It’s scary being a parent at any time, let alone during an opioid epidemic. How do you talk to your child about the risk of addiction? How do you prevent your teenager from using drugs?
These may be hard questions to answer, but the important thing is that there are some answers. Parents aren’t supposed to be perfect, and it’s normal for teenagers to rebel. At the same time, addiction often starts early. Most people with a substance use disorder started using drugs before age 18 and developed their addiction by age 20, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
On Tuesday, June 28, U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin held a town hall-style event in Bangor focused on resources for those who have a loved one struggling with a substance use disorder. Attendees heard from a number of leaders in prevention and treatment, and they could attend breakout sessions on everything from how medication-assisted treatment works, to how to treat teens, to how drugs affect the parts of the brain that process pleasure and pain, to MaineCare eligibility and benefits.
There are so many aspects of the treatment and criminal justice systems that need to change to better support people with substance use disorders. Medication-assisted treatment can save lives, but providers receive inadequate reimbursement, leading to less counseling support. There are unacceptable numbers of people on waitlists for residential treatment beds. Jails continue to discharge people who have what is a brain disorder without connecting them to appropriate treatment in their communities.
You can see many more ways Maine can improve — 99, in fact — by clicking here. The ideas were generated by the public at the One Life Project event hosted by the BDN in May.
But it’s also good for individuals to have an idea of what they can do now.
At Tuesday’s event, Robin Carr-Slauenwhite, a substance abuse prevention coordinator for Bangor Public Health and Community Services, offered some important, simple things parents or relatives can do to help prevent a child or teenager from getting into painkillers and other drugs. Here are five:
1. Prevent access to your medications by doing three things: Keep track of them, store them safely and get rid of them if you have any left over.
Keep a tracking sheet, so you know how many pills you have left. Don’t assume someone in your home won’t try one. Instead of keeping painkillers in a medicine cabinet, buy an inexpensive lock box.
If you don’t use all of your medication, don’t keep it lying around. Bring it to a prescription drop-off site. Go to medreturn.com to find the closest place where you can dispose of unwanted or expired prescription medications.
Also be careful about access to alcohol, tobacco or marijuana in your home. The risk of addiction to opioids goes up when people use other substances.
2. It may not seem like it, but kids are listening when you talk about addiction and drugs. Do they know the risk factors? Genetics plays a role. Drug addiction is also more common among men and those with a mental health issues. The risk also goes up if a teen’s friends are using or if the teen is lonely.
3. Stay clear and consistent. Teenagers usually aren’t thinking too far into the future, so focus on the present, and give them real reasons for how drug use could affect them now. Will it change their relationship with a boyfriend or girlfriend or get them kicked off a sports team? Will it ruin their chances of getting into college or the military?
4. Learn about your children’s friends. Ask whether they know anyone who uses drugs. Inquiring about people they know is also less accusatory than asking them if they’ve ever used, but it might open the door to that conversation.
5. Build up their skills. The world will present your children with many challenges. Arm them with strategies to use in stressful situations when you can’t be there. Visit drugfree.org for ways to talk to your teen about marijuana or maineparents.net for language you can use when talking to your teen about alcohol or drugs.
Bad things happen to good kids and good parents, but it can never hurt to be proactive and have honest conversations with those you love.
