4 Practical Ways to Help Your Kids Avoid Drug Addiction
- Aug 3
- 7 min read
Johnny Stack tried marijuana at a party when he was only 14.
Colorado had legalized recreational marijuana a few years earlier in 2012. When he got home that night, Johnny confessed to his parents about that first experience, and they sternly warned him about the many dangers to his brain function and health, urging him to never do it again.
Sadly, it didn't stop Johnny, who continued to use and became addicted to cannabis in various forms like vape and wax pens, and dabbing through his high school years. These methods use liquid THC, the main chemical from the plant, ingested in a concentrated and very potent form.
At the age of 19, Johnny committed suicide, prompted by a little-recognized condition at the time, Marijuana-Induced Psychosis. Even his psychiatrist was clueless, only suggesting at one point that Johnny should try a different strain. Three days before he died, Johnny said this to his mom: "I need to tell you that you were right. You told me weed would hurt my brain, and it's ruined my brain and my life."1
Many in culture and politics are soft-selling the alleged safety of formerly banned substances which are now available for recreational use.
Do not buy it.
Remember the war on drugs?
It began during the Nixon Administration in the early 70s when the President called the US drug problem "public enemy number one." For the next couple of decades, US leaders ramped up policies of more stringent criminal penalties and aggressive enforcement.
Since then, President Biden moved in a decidedly different direction, commuting the sentences of non-violent drug offenders, granting blanket pardons to marijuana convicts, and issuing a significant number of individual pardons for other offenders, including dealers.
Whatever your view of this "war," we can't wave the white flag - because the death toll is staggering.
If you haven't had anyone in your family fall prey to drug addiction or an overdose, it may feel far away. But the dangers of substance abuse are in every community. Even yours.
In the US, until recently, more than 105,000 Americans lost their lives each year to overdose. It has always been among the greatest causes of unnatural death in the US. In all, drug-caused deaths, just since 1999, have topped 1.25 million people.2 That figure is roughly the same as all the US lives lost in the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Vietnam and Korean wars – combined.
It is war. It is a battle to save the lives of thousands of our children and young adults – and all citizens at risk. To ignore it is to dance with danger.
Protecting Your Family
There are some commonsense steps you can take to increase your kids' chances of avoiding drug use and addiction. Here are four to consider:
1. Be a Role-Model
On some level, it can be intimidating to consider yourself a role model – even to your own kids. But you are. Even though you know the good - and not-so-lovely about yourself, God chose you with intentionality, knowing without a doubt that you are the one best suited to raise, nurture, and prepare your kiddos for adulthood. So, embrace it.
Be their role model when it comes to helping your kids avoid the pitfall of addiction. Let your example and lifestyle encourage and guide.
Whether it's overindulging in alcohol, prescription drugs, or any other substance – your children will get their first cues from you. If you engage in abuse of medications or use marijuana to take the edge off after a long week at work, you're teaching your kids that it's okay – and safe. If you drink, consider stopping short of intoxication. Witnessing a parent who has self-control is a powerful example.
Also be sure to model good, healthy friend groups in your life. Who you spend time with speaks to your children. Surrounding yourself and your family with other positive examples, other families that share your values, can influence your children's choices and behaviors. You are creating an environment – a culture – of health, community, and your friends of character will influence the world in which your kids grow up.
2. Establish Clear Family Rules
Each family has different rules and standards. Your teens may have a curfew that's different from your friends'. Other kids from families you respect may allow their teens to attend a party that you've already decided isn't right for yours. That's fine. You can unapologetically let your kids know that every family is different.
Make sure your children and teens don't have to guess what your family standards are. With your spouse (if you are married), decide on the details and then make sure the kids know the score. Even though rules sometimes represent unwanted boundaries that send teen eyeballs rolling, they can create a feeling of safety when they know where the lines are drawn.
It doesn't mean they will never make mistakes or buck against your standards – that's often part of growing up. But clear rules and guidelines make for a surer foundation as they grow towards future independence.
3. Be Open, Honest, and Available
One of the greatest gifts you can give your kids is to be open and honest with them. When age-appropriate, talk about the real dangers of trying drugs, addiction, and possible overdose. Don't forget other consequences, including mental health struggles like Johnny experienced. We've heard stories of teens and young adults who lost their lives the very first time they accepted a pill from a friend. It is a mistake that is easy for a young person to fall into – so we must help prepare them before they are faced with these choices.
It's good to avoid lecturing and ask questions, making it a comfortable, unrushed, casual dialogue. Also, don't try to cram every bit of information into one big hairy talk. Instead, create ongoing opportunities – when you hear of something from school – or if a news story on the topic comes to light. Ask your child what they think of it and let them talk.
And be available (if possible) whenever they want. So often, kids get talkative at bedtime when we parents really want to call it a day. These are important moments to really listen to what's on their mind. Maybe they learned of a friend at school who suffered an overdose or got caught with drugs on campus. If your son or daughter wants to discuss it with you at 11:30 at night – be there. Don't let that conversation pass.
Your commitment to no topic being off limits could help make you a trusted source as they navigate the temptations of the teen years. That doesn't mean you don't share the truth about right and wrong. We urge you to listen way more than you talk.
4. Arm Them (And Yourself) With Grace, Faith – and Prayer
Trouble is inevitable. Youthful mistakes will probably be part of their lives- and they were probably part of your teen years. We all need God's grace, and a faith-life so that we can rebound knowing that He forgives, heals, and restores.
A relationship with Jesus is the ultimate game changer. Though church attendance can't promise a life without problems or bad choices, robust faith provides inner strength and a home base to return to. Your kids need that same comforting foundation to help them through hard seasons. They and you need to know the God who cares and listens when life gets hard. Take them to church, read the Bible as a family, and let them know that no matter what happens, God can forgive - and you will always hold them close.
The other weapon you have in this war is your prayers on behalf of your family. Pray and don't stop. Know that God is listening, and he loves your child regardless of the road they choose. Even if at any point things get dark – don't give up. The prayers of the righteous are strong and effective. The righteous – that's you, mama!
A Positive Trend
Before moving on, we do have a good statistic to note. That annual death figure, which reached its pinnacle during the pandemic in 2022 with 110,000 drug deaths, last year dropped to 70,000. Still too many lives lost – but we are moving in the right direction. Among the presumed contributors to this decrease is a finally closed border, the growing availability of life-saving overdose remedy naloxone, among others.
Still, too many are lost.
The White House Responds
In January, President Trump launched an initiative to address the addiction crisis, which will provide resources and strategy to combat this scourge on our communities. This program is run by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the White House Senior Advisor for Addiction Recovery, Katheryn Burgum. The Great American Recovery Initiative promises to help people find treatment faster and maintain support in all phases of recovery to start their lives anew. To read more details of the plan, check out The Great American Recovery at hhs.gov.
The four ways we shared to help your kids steer clear of the dangers of drug addiction are by no means exhaustive. There are so many other ways to safeguard your kids. Among them are the benefits of having a robust family life, dinners around your table, grandparents and extended family relationships, involvement in sports, daily devotions, family vacations or homegrown fun. There are so many relational tools that can set your children and teens up for success and help them make choices that could help guard their health now – and their future.
Podcast Note: No parent imagines they will outlive their child, yet far too many moms are facing the unimaginable because of the overdose crisis. This special episode features two powerful conversations recorded at CPAC with moms who have turned devastating loss into a mission to save lives.
Many know Jackie Siegel as the "Queen of Versailles," but behind the public persona is a grieving mother who lost her daughter, Victoria, to an overdose. Anne Fundner, whose son Weston died after taking a counterfeit pill laced with fentanyl. These two heroic moms join Debra Kraulidis and Kimberly Fletcher for this moving episode about grief, resilience, and the mission to prevent overdose deaths.
