Drugs are everywhere, and as your child enters their adolescent years, there is a good chance they may get into them. If you observe a significant shift in your teen’s behavior, it’s possible that they could be involved with drugs. One way is to read your child’s text messages. Of course, like any generation, there is drug slang that acts as coded language. This article will explain drug emojis your child may be using and how to spot the signs that your child has a substance abuse problem. Without further ado, let’s begin to check the topic of drug slang emojis.
Statistics on Teen Drug Use and Online Exposure
Teen drug use is not anything new. The teen years are stressful for many when someone is susceptible to peer pressure. It’s also a period of rebellion, and one’s brain is vulnerable to addiction. Let’s look at some current teen drug use statistics for a bigger picture:
- Between 2016 and 2020, teen drug use went up 61%. This number did decrease in the next year due to COVID-19 and held steady in 2022. However, this number may increase as many return to a more normal life.
- One in eight teens use drugs.
- Even if your teen does not use drugs, there is an 86% chance that they know someone who does.
- At least half of teens will misuse a drug at least once.
- Over 11 percent of all overdose deaths are from teens 15 years or older to adults up to 24 years of age.
- Many parents imagine a drug dealer as someone in a dark alleyway, but the truth is that many teens buy drugs online through messages and dark websites.
Drug Emojis: A Guide💥
Teens often use an emoji drug code to communicate with dealers or friends. Let’s look at some common emojis as drug slang.
- Percocet & Oxycodone (pill emoji): 💊, 🔵,🍌
- Xanax secret emoji: 💊, 🍫, 🚌
- Adderall: 💊, 🚎
- Dealer Advertising drug emoji:🤑, 👑, 👜, 💲, 🔥
- High Potency Drugs: 🚀, 💣, or 💥
- Universal:.🌱
- Large Batch: 🍪
- Meth:❄️, 💙,💎, or 🧪.
- Heroin drug emojis: 🤎 or ♣️
- Coke Emojis: ❄️, 🌪️, ☃️, 🔑,😛, or 🐡.⛄
- MDMA & Mollies: 🖤, ⚡, ❌, 💊or 🍭
- Mushrooms: 🍄
- Cough Syrup: 🍇, ❤️, 🍼
- Emoji for Weed (smoking emoji): 🔥, 🌴, 🌳, 😮, 🍀
These are several emojis you may encounter. Just be mindful that drug slang does evolve, and context matters. A snowflake or diamond may be a cocaine emoji, but your kid may just be glad it’s a snow day if it’s snowing outside. With that said, to catch your teen speaking or typing something weird, Google it. For example, Google “unicorn meaning slang” if your teen wants to see unicorns. Remember, slang always changes, so if there’s something your kid is into and you have no idea what it means, there’s no harm in looking it up.
Signs of Addiction in Teenagers
If you detected an increase in depression, anxiety, or other odd mood changes, this may be a sign of drug addiction.
Of course, a teenager being moody or experiencing angst is nothing new. They could be temperamental because of a breakup, bullying, or other reasons. However, drug addiction will have other serious issues you should watch out for. If they’ve been giving threats of violence, experiencing suicidal ideation, or are caught stealing, this may be a sign that it’s more than ordinary teen angst. Finding that they haven’t gotten much sleep, seem to be hiding something, or have failing grades may be another sign that your teen is experiencing addiction.
So, noticing that your teen is acting differently and you feel it’s more than just a moody adolescent, you may want to investigate it. Don’t think a teen using drugs is harmless; it can lead to lifelong addiction and an early grave.
Social Media Facilitates Youth Substance Abuse
When you think of the dangers of social media for teens, you may think of online predators and sexual content. However, social media can contribute to drug use. Why?
One reason is that social media can be depressing. Teens may see other people having a better time than they are or are peer pressured into going to parties because everyone else is. Social media can warp a teen’s perception of reality and thus may turn them to using drugs. Moreover, coded drug terms on social media can be the source for trying something forbidden. This is not to say that social media doesn’t have positives; it can create community, but you should also be mindful of its downsides.
Skittles Parties
When you see this term, you may imagine a party where the centerpiece is a giant bowl of Skittles candy. However, if you see your teen posting about Skittles parties, it’s anything but that. This is drug language for a get-together where each teen brings a handful of usually stolen pills and pops them. Because many teens will pop more than one pill, Skittles parties can be fatal. If you see that your teenager wants to attend a Skittles party, stop them, as this can be a deadly experience and not one filled with wholesome candy eating.
Kids Can Buy Drugs on Social Media
When it comes to online drug purchases, you may imagine going to a seedy dark web page. However, many drug dealers hid in plain sight on social media. For example, they may be messaging your child on Instagram, selling vape cart drugs on Facebook Marketplace, or talking on chat apps like Discord.
Teens may meet up in a location to buy drugs or exchange specific cryptocurrencies to purchase them. Don’t think they can’t buy pills on social media because it’s online. Many teens and adults also use social media as a drug trade.
Need Help Knowing If Your Teen Is on Drugs?
If you suspect your teenager is on drugs, one way to know for sure is to monitor their activities on social media. You can find several parental controls that let you control what sites your teen uses, but one app you may want to check out is uMobix. Our phone tracker allows you to see what your teenager is up to. Here are some benefits of it.
- It runs in the background quietly and is hidden from your teens.
- Shows you all activities on social media and sends real-time screenshots.
- Location tracking ensures you know where your teens are at all times.
- Archives messages, even if your teens delete them.
- Intuitive design and dashboard that is simple for any parent to use.
- Requires no jailbreaking or rooting.
These reasons and more are why many parents trust uMobix.
What Else Can Parents Do?
If you suspect your teen is using drugs, you should reach out for assistance. There are often many underlying factors as to why teens do drugs, and as a parent, it’s essential that you don’t approach this problem with hostility but with empathy and a desire to seek help.
Set an Appointment with a Therapist
You should seek an appointment with a therapist who specializes in treating addiction. However, it should be more than just that. You want a therapist your child can be comfortable with and vent to them whenever possible. Ideally, you may wish to have a therapist outside of the school, as some schools are not equipped to treat your child full-time.
Think Your Child Is Doing Drugs? Here are Some Questions You Should Ask
- Is there anything that’s been bothering you?
One way to potentially reveal if your teen is doing drugs is to ask if anything is bothering them.
- Do you know about your family history?
If you have a family history of drugs, mentioning that to your teen may help them understand how deadly their addiction can be.
- What happened to your money?
If you’ve noticed that your teen’s allowance or the money they make working disappears quickly, asking where that money went may help uncover the truth.
- I’ve noticed you’ve behaved a little differently.
Acknowledge your child’s changes in behavior, not in an aggressive way, but out of concern.
- What do you know about drugs?
If your teen has more knowledge than they’ve heard from school, this may be a sign that something is up.
- Do you know my rules?
Reminding them of your rules and values can help them admit they have a problem.
- How are your grades?
Asking kids about their performance can help uncover issues.
- Are you using drugs?
Sometimes, being direct is the best answer.
