With school now back in session, the Porter County Substance Abuse Council reminds parents how to safeguard against drug use by their children.

The council has distributed more than 2,000 guidebooks to Porter County schools for all new registrants this fall. Parents are urged to take time to read the guidebooks.

The council urges parents to keep prescription drugs secure and out of reach.

Current statistics show that almost 21 percent of the population 12 and older in Indiana will, during their lifetime, abuse mood altering drugs. Prescription drug overdoses are on the rise, surpassing the number of traffic accidents in the United States.

To dispose of unwanted medication, medication drop-off boxes are available at the Chesterton, Porter, Portage, and Valparaiso police stations.

Parents are urged to be on the lookout for the following signs of potential drug use: if the child wears long sleeves or inappropriate clothing for the weather; drastically changes his or her taste in clothing or music; is always scratching; has a dry, red nose and face, is extremely fatigued, or complains of an upset stomach or nausea.

Parents who suspects their teens of using drugs should keep track of the mileage on their car, pay attention to how the teen’s cash is being spent, watch for missing spoons or valuable items or small pieces of foil or baggies.

Parents and their children can also use a secret code. With a secret code, a child can contact a parent, say the code and know that the parent will understand.

The code can mean simply: Come get me. Using this code will give the child security and provide the parents a safe mechanism for keeping the lines of communication open.

The Porter County Substance Abuse Council Guidebook informs parents about the types of illegal drugs and their street names.

Included in the Guidebook is information on where to go locally for help and how to obtain a drug testing kit for $5. More information can be found at portercountysac.org

Posted 9/5/2012