Centerpiece
ResourcesThe Adolescent Addict
Total Running Time: 8:58 min.
At 10, Dylan's biological father left his family. Now 15, Dylan has a drug problem.
According to Nora Volkow of NIDA, adolescent brains are more susceptible to the lure
of drugs than adult brains. Drugs took Dylan to dangerous places; his stepfather Scott
says he became a "cutter," and used a slingshot to shoot out windows in a fit of rage.
Though treatment for adolescents yields positive results (17-year-old Ted benefited from
sessions at the Phoenix Academy in Austin, TX), many families are unwilling to look
outside the home for help. Says Dr. Michael Dennis, "Less than one in 10 adolescents
who meet clinical criteria for abuse or dependence are showing up to treatment. What
that means is we're doing a bad job of identifying and getting kids who have problems
into treatment."
