Illicit Drugs

Parent Coaching: Helping parents with parenting challenges by offering alternative perspectives about family situations, creating strategies to prevent youth high-risk behavior, and developing family dynamics that achieve balanced parenting goals.

Prevention Planning: Use this section to plan your prevention activities and prevention discussions regarding this topic.

• Brief Situational Confidence Quiestionnaire (BSCQ)

  Assess your child's confidence level in eight different situations that could tempt someone to engage in substance use or compulsive behavior. 

ACTIVITIES

• Drugs, Brains, & Behavior

  Review the booklet from DrugAbuse.gov about the science of addiction with your children.

• Mouse Party

  Explore inside the brains of mice on drugs to see the different, unique molecular mechanism of each with your teen.

• Refusal Skills

  Review the peer pressure handout and role-play a variety of refusal skills.

• Family Day

  Learn the prevention benefits of family dinners by reading this Parent Tool Kit.

LINKS

• Science of Addiction: Brain and Genetics

  Learn about the science of addiction and the role of genes. 

• Why Do Kids Use Drugs

  Get Smart About Drugs-A resource for parents, educators, & caregivers.

• Partnership to End Addiction

  Personalized support and resources for families impacted by addiction, while mobilizing policymakers, researchers and health care professionals to more effectively address addiction systemically on a national scale.

ORGANIZATIONS

• National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens

  NIDA for Teens is the trusted source for science-based information on teen drug use and its effects.

• Tips for Teens from SAMHSA

  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration tip sheet for teens deliver the science in fact sheet form.

READINGS & RESEARCH

• Get the Drug Facts

  Get the facts about the most commonly used drugs. Learn what they are and how using drugs can affect your body and your mind.

• Activities, Games, & More

  Games that explore what happens to the brain and body when drugs are used.

• Let's talk about drugs

  How to have tough conversations with your child.

• "Talk. They Hear"

  Listen to this podcast on risky behaviors.

• Printable resources

  More information on drugs.

• Tweens playbook

  How to help your kids be drug free.

• Risk Assessment 

  Take this assessment on substance use.

• Conversation starters 

  How to begin these talks.

• Obtain a natural high 

  Learn how to make these talks easier.

Student Engagement: Engaging students in the learning process to increase understanding and motivattion to practice higher-level critical thinking skills about high-risk behavior.

Prevention Planning: Use this section to find information, activities, discussion and fact handouts, as well as access to research about this topic.

• Brief Situational Confidence Quiestionnaire (BSCQ)

  Assess your child's confidence level in eight different situations that could tempt someone to engage in substance use or compulsive behavior. 

ACTIVITIES

• Mouse Party

  Take a look inside the brains of mice on drugs to see the different, unique molecular mechanism of each.

• Refusal Skills

  Take a look inside the brains of mice on drugs to see the different, unique molecular mechanism of each.

• Activity book

  Complete these exercises to learn more about drugs.

LINKS

• The Science of Addiction: Learn the Genetics

  Learn about the genetics of addiction from the Genetic Science Learning Center.

• Addictionary

  Take caution when using words that are heavily stigmatized and learn a language about substance use disorders that's unified.

• Obtain a natural high

  -Learn how to make these talks easier.

ORGANIZATIONS

• National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens

  NIDA for Teens is the trusted source for science-based information on teen drug use and its effects.

• Tips for Teens from SAMHSA

  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration tip sheet for teens deliver the science in fact sheet form.

READINGS & RESEARCH

• Get the Drug Facts

  Get the facts about the most commonly used drugs. Learn what they are and how using drugs can affect your body and your mind.

• Activities, Games, & More

  Games that explore what happens to the brain and body when drugs are used.