There are so many parents out there that seat back and say nothing til it is to late.  They are the same parents that ask why didn't I see  this was going on with my child. Some parents just don't know what to look for and others just don't think their kid would do any thing wrong.  That is where they go wrong. See it doesn't matter where you live or what color you are how good of a student your child may or may not be or the kind of friends they have or how old your child is.  Parents think that they only have to worry about their teen using drug. Do you  ever think about your 11 year old getting high?  If you never did you need to read this because now a days age is no longer a factor.  I was a E.M.T. for 6years and doing that job opened my eyes to so many things as a mother to my three sons and what really is out there and what kids are really doing.  One summer morning I got a 911 call for a person in the middle of the road unsure if the person was dead on the double yellow lines.  My partner I arrived to the scene to find a 12 year old boy so high he was sleeping in the middle of a very busy street so high it took about 5 minutes just to get he to wake up.  He didn't no where he was or how he got there or how long he had been there keep in mind it was 6 am. on a Saturday. At that i could only think where is this kid's parents where do they think he is at. Then the big question "what are you high on"?  The answer was a shock to me he said WET for you out that don't know what wet is let me tell all about it. Wet is embalming fluid the way it is used is by soaking a cigarette or marijuana in it and then letting it dry and then smoke it your kids can buy this already done for them for $20 or under. This gives a new way to get high that most drug test don't look for. But the effects of this drug is a killer the side effects include coma, seizures, renal failure and stroke. The high from this drug can last any where from 6 hours to 3 days. This drug is also mixed some times with PCP and when that happens things get really ugly a person on PCP can and will become very violent. Here is something i found at The Office Of Health Education

Deadly Attack by 14-Year-Old on ‘Wet’

In the Philadelphia suburb of Morrisville, a 14-year-old boy fatally stabbed a 33-year-old neighbor more than 70 times in May 2000, after smoking wet he purchased in Trenton, N.J. The boy, who said he took "wet" to quiet the voices in his head, is serving a seven-year sentence in a juvenile facility.

Although there are no national statistics on usage, many drug experts say anecdotal evidence suggests wet has spread from poor, minority inner-city areas to affluent, white suburban neighborhoods and college campuses.

"It seems to pop up in isolated incidents; we see it in [geographic] groupings," said Kate Malliarakis of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy. "Unfortunately it seems to spread by word of mouth, especially with kids." 

This just goes to show it doesn't matter where you live or what color you are this is out there and kids are using it more and more every day.

 Another drug that is so in demand now a days are pain killers what many people don't know about is that many pain killers that you get from your family Dr. has the same effects as illegal drugs. Did you know that Oxycontin has the same effect as Heroin does. The way Oxycontin is used some times is that it is  crushed into a powder and then injected or inhaled which inturn makes it a higher risk for a overdose. Opioids are Opioids no matter where or how you get them if you see your child sleeping alot unable to keep their eyes opened or their head up if you seat there and watch them talking to you and then they just stop talking and close their eyes and their head starts to drop very slowly if it looks like they are doing thing in slow motion your kid is high on some kind of opioid.

 Kids are also using Meds  that are meant to be used for treatmeant of ADHD kids that are on meds for this use these meds to help them focus better in school and other events.  But more and more we are seeing kids that don't have ADHD are using these meds to stay awake to do things faster and even to lose weight. One of the most common ADHD drugs is Ritalin which is a stimulant that produces pharmacological effects similar to cocaine and amphetamines. So it is like this for those how have ADHD the meds they use effect like downers and those how do not have ADHD the meds effect them like uppers. Some of the effects of these drug are heart failure and or seizures. So with this drug use you will see your child up and not sleeping seeming like they have alot more energy then usual.  They may also seem to be on the go fast doing just about everything with eyes wide opened.

Another drug that is used alot by kids is for sure in your medicine cabinet over the counter meds are fine til your child starts to take high doses of these meds which can be used as a downer and also can cause problems for your child such as problems with their senses especially with their vision and hearing some other effects are also confusion, stomach pains, numbness, and even hallucinations So if you see your child cough meds when they are not sick or if you find cold meds in their trash or cold meds that you didn't buy and you don't have any clue where they came from it's time to seat down with your child for talk. 

The last drug I will tell about is inhalants another drug that is already in your home and that you use every day and you would never think your child will use to get high.  Inhalants are aerosol sprays, cleaning fluids, gasoline, glue, and paint thinners just to name a few.  The most common why to use these things to get high is by spraying or pouring these thing in to a bag and then putting the bag to their mouth an nose and inhaling the vapors  the effects to inhalants are Double vision, loss of coordination, weakness, severe headaches, nausea or vomiting, numbness, irregular heartbeat, suffocation and also  Hallucinations, stomach cramps, rashes around the nose and mouth and inflamed eyes, lightheadedness, dizziness and drowsiness, loss of control or unconsciousness, kidney damage, liver damage, heart failure.

So in short never think it can't happen to you in your home or to your child always keep your eyes and ears opened look for and changes in you child and know that it is never to early to talk to your children about drugs.

Here are some web pages you may want to look at just to educate your self and your kids.

http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/04/05/illegal-drugs-identification-chart-what-they-look-like--amp-how-to-recognize-their-effects.htm

http://teenshealth.org/teen/

http://www.prescription-drug-abuse.org/

http://www.parentdish.com/2009/08/28/more-kids-buzzing-on-abuse-of-adhd-drugs/