This guide’s goal is to provide resources that support healthy conversations between adult caregivers and youth on opioid misuse, and gives an overview of opioids and their effects, along with tools to guide conversations on the topic.
This guide to addressing opioid misuse is divided into three points: an overview of what opioids are, noting various types of opioids and how opioid abuse can occur or appear, and the impact of opioids on the brain and body. The second point provides prompts for conversation and what to share or not share, when to start a conversation, and what types of things to say. The third point includes a variety of tools for conversation; it provides links to resources for adults for helping youth as well as some names of national organizations that also provide relevant resources, and resources for youth who are themselves struggling or who have family members who are struggling with substance abuse. The guide also provides a list of commercial and street names for heroin and prescription opioids.