Helping Parents with Straight Talk on Drugs

Physicians and parents alike frequently struggle with how to address substance abuse with their teen patients or their own children.  As a result, too much is often left unsaid until it is too late.

Straight Talk for Parents from Drug Free Pennsylvania (DFPA) offers a suite of tools, tips, and resources for parents to help them talk to their children about the difficult topic of substance abuse.

Parents will find practical advice about the daily concerns they and their children face, such as how to talk to teens about drugs, why children use drugs, how to be a role model, responding to warning signs, and how to call for help.

Patients can also find free DFPA-sponsored seminars in their region conducted by Glen Zehner, EdD, an expert on drug abuse. Zehner, educational programs director for DFPA,  will offer 14 presentations across the commonwealth this year on nonmedical use of prescription drugs and use of alcohol, marijuana, other illicit drugs, and tobacco.

DFPA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing substance abuse and building drug free families, created Straight Talk for Parents to help parents guide children of any age through the daily challenges they face in school, from peers, and even in their friends’ and families’ homes.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society is a founding DFPA member.