EmpoweringParents.com

When we were stuck in the muck of substance abuse, anger, belligerence and failed probation with our son, I didn’t know where to turn.  Other parents who were also struggling didn’t want to share. There didn’t seem to be a clearinghouse of information or resources, yet I knew there had to be help and information available. But where?  Luckily, there are professionals who can guide you through the process of finding a program to help your child and provide relief to you.

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Michael Phelps is back in the news. But this time instead of gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated as Sportsman of the Year, his face is splashed across the tabloids nose deep in a bong. I thought the one tabloid had a pretty catchy title, “What a dope.”

And to me that about summed it up: a really stupid move.

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Next week our son Matt will graduate from college.

I couldn’t think of a more magnificent gift during this season. It reflects the hope and joy that all parents of struggling teens pray and yearn for, but don’t believe will ever come. I know. I was in that place.

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The cycle of insanity in my family looked like this: parents responding the same, ineffective way, yielding to the erroneous belief that somehow THIS time the response would be different. With my son, we went down a boundary-less road of second chances and manipulation that handed over way too much power and landed him in a therapeutic wilderness program after he was court-ordered out of our home due to marijuana abuse.

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“Pharming”, or the abuse of prescription drugs, is on the rise amongst 12 to 17-year-olds.

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If you think your child hasn’t tried Robotripping, you might want to read this.

Last week, a mom wrote to us with this story:

I’m not sure if you are aware of this recent  trend of kids drinking Robitussin, but I found out about it by accident from my 16-year old daughter, who lives with her Dad.  She got mixed up with a 19-year old freak who drinks whole entire bottles of Robitussin to get high. Also, I don’t understand the reason behind this, but they sometimes combine Robitussin, Jolly Ranchers, and some kind of clear pop like Sprite or 7-Up to make a “cocktail.”

My daughter said she will never do this again, because it made her so sick she was vomiting on & off for 3 days. Do you have any recent reports or info regarding students under the age of 18 using Robitussin to get high? This is the first I have heard about it.

–Southwest Mom

To be honest, I’d heard murmurs about this trend, but didn’t realize how widespread it has gotten. When I was in high school, I remember a kid named Mike who drank Scope and cough syrup between classes. Everyone knew he was doing it, but nobody else joined in. In fact, I remember feeling a little sorry for him. Well, times have changed. I dug around on the Internet and found out that “Robotripping,” as it’s now called, is hugely popular with kids aged 9-17.  Basically, it involves consuming large amounts of Robitussin or other cough syrups containing DXM until you get high–apparently, when you drink enough of it, it has a hallucinogenic effect. Coricidin, or “doing Skittles” is also a popular abuse of an OTC drug. (In 2006, 1 in 10 teens admitted to abusing the medicine to get high.) There are even whole websites devoted to making up tasty cocktails with cold medicines, complete with little charts that show you how much you need to drink in order to get wasted. Kids feel like it’s safe to do this becaues these are medicines found in their parents’ bathrooms, but sadly, some have actually overdosed and died from Robotripping.

Does anyone else have more information on this, or on other OTC drugs that kids are abusing? (I’m including a link here to the Mayo Clinic website, where a doctor describes what you should look for if you suspect your child is Robotripping.)

Could Red Bull and Amp be behind some of your teen’s behavior? A new study from Kathleen Miller at the University of Buffalo links energy drinks to risky behavior, including substance abuse, unprotected sex, and violence. Miller was careful to point out that the drinks don’t cause the bad behavior, but that teens and ‘tweens who consume them are “more likely to take risks with their health and safety.” (The study, by the way, focused on teen athletes, energy drinks, and risky behavior. Her team coined the phrase “Toxic Jock” during the course of their research, which was reported in the Journal of American College Health.)

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If you hear your kids talking about “420″ (pronounced “four-twenty”) prick up your ears–they may be referring to the annual pot-smoking “holiday” on April 20th.

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