prompted us to write this book.
Again, we welcome you and praise you for caring so much about your children and our future leaders.
Gianni DeVincenti Hayes, Ph.D.
Michael J. Talley Jr.
About This Book
Substance usage is a major issue and has many angles, from experimentation to severe drug and alcohol abuse, as well as the misuse of prescription medications and inhalants. We realize we could only hit some of the major points with this book. We want you to understand the problem is not hopeless—many drug users and abusers have learned how to control their habits and have gone on to live normal lives. The secret is discovering the problem early enough to stop it while it is still manageable.
This book is a unique and rare product and, coupled with our drug and alcohol instant-test kits, is unlike anything currently available. We provide a self-contained item that offers everything you need to learn about your children’s relationships with peers and others who may have a negative influence on them. Along with this book, we offer instant-result kits, which will tell you if your children are doing drugs and then will help guide you through the process of treating the condition. Although we have tried packing all the vital information possible on drugs and alcohol into this book, please know there is much more information out there, and no one source can provide it all. What we’ve tried to do here is key in on the subject matter most helpful in dealing with the drug issues facing you and your family.
This book is meant solely for parents. In your hands lies the power to keep your children safe and healthy: mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We want to connect with you and relate to you what we have experienced, what we know to be true, and what we hope to help you avoid. With this in mind we created this book, covering components of alcohol and/or drug abuse. We define terms, we lay out problems for you, and we explain how drugs can ruin not only our children’s lives, but our communities, our society, and our country as well. We give you facts and stats. We tell you what to look for—signs and symptoms. We describe the drugs of abuse in detail and attempt to give you a look into how they affect your children’s bodies and brains. We provide methods for you to protect your children.
Culled from years of experience—from experts in drug treatment, speaking engagements, endless hours of research, and our time as in-the-field drug-test consultants—the information we give you includes good advice on how to cope as well as some useful tools for fighting the problem.
In this book you will find what you need to know about drugs, how to test for them, how to read the test results, and how to get help. At the back is a wealth of reference charts. We even provide a response card, so you can give us feedback on our product and share any stories you may have—which, with your permission, might be a part of our next book on drugs. If, after reading this manual, you have suggestions on items you think we should add or delete, please fill out the Reader Response Card in the back of the book and mail it to us. We’re eager to read your feedback. Please refer to the glossary for any unfamiliar words.
About Our Kits
The SafeBox Contents
You might have purchased our remarkable product—the SafeBox. It comes completely packaged with information and test equipment to help you prevent your children from trying drugs or to test them to find out if they have been experimenting. We use a variety of different test devices, but the most common are the integrated DrugCheck® (included in the SafeBox), E-Z split cup, and the all-in-one Redicup. Other devices are available, but we find these three types to yield the most comprehensive results.
Our Most Popular Items
Substance Abuse Family Education Book
Drugs and Your Teen
DrugCheck 10-Panel Test Kit
Please refer to page nos. 208 – 211
Alcohol Swab Test Kit
Please refer to page nos. xxi – 1
Unity Oath
Included in the Drugs and Your Teen
book
Please refer to page no. 305
One of Our Ten-Panel Drug-Test Kits
Our Ten-Panel drug-test cup is accompanied by an alcohol swab that allows you to detect ten different drugs and alcohol.
This test cup will screen for the following drugs (all our cups are FDA approved and over 99 percent accurate):
Amphetamines Barbiturates
Benzodiazepines Cocaine
Marijuana Oxycodone (Percocet, Percodan, Vicodin)
Methamphetamines Methadone
PCP Opiates (heroin, codeine, morphine)
Detailed information on this follows in chapters 6 and 7. This is a simple test that gives instant results, based on a urine sample.
Information on our Alcohol Swab Kit
missing image fileImage courtesy of Chematics, Incorporated; N. Webster, IN
Our alcohol test swab has a twelve- to eighteen-month shelf life and will detect the following levels of alcohol in your child’s system:
None, 0.02%, 0.04%, 0.08%, 0.30%
This test is fast, convenient, sensitive, and will not give a false positive. Detailed instructions are given in chapter 7. This test is a rapid, highly sensitive, and noninvasive method for determining the level (if any) of alcohol ingestion.
Consider the following chart as an illustration of alcohol usage and age of first use.
missing image fileChart date taken from 4/2005 DASIS report (Drug and Alcohol Services Information System)
Of the 683,000 primary admissions (those patients admitted for alcohol abuse as the primary diagnosis) aged twenty-one or older in 2002, 88 percent reported their age of first use of alcohol at younger than twenty-one years. One-fourth reported their age of first use of alcohol as between twelve and fourteen years; 12 percent reported their age of first use as younger than twelve; and another 12 percent reported their age of first use as twenty-one or older.
Our products are designed to give you every opportunity to test your children and loved ones to learn whether they are engaging in substance abuse. Besides this manual, you may have purchased a highly rated drug-test kit to detect ten different drugs, along with a test that helps you determine the level of alcohol your child may have consumed.
Chapter One
Who’s Who
The Authors’ Stories
Dr. Gianni DeVincenti Hayes’s Story
I’m Gianni, and I’m a victim of a drunk driver.
When I was in college, I did something stupid. I went to a party with the fellow I had been dating for about five months. Had I not also been drinking—a guilt that took me a long time to admit—I would have known he was too drunk to drive. I got into the passenger’s seat and turned around to talk to the couple in the backseat. My life changed in those few seconds. My date passed out at the wheel, hitting a telephone pole and then a school building. I went flying into the windshield at the same time as the engine came up through the floorboards, so part of me was splattered in the windshield, while half of me was pinned by the engine. Recently, I had my fifteenth facial reconstructive surgery, and there are more planned. I have many plates and wires in the right side of my face, some loss of vision and damaged mouth nerves, and I have suffered for years with aching joints and muscles.
I will never look the way God originally intended me to appear. Daily, when I wake and look in the mirror, I am reminded of that fateful day many years ago. I live a life of self-consciousness and seldom get my picture taken; I usually only do so if I can digitally fix it. As I age, I lose more bone mass in areas that received the most trauma: my face, my arm, and my hip. There is little more any surgeon can do to undo what the driver—and I—did that warm, starlit night a week before graduation. I never saw the driver again.
I wanted to do something to help parents, as well as people whose businesses could be lost as a result of employee alcohol and drug use. Hence, I started my company, American Drug Testing Consultants, to help fight our addiction problem.
Several years ago, I decided to share my story with students, to let them know that mistakes can happen and that we are all vulnerable, even when we are young and think we are immortal. I spoke to schools and MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) groups. I compensated for my scars by spending years studying, earning four degrees, and becoming an author, international speaker, and professor. In this capacity, I saw students in my classrooms stoned from drugs and reeking of alcohol; often they would nod off in class because of drug use.
Combine all this with two car accidents I witnessed where all the passengers in one car (all drunk or high) died, and another accident in which the teenage driver (also under the influence of drugs) was killed right in front of my home, and you have some insight into why I have taken on this project.
I believe our young people need to be made aware of the serious consequences of alcohol and drug use and abuse. And I believe it all starts with the parents. We must keep tomorrow’s leaders drug free. Together, you and I can make this happen.
Dr. Gianni DeVincenti Hayes
Michael J. Talley’s Story
I own a company called Drug Test Consultants of PA. I was part of the corporate world for most of my career. That was necessary for me to provide for my three daughters. As my girls grew into their teenage years, they all developed in different directions. The youngest was always busy, and that led me to believe she was doing well. It was not until December 23 of her senior year that the truth came out. I was called in to her high school by the guidance counselor and principal, and they told me that they had found ten packets of heroin in her locker. One of her friends had reported her to the principal. The police were notified. She was expelled from school, only five months away from graduating. When I realized that my daughter was doing drugs, I felt as if I’d been hit with a shovel. Knowing nothing of rehab/detox centers, I just went to the phone book and checked her into a local rehab center for five days of detox for heroin. This was December 24. This world of drugs and rehabilitation was new to me, and I thought she would be cured
after five days in detox. That was eleven years ago, and it marked the start of our experiences with relapses, detox centers, rehab institutions, halfway houses, police problems, auto accidents, and, finally, a transitional house. Recently she started methadone treatments. This minimizes her drug cravings, while it levels off her highs and lows and her personality and mood swings. We finally had time to work on the real reason she had started using drugs. When a teenager uses drugs, their maturation process is delayed. If they become addicted at an early age, their priorities become distorted, and, instead of concentrating on the normal sequence of life, they only think of how to procure their next high.
I have seen several of my daughter’s friends die from overdoses. These teens get their drugs in places that would scare most adults. While my daughter was in her five-day detox, I went to the place in Philadelphia where she bought her drugs: an open-air market where all kinds of people came to get their drug of choice.
The buyers ranged from young teenagers to adults in expensive cars. Drug addiction is definitely the great equalizer. All these people had been reduced to a common level due to their addiction. That was my first trip to the depths of that particular netherworld. You can’t imagine my level of hate and disgust for the people who introduced my daughter to that life. Once your child enters that world, it becomes a part of your life forever. It is a constant battle for sanity and sobriety.
I started this business to try to educate parents on the signs of drug use, as well as teach them what to do if they find out their child is a user. Unfortunately, children get involved in alcohol/drug use at ages as young as eleven and twelve—even younger, in some cases. Parents need to understand that the drug world is very real, and they really need to discuss drugs and drinking with their children. Children whose parents talk to them about alcohol/drug use are five times less likely to use. Parents also need to keep their children busy with good activities and get to know their friends. This is crucial!
Today, many parents are afraid of their children. I don’t mean they fear violence from their children (which also happens), but they fear confronting them with discussions concerning use of mind-altering substances and questions about what they do when they are away from home. I believe that if I can help one family avoid the hardships, disappointments, and pain that my family has endured, this venture will be 100 percent worthwhile. Parents need to know the warning signs, so they can step in and take control of their children’s lifestyles before it is too late.
Michael J. Talley Jr.
The Drug Dealer
Can you picture him? He’s a guy with a wide-brimmed straw hat; a funky, neon-colored suit; sunglasses; and a gold chain hanging around his neck, or a gold fob falling off his pants. He’s the big-time dealer, right? He tempts your children to try illicit drugs, gets them hooked, and then makes them rely on him for their future supplies while he collects all the money. Right?
Drug Money
missing image fileSource: www.dreamstime.com
Wrong.
Drug dealers come in all sizes and shapes: individuals, big drug cartels, strangers, and the kid next door. They are of all races, genders, religions, nationalities, education levels, and income levels, and they are everywhere. Your child’s first drug contact could be with a schoolmate who encourages him to take that first drag on a reefer (marijuana) or that first sip of beer or liquor.
When children are confronted by drug dealers who are classmates, friends, acquaintances, or friends of friends, they don’t feel threatened, because the dealer doesn’t look like a dealer. Some of their friends may be dealers who do not stand out, because they are in the same school activities as your children. The traditional, old image of a drug dealer is incongruous with the image of the kid down the block your children play with. It is such an inconsistent picture that your child is deceived into thinking this kid offering him a sip of beer, a hit on a joint, or a half of a Darvon pill can’t be so bad. So, your child may take the offer. What your children don’t learn at home, they learn in the streets. It is crucial to discuss drugs with your children at home.
It is important to know that there are guys in suits out there selling drugs, and there are major drug groups (cartels) who deal in the big business of buying, selling, and smuggling drugs. There are also gangs who would love to get your children hooked. The average drug dealer is a kid who goes to school with your children. You need to teach your children to refuse any offer of illicit drugs, alcohol, and prescription medications in any form. This includes over-the-counter drugs that can be toyed with and manipulated and household solvents that can be inhaled. Selling drugs to children is big business. It is not a random act of irrational stupidity; drug dealers have a business
plan—just like any other successful organization.
Seldom do dealers sell any pure drug. They may start a new user with pure substances, but, once their victim is hooked, they begin to mix the drug with other substances. Then, when your child becomes a user, he or she will rely on the dealer (and others) for a ready supply—but the dealer wants to make money from your child, so the price goes up, while the drug is being diluted with other substances. Some of these mixtures can be deadly, such as heroin cut with fentanyl.