The drug landscape facing teenagers is changing faster than many parents realize.
In this second conversation with author, educator, private investigator, and ASAP Community founder Dave Kopeny, we go straight into what parents need to know about adolescent substance use, prevention, and the increasingly easy access young people have to potentially addictive substances.
Dave discusses Kratom, products being sold in convenience stores and gas stations, changing marijuana potency, social media exposure, peer influence, family patterns, and why waiting until a child is already struggling with addiction may be waiting too long.
But this conversation is not about frightening parents. It is about giving them something far more useful: agency.
Dave believes parents remain one of the strongest protective influences in a child’s life. We talk about educating kids before experimentation begins, creating guardrails, monitoring without shame, having difficult conversations early, recognizing behavioral changes, and understanding the “why” underneath substance use rather than focusing only on stopping the behavior.
We also explore something families often miss in recovery: you cannot send one person away to heal and return them to the exact same environment expecting everything to be different.
Addiction affects the entire family system. Sustainable recovery may require parents, siblings, and caregivers to examine their own patterns, seek support, and heal alongside the person struggling.
Dave also shares practical strategies from his book, Tip of the Spear: How to Educate, Supervise and Monitor Your Child in a World of Increasing Drug Abuse and Addiction, including how parents can recognize risk, communicate with schools, understand treatment options, establish boundaries, and become proactive before a crisis happens.
Your child may tell you they do not want the guardrails.
They still need to know someone has their back.
Connect with Dave Kopeny and ASAP Community:https://asapcommunity.org
Connect with Lisa Lacy and Notes From the Edge:https://www.lisalacy.com
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