Take Note of Home or Car Related Signs
of Substance Abuse

If you've noticed items disappearing around the house, or found some unusual objects appearing, it's a good time to have a talk with your teenager about what you've noticed, and to start looking for other signs of teenage alcohol abuse or drug use.

Mood swings and changes in behavior are often a normal part of teenage development. But in some cases, these may be potential indicators of teenage alcohol abuse or possible drug abuse. If you suspect your teen may be using alcohol or drugs, here are some tell-tale signs you can watch for:

• Disappearance of prescription or over–the-counter pills
• Missing alcohol or cigarettes
• Disappearance of money or valuables
• Unusual smell in the car or bottles, pipes, or bongs on floor or in glove box
• Appearance of unusual containers or wrappers, or seeds left on surfaces, like Frisbees, used to clean marijuana

• Appearance of unusual containers or wrappers and drug apparatus, including pipes, rolling papers, small medicine bottles, eye drops, butane lighters or makeshift smoking devices, like bongs made out of toilet paper rolls and aluminum foil
• Hidden stashes of alcohol