One in twelve American teenagers report using drugs during the previous month. That's a pretty surprising statistic.
“Schools need to remove the fear of consequence from the narrative,” said Nicholas Mathews, founder of dual-diagnosis treatment facility Stillwater Behavioral Health. “By establishing a judgment-free zone, they can identify the root cause of why somebody’s using drugs and alcohol and help treat it.”
As featured on KMVT-CBS in Idaho, KSBY 6 in California, and Pharmacy Times, Mathews is a former alcoholic and heroin addict.
I had a chance to interview him to learn more.
According to the National Institutes of Health, marijuana and hallucinogen use among young adults reached an all-time high in 2021. Recent studies suggest psychedelics could treat alcoholism, but some researchers question whether psilocybin, the ingredient in magic mushrooms, changes an individual’s brain.
HBO’s teen drama Euphoria shows a world where drugs and alcohol are a normal part of teenagehood. But “rainbow fentanyl” is rapidly making its way into the U.S., and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) suggests the colorful pills are being used to target young people – exposing them to the life-threatening dangers of the synthetic opioid.
What best practices can schools use to discourage drug use?
There’s a lot of room for schools to improve. Most times, students don’t have trust within their families to be open, so guidance counselors in high schools are saints among normal people. They're underpaid, undervalued, and underappreciated because a good guidance counselor can really change the entire course of the kid's life. A teen’s drug use can be better treated by cultivating a judgment-free zone that allows the counselor and the student to identify the root cause of their burnout. That's why treatment is so important in so many different facets because it's not a matter of what you're doing – meaning, it doesn't matter if you're doing heroin or you're taking pills. At the end of the day, you're self-medicating. The way that you exist in the world, your thinking, your mentality, and your reward systems are broken. That is the problem; drugs and alcohol are the solutions. Schools should try to understand the problem before focusing on the “solution.”
But treating teen addiction and drug use is tough because most teens haven’t faced enough consequences to want to change, and a person needs to want to get clean and actually achieve sobriety.
Why have previous anti-drug campaigns, like D.A.R.E., failed? What needs to be done differently?
Statistically, kids that were involved in the D.A.R.E. program were more likely to try illicit substances before the age of eightteen. I was a kid when D.A.R.E. was in school, and I remember their program taught us what drugs were and what they did. I remember thinking it sounded so cool and thinking, “Wow, I have to try this cocaine. This sounds awesome.” So, D.A.R.E. was a very misguided effort.
How can one differentiate between a typical teen doing drugs recreationally and a struggling teen who is abusing drugs? What red flags indicate problematic behavior?
Parents can look for changes in the child's friend group. They might hang out with new friends and either isolate themselves or present differently physically. It's natural for kids to change friend groups and make new friends in high school, but you can learn a lot about what your kids are doing from the people they spend time with. Suppose you're hanging out with the burnout kids. In that case, you could assume that they might be on trajectory to be burnouts themselves. I know it sounds silly, but pay attention to who they're surrounding themselves with. With isolation, it's tricky to identify it and connect it to drug and alcohol use because it's normal for teens to start hating things as they grow up. They're going to start hating things that they used to love because that's just what teenagers do. They hate things. Pay close attention to how they're acting, how they're presenting, and what they're doing. But remember to provide a safe, accepting environment to come clean about drug use, so your kid can truly discuss it, ask questions, educate themselves, and not worry about harsh punishment for being honest and seeking help. This is specifically important if they're simply asking a question about a pill their friend did at a party or if somebody drinks too much and they need a ride home from a party. Create an environment where they're safe and comfortable to call you and respect their decision-making process, but give them the tools to make the healthiest decisions possible.
In my experience, my substance abuse as a teen was built around the secrecy of my choices. I couldn't talk to anybody about it. I couldn't ask for advice. Providing an arena where your kid can talk to you is not synonymous with facilitating or endorsing drug use.
What advice do you have for today’s teens based on your own personal journey?
As a teenager, I didn't even realize that fear controlled most of my decisions. I wanted to fit in and be cool so desperately. I wanted people to like me. Now that I'm older, I realized those wants and desires are based on fear of going without, missing out, being different, and simply not being okay. I would encourage teenagers to recognize it as fear. Don't let fear control you; don't let fear make decisions for you.
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