A Look At The Most Abused Drugs Among Teenagers

• Heroin – The brain converts heroin into morphine. This means that the brain binds molecules into cells that affect how we perceive pain and reward. However, heroin is easy to overdose on as it slows the user’s heart rate to fatally low beats-per-minute.

• Cocaine – It only takes moments for cocaine to flood the brain with the feel-good chemical known as dopamine. In fact, the sensation of pleasure is so intense that studies show animals choose it over food until they starve to death.

• Nicotine – With the main ingredient being tobacco, nicotine is sucked through the lungs with drug effect peaking at 10 seconds. Since the pleasures felt from smoking are so fleeting, the user must smoke frequently. The frequency of which one must use causes users to become addicted, almost instantly.

• Barbiturates – Barbiturates are prescribed for those who suffer from anxiety and insomnia. However, at low doses, barbiturates can give users the sensation of euphoria. Moreover, large doses of use slow down the user’s heart rate to fatally low beats-per-minute – similar to large doses of heroin abuse.

• Alcohol – slows users thinking, breathing and heart rate. The drug interferes with messengers in the brain called ‘excitatory’ messengers, while simultaneously boosting ‘inhibitory’ messengers, giving the user feelings of pleasure. Alcohol is perhaps the most abused drugs out there and causes thousands of deaths per year.

 Often teens who are enrolled in our therapeutic treatment program have a history of low to moderate substance use.  We can help teens to understand the risks associated with substance abuse and help them to value their future so that that is not an option when they return home. Our boarding school has been very successful in helping teens turn from substances abuse to other more positive outlets that build instead of destroying.

 Use of any of the following substances that become maladaptive and leads to impairment or distress: alcohol, amphetamines, marijuana, cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants, nicotine, opioids, phencyclidines and sedatives. This disorder includes symptoms of tolerance, a possible manifestation of withdrawal symptoms and the use of such substances must interfere with daily functioning.

**Note: This page is meant for informational purposes only. It is not a complete list of all disorders, but rather the most common disorders present in the youth that are served by Turning Winds’ therapeutic boarding school for teens. For further understanding and information about any of the above disorders, please consult the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V-TR.