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FREE Drug Symptom Chart
Click the download button above for a Free Printable PDF File containing a Drug Symptom Chart. The same file includes a list of the drug categories, along with the most commonly abused drugs on the market. If you don’t need to print it out right now, you can just click on one of the charts below and it will enlarge for you.
We’ve also got a FREE Drunk-O-Meter and a FREE Pupilometer for you to download!
For many parents, the prospect of trying to diagnose intoxication is intimidating. There is no need to feel this way. It’s not as hard as you might think. When you first open the Drug Symptom Chart, you’ll see what appears to be a confusing array of variables. Let not your heart be troubled. Your job is not to painstakingly narrow down the particular drug that a person is using. Instead, your one simple job is to distinguish between a normal human being, and one that is impaired by drugs.
Teenagers can be moody and mysterious. It can be hard for parents to tell if a child is under the influence of drugs, or if they’re just under the influence of hormones. If you’re basing your diagnosis on casual contact, it may be impossible for you to tell what is going on. But if you take a couple of basic measurements, and make a few specific observations, you can reliably rule out drug use. The trick is knowing what to look for. Hormones won’t cause constricted pupils, elevated blood pressure or a lack of coordination. Mood swings don’t cause disorientation. By putting a couple of these observations together, you can make a qualified determination as to whether or not drug use is involved.
Click on the chart to enlarge it. This first chart lists the most common drugs of abuse, including the symptoms you would see if your child was under the influence. Drugs are generally classified into categories based upon the effects they have on the human body. You won’t see a category for “prescription drugs” for example, because individual prescription drugs fall within different categories. Learn to look for symptoms.
Click on the chart to enlarge.
This chart gives a list of the common drugs that fall within each of the categories. If you have some pain relievers, anti-anxiety medications or ADHD pills in the house, it’s a good idea to become familiar with the symptoms they can produce. Prescription drug abuse is alarmingly prevalent at the high school level, and the number one source of prescription medicine is parents, siblings or relatives.
Pay particular attention to the time frame in which you’ll need to administer a drug test. When dealing with light drug experimentation, you have a relatively short window of opportunity in which to obtain reliable results. Kids don’t want to be caught, and they learn quickly from their mistakes. If they’ve given you an opportunity to detect substance abuse, you need to exploit it. It may be the last chance you have, to save your child’s life.
If you haven’t already done so, make sure you read the Diagnosing Drug Use Page, to get up to speed on the techniques of drug diagnosis. The Home Sobriety Tests page will teach you how to quickly and easily administer home sobriety tests. You can use the Free Pupilometer, to help you obtain scientific proof of impairment. Learn what physical evidence may be lying right under your nose, by visiting the Detecting Drug Use Pages. And make sure that you’re doing everything right, by paging through the Preventing Drug Use Pages.