Children are especially vulnerable when it comes to drugs.
I know it's hard to think of a child using a syringe to inject heroin into a popped-up vein.
Unfortunately, it does happen.
The appeal for young people is machismo, wanting to fit in, or just plain experiment.
It's an image that no parent wants to have of their children.
It's time for a wakeup call.
So what should you do if you find that your child has been taking drugs? It depends how advanced their drug taking is.
And, what kind of drugs are being taken.
Drug abuse can cause major changes in body and brain chemistry.
So the first priority is to stop them from taking any further drugs and detoxify their bodies from the resulting chemicals and related toxins.
Great care needs to be taken when choosing a detox centre for children who need Drug Detox.
You must establish what techniques are used for detoxing.
Some centers use rapid detoxification using anesthetics.
Others have a more holistic approach, first making the patient comfortable to ensure stability and then making physical discomfort as minimal as possible.
You also need to establish how much money it will cost and whether it is covered by your health insurance.
You need to find out how far away from your home the nearest centre is.
It could be important that you are close at hand during your child's drug detox.
Another important factor is the centers after care policy.
There needs to be regular checkups from the clinic to assess what ongoing treatment it is necessary.
The child will also need addiction therapy.
It is also important to get to the bottom of any mental issues that the child may have.
There are problems which may have moved the child towards drugs in the first place.
It is so important that these problems are sorted for the child to have any success of fully recovering.