You're not sure what's happening, but something is different with your friend. They seem preoccupied or possibly sick whenever you do see them. You may start to suspect that person is using drugs , but what can you possibly do about it?
Drug abuse can cause major injuries and death even after a relatively short length of addiction. The good news is that anyone can start to help by taking several key steps.
Symptoms of Abuse
Many different kinds of drugs are easily available in America today, and they all have different specific symptoms of abuse. Some drugs , such as marijuana, cause minor physical changes such as bloodshot eyes and a dreamy, "chilled-out" demeanor. Others, such as meth, cause major physical damage to the human body and leaves the user nervous, twitchy, and singled-minded on getting another hit.
The numerous signs of drug addiction are far too varied for one discussion, so you should educate yourself on the specific signs of abuse for the most commonly abused drugs .
Talk to the Person
You must make sure that your observations do not come across as criticism. Rather, the only reason you're bringing up your observations are because you care about this person and want them to be happy and healthy.
It may turn out a person has a reasonable explanation for the strange behavior that does not involve drug use. A person could simply be battling a health condition, and the symptoms are very similar to drug abuse.
You need to be very careful to address the matter tactfully but persistently. You will not be led on a wild goose chase when it’s your friend's health and life on the line.
Drug Rehab Center
In most cases, it will be very difficult to end drug addiction without thorough and effective drug rehab. Many drugs are simply too powerful to quit without help. In order to get person off drugs for good, you'll need to demand that they actually get rehabilitated.
A person could even get angry with you for suggesting that they need professional help. It can take time, but being patient, caring, and persistent can help get your message across.
When discussing rehab with a drug -addicted friend, your message can have a much greater chance of arriving if you recruit other friends and family members to help. Sometimes it takes a team of loved ones to really get a friend to see how badly they are hurting themselves and how vital rehabilitation is.