General Facts

Drug dependence (addiction) is compulsive use of a substance despite negative consequences which can be severe; drug abuse is simply excessive use of a drug or use of a drug for purposes for which it was not medically intended.

Physical dependence on a substance (needing a drug to function) is not necessary or sufficient to define addiction. There are some substances that don't cause addiction but do cause physical dependence (for example, some blood pressure medications) and substances that cause addiction but not classic physical dependence (cocaine withdrawal, for example, doesn't have symptoms like vomiting and chills; it is mainly characterized by depression).

Signs of drug use in teens include but are not limited to:

• A change in the child's friends, a new group
• Seclusive behavior
• Long unexplained periods away from home
• Lying
• Stealing
• Involvement with the law
• Deteriorating family relations
• Obvious intoxication (being drunk or high), delirious, incoherent, or unconscious
• Distinct changes in behavior and normal attitude
• Decreased school performance

A Message To Teenagers

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a rough word to deal with. Yet nobody is too young (or too old) to have trouble with booze.
That's because alcoholism is an illness. It can hit anyone. Young, old. Rich, poor. Black, white.

And it doesn't matter how long you've been drinking or what you've been drinking. It's what drinking does to you that counts.
To help you decide whether you might have a problem with your own drinking, we've prepared these 12 questions. The answers are nobody's business but your own.

If you can answer yes to any one of these questions, maybe it's time you took a serious look at what your drinking might be doing to you.
And, if you do need help or if you'd just like to talk to someone about your drinking, call us. We're in the phone book under Alcoholics Anonymous.

Ask yourself:
Do you get drunk when you drink, even when you don't mean to?

Do you think it's cool to be able to hold your liquor?

Do you lie about your drinking?