Teen Drinking

Alcoholism is a disease - a chronic, progressive, fatal disease if NOT treated. If you suspect that your teen is participating in underage drinking then perform a home test as soon as possible. It is your child or loved one and you could be preventing a serious addiction, traffic accident or possible physical harm. There are several tests available that can be purchased right online and used in the privacy of your own home.



Alcohol intoxication leads to tens of thousands of fatalities annually, directly or indirectly. For last few decades, two conventional methods have been quite routinely for alcohol testing - simple urine tests and breathalyzers. Further, Ethyl Glucuronide and Ethyl Sulphate based alcohol tests have been developed and have been quite popular as these methods are able to sketch down the whole alcoholic consumption history of the last 80 hours where as, simple and conventional urine test and breathalyzers can give a plot only for the last few hours.

Have you ever heard your teenager reference the time "4:20?" Many parents don't realize that 420 (pronounced "four-twenty") is a "secret code" for a time to get high. The reference to 420 presumably dates back to '70s stoner lingo but is still widely recognized by the youth of today. Some people have even designated April 20th as "National Pot Smokers Day."

If you hear your teenager reference 420, see that he/she is using the term while instant messaging with friends or has a 420 sticker on his car or backpack, call him on it. Let him know you know what he's talking about.

4:20 or 4/20 (pronounced four-twenty) refers to consumption of cannabis and, by extension, a way to identify oneself with cannabis drug subculture.

Often times drug use goes hand in hand with teen drinking and teen alcohol abuse. Listed are some of the new and current drug trends. Some of the "New Frontier" drugs include:

Ice
Crack
Oxycontin
Oxycodone
Hydrocodone
Various Inhalants (Gasoline, Kerosene, Whipits, Butane)
Pharmaceuticals (Adderall, Coricidin, Robitussin)

Some of the newer terms are "Robotripping" and "Alcopops". Robotripping is the use of over the counter medicines such as Coricidin or Robitussin cough syrup and related products taken in excessive doses in order to get high. The drug DMX can produce a hallucinogenic high. It is easily available at the local pharmacy or market. There is even a calculator on the web which will tell the drug user a specific dosage to take based on weight and the level of high the user wants to obtain.

Alcopops are the new style of serving alcohol in fruit juices, wine coolers or sweetened mixes so they don't taste like alcohol and are more alluring especially to young females. They are usually tauted as 'low calorie' to appeal to the young females. They are served in what looks like a regular soda bottle hence the name pops. Since they taste better than beer or mixed drinks they are more appealing and therefore more alcohol is consumed. Girls ages 12-17 now exceed boys in binge drinking. Statistics show that 31% of girls and 19% of boys in this age group have binged on alcopop beverages.



Inhalants: These are also a newer drug choice among young people. This is on the increase with kids ages 12-13 and sometimes begins as young as the 4th grade (age 10). There are thousands of household products that can be used and they are easily accessible to youngsters or even easy to steal. Inhalants include dangerous chemicals such as freon, gasoline, octane, butane, booster carbeurator cleaners, paints, magic markers. They create a euphoria similar to alcohol but the long term effects are devasting and cause brain damage and serious neurological consequences. Kids who use inhalants usually progress to serious drug use, criminality, later use by injection and deeper drug involvement.

Trends in drug use: what creates trends? Use of specific drugs increases and decreases through generations. Marijuana was widely used 15-20 years ago but it's use among young people is down. Club drugs of the 90's are again on the rise especially meth amphetamines. The 18-15 year age range are the largest uses. The fear of a drug is forgotten and diminishes and a once feared drug by a previous generation is picked up again to be used by a new generation.

Drugs also move around the world in waves. The use of the internet is also influencing the use of drugs around the world. Drugs can be bought on the internet, recipes to make drugs can be found and general information on how to use can be easily searched for. Ecstasy is down in the USA but way up in Europe and Austrailia - but it may come back to the USA in another wave of use. "Ice" first made its appearance in Hawaii and has moved eastward to San Diego and the west coast of the US to the east coast of the country. This epidemic is on the move. The drug PCP was bad in the 1980's and caused psychosis and was gone in the mid 90's but is again making a comeback. A new group of users is coming into the "age of risk" .

Drug trends may change but people who are experimenting and get caught in the web will continue to find ways to use drugs to get a high that takes them away from the reality of their painful lives and emotions. A person experimenting with drugs who is involved in a relationship breakup may turn to more drugs to escape the vulnerability of the emotional pain they feel. The drug lifts them above the circumstances they want to avoid (financial loss, teen peer pressure, poverty, unemployment, abusive and relationship problems, etc%u2026). What they think they are gaining in the short term they lose in the long run. Some users turn to drugs because they think it helps them lose weight or study better, or perform better but in the end the addiction destroys all that. They do not realize the fatal potential. About 13.5 % of 12-17 year olds abuse prescription meds and 25% of 18-25 year olds misuse pain meds. Drugs are seductive and appealing. They give a sense of energy, activation, euphoria but over time dreadful complications develop.