Parents booklet - Talking with your kids about drugs
- All drugs carry risks and are dangerous.
- No one can ever be sure of exactly what they are taking.
- Mixing drugs, including alcohol and prescription drugs, can be very dangerous.
- There are no guarantees about purity or strength and no one knows exactly what illicit drugs have been mixed with.
- No one can be sure what effect a drug will have, even if they have used it before.
- Cannabis remains the most commonly used illicit drug in Australia. Among 14 to 19 year olds, about 26 per cent had used cannabis in their lifetime.
- The type of drug.
- The amount and strength of the drug.
- How the drug is taken.
- A person’s body size.
- Whether a person has used the drug before.
- The person’s mood and the setting at which the drug is taken such as at a party with friends or on their own.
- Other drugs taken. The consequences of mixing drugs can be very severe.
What other facts should you know?
PDF printable version of What other facts should you know? (PDF 50 KB)
There are some basic facts about illicit drugs that everyone should know.
How do drugs affect different people?
It is possible for different people to have different reactions to the same drug just as one person may have a different reaction each time they use it. A person’s reaction to a drug will vary according to factors such as:What about drugs and mental health?
While we know that many mental illnesses are caused by physical dysfunction of the brain, we do not know exactly what triggers this. Stressful factors in the environment may trigger or prolong episodes of mental illness. Sometimes mental illness may develop when a person has a strong reaction to a particular drug. More often, it occurs when the person has begun to use too much of the drug.It is widely accepted that illicit drug use increases the risk of developing a mental illness or making an existing mental illness worse. People who use drugs have much higher rates of mental illness than people who don't.
Anxiety and depression are common with illicit drug use and if left unchecked can have a significant impact on the way a person functions and their quality of life.
Psychosis is also associated with illicit drug use, in particular amphetamines. People experiencing the acute stage of a psychotic illness lose touch with reality. Their thinking can be confused and they can experience hallucinations such as hearing, seeing and feeling something that is not really there. Sometimes this can lead to paranoid and aggressive behaviour.
Further information about drug related mental health issues can be obtained from the services identified in the back of this booklet.
What about drugs and driving?
Research indicates that cannabis and amphetamine-type stimulants such as speed and ecstasy can seriously impair a person’s ability to drive. Studies have shown that illicit drugs are implicated in a significant proportion of road fatalities.- Availability and acceptability of the drug.
- Curiosity and experimentation.
- Wanting to be accepted.
- Rebellion.
- Depression.
- As a way to relax or cope with stress, boredom or pain.
- To experience a high or a rush.
- To feel OK, at least temporarily (self-medication).
Why do young people try drugs?
Some parents think that young people use drugs only if they are having problems at home or at school. But there are many other reasons:When do young people try drugs?
There are no hard and fast rules about when young people start trying different types of drugs. However, cannabis use tends to start from the early to mid teenage years while experimentation with drugs such as ecstasy and amphetamines (speed) generally begins in the mid to late teens. Remember that many young people will never use drugs, but some will try them while they are still very young. Some will try drugs, but not continue to use them.Professor Robin Room, President, Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia
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