What Parents Need to Know

Good Parents have good kids who may still get into trouble through drug use!

Drugs do not respect race, faith, age, social status, good parenting or not so good parenting, good school or bad school. Teenagers like to try things, especially if it is seen as ‘pushing the boundaries' a bit. Most will try a drug like cannabis once or twice and then stop. But some are not so lucky and find it hard to just give up. A bit like smoking cigarettes, once you have started, stopping may not be that easy.

Parents are often the last to know their child is using drugs and/or in trouble through their alcohol or drug use; and please remember, alcohol is a drug, in fact the most dangerous drug in New Zealand. It costs the country around $5 billion per year.

Unfortunately, in New Zealand alcohol and cannabis are so readily available and cheap that they become the drugs of choice for many teenagers. This is more harmful than previously realised. Research, from 2009, shows that regular use of either drug during the teenage years affects the developing brain.

Regular use, for more than 6 months during adolescence, lessens who the person has the potential to become. It reduces short term memory, impairs learning, harms academic achievement, and slows, or even stops, the young person from growing up emotionally. Meaning these young people do not mature like their mates. Their prefrontal cortex does not develop the same and this alters who the person is.

When the National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines on drinking alcohol were released in Australia (Oct 2009), some parents were surprised to discover that sharing the occasional beer or glass of wine with their teenagers might be dangerous. "For young people aged 15-17 years, the safest option is to delay the initiation of drinking for as long as possible." Could it really be safer to ban under-age drinking in the home altogether? In a society in which drinking is the main social lubricant, the task of redefining our relationship with alcohol may seem overwhelming. But there is much evidence to suggest this is necessary - including the rise in alcohol-related violence.

We at WellTrust see youth/rangatahi as our future. Our national statistics show that for the 16-18 age group, 24% have a substance use disorder. We work to minimise the harm that comes from using alcohol and other drugs in those particularly affected. BUT we ask all parents to delay and reduce alcohol/drug use by their children. Set boundaries, and be firm in supporting them to delay when they start, and to only drink in moderation when they do.

Please realise, medical science tells us that there is no safe amount of alcohol for a 15 year old to drink. And as for cannabis, why would any amount of mind altering substance be good for a teenager whose brain is developing so rapidly?