Hurting Your Family Financially
Drugs cost money. The people making and selling drugs aren’t in the business to make you happy—they’re in it for the money.
Drug use can cost anywhere from less than $100 to several thousand dollars a month, depending on what drugs you use, how often you use them, and where you live.
So how does it hurt your family financially if you use drugs?
- You steal money, credit cards, or items of value from them to sell or trade for drugs
- They may have to mortgage the house to cover the expenses for treatment
- They may have to sell valuable items to raise the money to pay for treatment
- They may have to wipe out college and retirement accounts to get you help
You Hurt Your Relationship with Your Family
Substance use by children is one area that causes parents great concern.
If using drugs starts to consume your life, your relationships become less important, and you lose interest in school, sports or work. You may withdraw from family members and activities. What if using drugs becomes a need and turns into an addiction?
When a family member uses drugs, it affects the whole family.
When you use drugs:
- Others can no longer count on you to do what you say you’re going to do
- You may become rebellious and defiant with parents, guardians and siblings
- You may have mood swings, paranoia, and irrational anger
- You may verbally and physically assault others
- You may start stealing things: money, credit cards, and other valuable items
- You no longer spend time with family members and do the things you used to do together
- You put stress on your parents or guardians: the fear of a child who will hurt themselves or someone else, or die.
People who use drugs don’t see the damage and hurt they’re causing others. The whole family is affected. It hurts the family dynamics and disrupts the stability of the household.