What We Talk About When We Talk About our Drug History

http://www.today.com/moms/dont-tell-kids-about-past-drug-use-study-finds-1C8485603

What I posted to Facebook regarding the article:

Only having a 6- and a 3-year-old, I'm no expert on what to say to teens.

Talking about the negative aspects of drug abuse - harm to body, loss of money, legal ramifications - is imperative. The inevitable question, "Did you use?" Will come. I may say this: Why do you want to know? If I say yes, then you may think that I turned out okay and so would you. If I say no, then I have no experience and can't relate.

So I would talk about the experiences of those around me. Billy and Pauly (brothers who were friends of mine who were in their early 20s) dying at the same time in a car wreck. Friends never having money. Dealing drugs. Arrests. Promising futures turning into needles in the arm. Life allows for moderation, but chemical dependency can be a bigger influence than some people's willpower. That I don't know one person whose life improved due to their drug / alcohol use but countless stories of how lives were worsened or ruined.

My $0.02.