Having their teenager get arrested on drug charges should be every parent’s wake-up call. If your teen’s drug usage was previously unsuspected, consider this to be the red flag waving.
By the time of an arrest, your teen’s drug use may have progressed past the experimentation stage — and most parents, quite understandably, want their kids to enter treatment rather than get sentenced to jail.
Is treatment a sentencing option?
Sometimes it can be, especially if this is your child’s first tangle with the Mississippi criminal justice system. But it should never be a given that the courts will agree to treatment instead of jail time for a conviction.
Other signs your teen has a drug problem
According to the following list provided by the Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program (MASEP), answering “yes” to the following questions indicates the need for substance abuse treatment:
- Have you tried to cut back or quit using, and couldn’t?
- Do you turn to drugs when mad or upset?
- Do you use drugs to fit in with friends?
- Are you unable to have fun without being on drugs?
- Do you take one drug to come down from another?
- Have you overdosed in the past?
These are not the only signs of drug addiction, but having your teen honestly answer those questions can give you an idea of how serious the problem is.
Plea bargains can include treatment options
Sometimes, the best way to resolve a criminal charge is to accept a plea bargain of guilty to a lesser charge (typically a misdemeanor). While it might not be as optimal as an acquittal, a plea bargain that includes mandatory treatment in a detox facility can still be a good resolution to a teenager’s drug problem.
