Unfortunately, teenage drug abuse is at an all-time high. Youths between the ages of 12-17 are regularly reported using illegal drugs.  Whether you are a parent or not, you know that teenage drug abuse is a very real, dangerous and far spread activity amongst teen.  Parents, regrettably, will delude themselves with the idea that a good private school, active church or synagogue participation, parental generosity and strict curfews will somehow deter their child from these dangers.  But they are everywhere - they lurk amongst pushers, dance hall and peer groups.  As teen drug abuse becomes more commonplace, parents as well as caregivers need to be educated on the signs of abuse.

If you're suspicious about your teen's drug abuse or illegal drug usage, the best way to find out is by administering a teenage drug test from home. If you're hesitant to attempt testing your child and suspect that your teen is abusing marijuana there are simple THC (Tetra Hydro Cannabinol) detection wipes that you can purchase. These wipes can be used on any surface which your teen may be near while smoking, including the walls of their room. If the test comes up THC positive, the next step would be to administer a drug test either through saliva, hair, or urine. If you're not sure what drug your teenager is abusing, there are Drug Detectors & Drug Identification Kits for Drug Testing available.

Not only can you test for THC found in marijuana, you can also test for other common drugs such as; cocaine, ecstasy, opiates, amphetamines , methamphetamine (aka speed, meth, chalk, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, oxycodone and phencyclidine.

Other drugs that teens may be addicted to and can be tested for are propoxyphene (PPX), tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) methadone (MET), morphine (MOP) and the popular LSD also known as acid.

Not only can teenagers abuse illegal drugs but they can also abuse and become addicted to prescription drugs found in your medicine cabinet. Commonly misused prescription drugs are Vicodin, Xanax, Valium, Adderall, Ativan and Fioricet.

The more that teenage drug abuse will continue to claim many victims, the more teenage drug testing kits will become popular. The most important step in helping a teen to avoid becoming another statistic is simply by not allowing rationalization of drug abuse to take root in the mindset of your growing child. Instead, children should be taught from the earliest years to take responsibility for their own actions, and thus many of the drug myths so prevalent in today’s teenage society will not find any more believers. This approach will not eradicate teenage drug abuse but it will close off one more avenue by which teens and their pushers have been able to delude themselves into using substances.