What is a drug?
A drug is a substance which affects the way the brain or other parts of the body work.

Drugs can either be legal or illegal - doctors prescribe legal medicines all the time.

But the misuse of substances - both drugs and alcohol - is a common feature in the lives of a significant proportion of children and young people.

What is commonplace?
There is a lot of confusion and misinformation around drugs, often made worse by inaccurate and sensationalised news stories.

The use of illegal drugs is not confined to any particular social group, age or sex, and use is as prevalent in both rural and urban areas.

It's important to keep things in perspective. For most young people, illegal drugs misuse is not a normal part of life. Many young people who do experiment with drugs do not continue that use.

Worried?
There are many sources of information about drug-taking, so we needn't repeat everything here.

If you are worried that your child might be involved, try the following:

Information about the symptoms of drug use and types of addiction

Advice and information from The National Drugs Helpline

If you think your child is on drugs and would like detailed information about the symptoms and the effects of various drugs, try www.trashed.co.uk

BBC Radio 1 'Essentials' website

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