NCSA: Watch children closely as school resumes

With students heading back to school next week, including some starting secondary school for the first time, the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) is urging parents to look out for any changes in their children’s behaviour.

Deputy Manager of the NCSA Troy Wickham stressed the importance of parental involvement and of other adults helping to spot signs of substance abuse.

He encouraged parents to stay involved in their children’s lives, get to know their friends, and notice any changes in how they act.

Wickham said the NCSA was concerned based on the data it had collected and was willing to share accurate information whenever possible.

He revealed that there was particular concern for young males, who have been negatively impacted by substance use.

“For us, especially new psychoactive substances, it’s extremely concerning,” he said. “Only recently, one of my colleagues shared some information with me related to literally selling candy. All you need is a PayPal account, and just click you’re over 18 and you have access to edibles. All things are edibles, and things like these are concerning for the National Council of Substance Abuse.”

NCSA Board member Dr Ronald Chase said parents need to help their children manage stress and the challenges that come with starting a new school year.

​“Transitions can be stressful. Whether we as adults recognise that children have stressors in their lives, it may not be, and not usually the same stressors that we as adults may have, but they are stressors or life events at their age that can become stressful. They’re going to also be exposed to a new environment and set of persons.”

Dr Chase also talked about how teenagers are developing psychologically and may be tempted to try new things “that we’d not like them to experiment with”.

Manager of the NCSA Betty Hunte added that the organisation is training adults, including teachers and hospital staff, to recognise symptoms of substance abuse.

“We have embarked on training adult groups who may not necessarily be parents, but from time to time act in the role of parent, acting in an adult role to help them bring them up to speed on the related developments in drug use,” she said. “We just spoke about new psychoactive substances, synthetic drugs, even the term new psychoactive substance phase.”

Hunte said adults sometimes find it hard to keep up with changes in drug use and new substances that appear.

(LG)