Is Your Kid on Drugs?

[insanity]

According to the Partnership for a Drug Free America, there are several indicators that your teenage might be on drugs. Here are some of my favorites:
He's hostile, uncooperative, and frequently breaks curfews.
He has a hard time concentrating.
He's hanging around with a new group of friends.
Her relationships with family members have deteriorated.
the full list can be found at http://www.drugfree.org/Parent/SpotDrugUse/Is_Your_Child_Using_Drugs

I swear the War on Drugs is retarded. 90% of the answers to their questionnaire are normal teenage behavior, and what gets me is that parents worry that their kid may be doing drugs because they are depressed and so they get them on medication ASAP.

[OneBlueSky]

1. "He's hostile, uncooperative, and frequently breaks curfews . . .

He has a hard time concentrating.
He's hanging around with a new group of friends.
Her relationships with family members have deteriorated."

pretty much describes every teenager who's ever lived . . . maybe that's why they need detention (re-education?) camps . . .

[Skittles]

6. LOL, that's what I was thinking

every human being who has ever hit puberty :o

[breakfastofchampions]

2. *passes bong*

He starts listening to that "M&M's"

[Crunchy Frog]

3. Of course, those are also all indicators that your teenager

might be a teenager.

Our society has a tendency to reclassify the normal as pathological, and then spend alot of money for drugs and technology to treat the newly identified pathology, as well as using it to instill fear in people.

[Hello_Kitty]

4. Adolescent drug treatment is a total racket, too.

You have these rehab centers that scare well-intentioned but overzealous parents, with generous insurance policies (natch), into committing their kid for 30 days and more of treatment because they found a joint in her room. The rehabs coerce kids into admitting to more serious drug use or else be labelled uncooperative or 'in denial'. Sometimes the kids make up stories of harder drug use to get the counselors off their backs. It's a total scam.

You're absolutely right. Everything about the War on Drugs and the faux treatment movement it has spawned is retarded. I feel sorry for kids today having all that ineffective crap shoved down their throats. Shoot, it's enough to drive you to drugs....:shrug:

[noonwitch]

34. I agree about rehab centers

When I was a delinquency worker, we sent kids to rehab, but that was after they were arrested for a drug-related crime, or with drugs/alcohol in their systems.
One program we used was really good, but it was for boys only. They were very good about getting the kids involved in positive community activities and sports. It was a religious organization that understood the whole separation of church and state thing, since all the residents were sent there by the state.

One of the other programs was one of those brainwashing-type places. We didn't use them for very long, because the kids usually started using again as soon as they got out.

But the problem was that a lot of the kids got sent away for smoking pot, which if that is the only drug being used, really should be treated in the community. It is a waste of a rehab bed, and really more of a behavioral issue than a medical one. It calls more for a night in juvie, a community service sentence, drug testing and counseling than a 3 month stay in a costly rehab program.

[silverweb]

5. Yeah.

Being a normal teenager is automatically assumtion for all kinds of evils. That list is pretty funny.

This list is even funnier:
http://bakshi.us/archives/2004/08/08/goth-warning

[insanity]

7. Fucking Count Dracula Cereal

That is the best list ever.

[Dunvegan]

10. Oy...the "Signs Your Child is a *shudder* Goth"...is incredible...

# Eats excessively or too little.
# Eats goth-related foods. Count Dracula cereal is an example of this.
# Watches cable television or any other corrupted media sources.
(Ask your local church for proper programs that your child may watch.)
# Plays videos games that contains violence or role-playing nature.
# Uses the internet excessively and frequently makes time for the computer.

Guess I'm a goth. Somedays I eat one or two calories too much or too little?

What about the dangers of adults that use a list like this to harass their own children?

[bananas]

11. I miss Grandpa!

Grandpa Munster aka Al Lewis
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=322915&mesg_id=322915

[LostinVA]

32. "Count Chocula Cereal: the Road to Hell" -- next Dr. Phil

I can SO see that tool doing a show on this...

[Rabrrrrrr]

15. Wow - "Philosophy" is a dangerous cult religion! And Buddhism!

Pursues dangerous cult religions. Such include: Satanism, Scientology, Philosophy, Paganism, Wicca, Hinduism and Buddhism

[sakabatou]

Hinduism and Buddhism? WTF?

[MountainLaurel]

23. Those eeevil Eastern religions, you know

When yoga hit the mainstream a few years ago, articles poured out from the "Christian press" about how letting your kids and your wife do yoga was wrong because it was a way to introduce them to "Eastern mythology" and turn them away from Jesus.

[sakabatou]

24. .

:banghead:

[LostinVA]

25. And, Neo-Pagans (including Wiccans) do NOT believe in Satan

Thus, they do not worship him.

Nice to know that meditation is communicating with evil spirits. These people aren't just nuts, they're factually wrong.

[sakabatou]

22. More stupidity from that list

An ankh is a Satanic symbol

* Listens to gothic or any other anti-social genres of music. (Marilyn Manson claims to be the anti-Christ, and publicly speaks against the Lord. Please discard any such albums IMMEDIATELY.)
* Associates with other people that dress, act or speak eccentrically.
* Shows a declining interest in wholesome activities, such as: the Bible, prayer, church or sports.
Listens to gothic or any other anti-social genres of music. (Marilyn Manson claims to be the anti-Christ, and publicly speaks against the Lord. Please discard any such albums IMMEDIATELY.)
* Associates with other people that dress, act or speak eccentrically.
* Shows a declining interest in wholesome activities, such as: the Bible, prayer, church or sports.
Drinks alcohol.
* Is suicidal and/or depressed.
* Cuts, burns or partakes in any other method of self-mutilation. (This is a Satanic ritual that uses pain to detract from the light of God and His love.)
* Complains of boredom.
Dislikes sunlight or any other form of light. (This pertains to vampires promoting the idea that His light is of no use.)
* Demands an unusual amount of privacy.
* Spends large amounts of time alone.
* Requests time alone and quietness. (This is so that your chid may speak to evil sprits through meditation.)
Plays videos games that contains violence or role-playing nature.
* Uses the internet excessively and frequently makes time for the computer.
* Makes Satanic symbols and/or violently shakes head to music.
* Is homosexual or bisexual
Wears pins, stickers or anything else that contains these various phrases: “I’m so gothic, I’m dead”, “woe is me”, “I’m a goth”.
* Claims to be a goth.

>_< So F'ing stupid...

[LostinVA]

28. And Pagans are NOT Satanic

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. How stupid ARE these people?

Here is a sign that your kid is a Goth and needs help:

Dislikes sunlight or any other form of light. (This pertains to vampires promoting the idea that His light is of no use.)


:rofl:

[LostinVA]

31. They also apparently never watched "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

Or read "Salem's Lot."

OMG!!! I have!!! I must be Goth!

[Heidi]

8. Those also are signs that a teen is normal. (nt)

[Mythsaje]

9. If not, we'd be glad to provide some...

at $3.00 a pill, of course.

[abex]

12. theres no wrong way to lie to your kid about drugs

[ms liberty]

13. No, but I am!! n/t

[GoldenOldie]

14. Payback is a bitch......that's what I tell my adult daughters.

Although I was fortunate that they really didn't get into any bad stuff, I well remember those teen years, when the parents don't know anything, they do not want to be seen with you in public, the slamming of doors, the tears of drama and frustration, the smart assed remarks, the messy bedrooms, lame excuses, etc., etc.

Now my daughters are grown with teens of their own. Teens who are a joy to be around and very respectful and polite with adults and others except when alone with their parents. My youngest daughter is a highschool theater arts teacher and she went from being that teen to teaching and working with the teens and even though she has a great understanding of the steps teens must go through in order to leave the nest and is able to explain it to her sister and other friends who have teens, she still bitchs about her daughter who is going through the same step process. They are all great kids and I love it now that my children realize what shits they were as teens.

[coffeenap]

16. 11 year old's response: "That means ALL teenagers are on drugs"

She was being ironic--I love that kid!!

[Neil Lisst]

17. Isn't that the same list they use to prescribe Ritalin in grade school?

You know, they start shoving pills at the kids before they're out of Kindergarten, medicate them until the kids are teens, then wonder why the kids are self-medicating by age 13.

Well, Duh!

[ProfessorGAC]

18. Just Using This Opportunity

I've been working on a new financial paper. I picked the "War On Drugs" as topic because i disagree with it, but i wanted to see the financial implications.

While i still have loads of secondary support data to gather, and run the figures from more than one direction, i have found two very important things:

1) The "lost productivity" statements ($600 billion per year) are clearly overstated, and could be by as much as 500-fold.
2) A more realistic view, would be that the lost productivity value is somewhere between $1.2 and $1.8 billion.
3) The country as a whole, federal, state, municipal and private enterprise, spends almost $18.5 billion fighting the drug war.

Preliminary findings are that the drug war is a $16.7 to $17.3 billion loss effort. There is no reasonable way that anyone could find that an initiative that loses $16 for every dollar is gains is a success.

Just thought i'd use this thread as an opportunity to support the OP's premise with this information.
The Professor

[insanity]

19. unbelievable

The magnitude of those numbers and the general failure of the drug war is completely astounding. Good work, you should post some excerpts on DU when you finish.

[ProfessorGAC]

20. I Will

I need more depth and secondary datasources to validate what i've gotten so far. One thing i should note, is that this isn't the first pass at this. The Cato Institute did a study on this about 4 years ago, and it occurred to me at that time to take a different POV on the same subject. This is the extension of that.

It will be a while before i'm done. But, i'll try to remember to keep folks here informed.
The Professor

[LostinVA]

21. Errr.... that sounds a normal, hormone-soaked teen

The woman who wrote "Queen Bees and Wannabes" makes a good point about kids casually experimenting with drugs: too many parents act like this means they're addicts, and throw them into rehab with REAL addicts, which is completely insane and bad for the kid.

[insanity]

27. I also found a quiz you can take to determine if your kid is a drug user

This is great:
http://www.drugfree.org/Intervention/Quiz/Teenager_Quiz

I think all these assholes just want to alleviate (by, of course, medication) any normal rebellious behavior that does not fit the idyllic 1950's mold.

[Neil Lisst]

29. Isn't that Pat Robertson's list for determining if your kid has a demon?

yeah, I think it is

[helderheid]

30. BWAHAHA! Sounds like *!!

[HughBeaumont]

33. I fit about 85% of that list as a teen . . .

. . . and I never even tried a cigarette. I even QUIT drinking when I was 19. Sometimes teens DO tend to learn from other people's mistakes and not make them on their own.

That list could also indicate a teen with mild to severe ADHD that isn't being listened to and being told that everything bad that's happening to him (e.g. horrible grades, failing family relationships, disinterest in hobbies and activities, etc) is HIS fault. Like I was, for instance.

[LostinVA]

36. My MOTHER fits over half of them

Hell, even my conservative, Bush-voting Dad does.

[hedgehog]

35. How about he/she is withdrawn and depressed because he/she is

withdrawn and depressed? Sometimes the answers are so obvious you have to wonder what's going on in people's heads. Maybe most Americans would rather have a kid using drugs than have a kid with a mental illness.