The United States government just published a new report that links teen marijuana use to worsening depression in teens. Often what happens is that a teenager has an undiagnosed mental illness, such as depression, that goes untreated and the teen used drugs to self-medicate. The point of this study was make two things very clear: 1. teen depression is a big problem and 2. marijuana is not safe and its use amongst teens is another big problem. The study also shows that teens that abuse opioids were 228 times more likely to get depressed. This is a major find in the war against drugs because it can help parents to determine if their child is using drugs.

The authors of the study advise parents to seek professional help if they notice their teen acting depressed and to know where their teen is at all times. Setting limits seems to be a good things for parents to do. Rules such as no hanging out at friends’ houses without adults present can help keep teens drug free. Assigning punishment and reinforcing it might also help kids to stay on the right track.

Are there any other ways that parents can help their teens and young adults to stay drug free?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 at 11:37 am by marie and is filed under Young Adult Addiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.