Teens Use Technology to Get Drugs, Drug Czar Warns

Technological tools, such as cell phones and personal computers, give teenagers easy access to drugs, warned John Walters, the U.S. drug czar and director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, during a July 18 roundtable discussion with teens who are in drug treatment.

A news release on the roundtable session publicizes resources to prevent and reduce teens' drug use. The Office of National Drug Control Policy posted the resources online as part of its National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, in which the Academy is a partner. Family physicians may find the tools helpful in contacts with parents and teens, AAFP President Larry Fields, M.D., of Ashland, Ky., said in an interview about the campaign.

Among the campaign's online resources is "Teens & Technology," a crash course for parents with suggestions for monitoring teens' cyber activities. Another resource, "Engage Your Teen This Summer," reports research showing that teens with unsupervised time are three times more likely than other teens to use marijuana or other drugs. "Real Teen Stories" conveys comments from participants in the roundtable session. For example, Amy listed her drug dealers in her cell phone address book for easy access, and Sean used Web sites to learn how to detox before a drug test.

"The pusher has moved to the PC. With one click of the mouse, teens can enter a virtual world of drugs," said Walters in the news release.

He encouraged parents to take these steps:

"Teens tend to be early adopters of technology of all types," said Fields. "Young people are text-messaging and using high-pitched ring tones on their cell phones so their parents can't hear the signal -- only the kids and the dog can hear it. It can be completely innocent, but some of it may not be."

Parents should ask their teens about possible drug use if the parents see a change in their youngsters' sleep patterns, behavior or interaction with friends or if they see signs of depression, suggested Fields. "We (family physicians) have a central role to play in helping teens because of the ongoing relationships we have with them on a long-term basis. When we ask for a history of any health problem they might have, we can also ask them about drug use in an open, nonjudgmental way."

Fields said he lets teens know he'll maintain confidentiality. If a problem comes to light, he said the teen might agree to share the information with his or her parents so they can face the problem together.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy published an open letter to parents in many national and local newspapers on July 18 as part of the office's National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, which began in 1998.