Adolescent Program

• Assessments
• Substance Abuse Education
• Random Drug Screens
• Family Therapy
• Teen Group Therapy
• Parent Group Therapy
• Multi-Family Groups
• Relapse Prevention Support
• Aftercare Programs
• Self-Help Group Involvement
• Parent Skills Classes

The Kaiser adolescent drug and alcohol treatment programs offer:

• An opportunity for teens and their families to learn about substance abuse disorders.
• Tools to help teens learn the value of a drug-free life.
• A place where families can begin to heal and learn to live substance free.

• Do you feel like you are losing control as a parent?
• Do you find yourself making excuses for your teen’s behavior or rescuing him/her from consequences?
• Do you feel like your home life revolves around your teen?

Parents, you can learn the difference between parenting and enabling.  Teens with an alcohol or drug abuse problem need treatment to regain control of their lives.  When family members participate together in treatment, the process of recovery begins.

• Do you ever feel like drugs or alcohol are controlling you?
• Are alcohol or drugs interfering with what you really want for yourself?
• Are there people in your life who suggest you may have a problem with alcohol or drugs.

Teens, we are not here to blame you for the past.  We are here to help you get on with your life.  Treatment can work.

• School Habits:
  • Poor attendance and/or a drop in grades

• Family interactions:
  • Increased conflict
  • Curfew problems,
  • Isolation from family
  • Excessive secretiveness

• Social Sphere:
  • New friends or isolation from peers
  • Strange phone calls
  • Established activities such as sports or hobbies dropped
  • New activities
  • Legal problems (DUI arrest, shoplifting, possession or public drunkenness)

• Emotional/physical health:
  • Temper outbursts
  • Mood swings
  • Weight changes
  • Changed sleeping habits
  • Hygiene changes
  • Depression
  • Memory problems

Since the passing of Proposition 64, legalizing the adult recreational use of marijuana, there has been much discussion about what this might mean for teens. There are questions about the law and what types of mixed messages teenagers might get about marijuana use. There are also concerns about the effects of marijuana on the development of young people. For parents, this can be a difficult subject to approach with their teen.

The most current research indicates that using marijuana, prior to adulthood, is detrimental to brain development. During the adolescent years, brain development is in the final, but critical moment of what is called “pruning”. This sensitive period when the frontal and prefrontal cortex (the parts of the brain responsible for executive function, memory, judgment, impulse control and focusing and organizing attention) is molded into maturity, for the life ahead. Research shows a growth spurt in this area of the brain, just before puberty and the pruning or “fine-tuning” of this area in adolescence. Studies indicate that this period of development is particularly vulnerable to the exposure of drugs and alcohol.

Data collected by Duke University from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study found that persistent marijuana use was linked to a decline in IQ equivalent to about 8 IQ points.  The team compared this finding as to the “same realm as what you’d see with lead exposure”. (PNAS(http://www.pnas.org/content/109/40/E2657.full), 2012)

Studies done at the University of Barcelona found, “consistent evidence of both structural brain abnormalities and altered neural activity in marijuana users” (PLOS ONE, 2013). Marijuana use in teens who start before age 16 are at particular risk for these problems. This has implications for poor academic performance as well as social and occupational challenges later in life. Recent studies also site that teens under age 17 who use marijuana every day are 60 percent less likely to graduate from high school compared with their peers who have never used the drug. Lastly, teen marijuana users are 18 times more likely to become dependent on the drug, seven times more likely to attempt suicide, and eight more times likely to use other illicit drugs later in life. (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(14)70307-4/fulltext)

These troubling findings do not take into consideration that marijuana potency has vastly increased in the age of medical marijuana cultivation. The potency of cannabis back in the 80’s and 90’s was typically at 5-8%. Strains these days can be found to have up to 30% THC (the mind-altering ingredient in marijuana), and oils extracted from cannabis (dabbing or wax) can be as high as 80%! The effects of this change, with respect to addiction potential and detrimental effects on adolescent brain development and later adult functioning are unknown, but all who work in the addiction medicine field are very concerned. Perhaps most distressing of all, is the fact that studies show that with societal permissiveness due to changing laws, more teens are smoking pot and at earlier ages.

If you suspect your teen is using marijuana, we encourage you to talk to your teen. If find you need assistance in changing this behavior, we encourage you to let us help.