- Change (coins) missing from home, purse, change jar, etc...
- Money missing and seems unaccounted for: Mom thinks "I thought I had $10 left in my wallet; Didn't I have $10? Well, maybe I spent it?"
YOU, THE PARENT, BEGIN TO QUESTION YOURSELF, YOUR MEMORY OF MONEY AND CIRCUMSTANCES
- Small items-jewelry, valuables, household items of resale quality- missing and unaccounted for
- Opiates are sedatives, "downers", therefore they make you very tired; user will begin to seem very dopey, fatigued, sleep much more than usual, sometimes to the point of being unable to wake
- Eyes will reflect the usage - pupils are pinpoint and peculiar looking
- User will have "cotton mouth" - speech is impaired and/or slurred, user constantly licks his lips and lips appear dysfunctional
- User will seem to have very itchy skin, having the feeling and appearance of "skin crawling"
- Appetite decreases drastically; opiate use becomes all consuming, the user progressively loses all interest in eating and drinking; AND, user always has water on hand, bottles and glasses
- Weight will decrease immediately and drastically
- User loses all interest in any recreational activity, including the opposite sex
- Personal hygiene suffers; user loses interest in showering, clean clothes, etc..
- Volatile, violent, angry behavior begins and escalates, especially if cornered, questioned, or disciplined; breaks most/all house rules
- For I.V. users, they will have "track marks", injection sites on arms or on other body parts
- Lying ! ! about everything; secretive behavior
- Most likely begins encounters with police
- DO: search the room, bags, cars, and clothes for paraphernalia: needles, needle caps, alcohol prep pads or wrappers, cotton balls, TINY, BLACK ELASTIC BANDS; hollowed-out or disassembled pens; small, empty baggies (clear or colored); small pieces of cotton fiber, like from a cigarette filter
- Opiate users will often wear sunglasses inappropriately - inside, nighttime, days which clearly do not warrant the wearing of glasses
- i.v. users will usually wear long-sleeved clothing, to cover arms/track marks, even in the hottest weather or conditions
- spoons will be missing, unexplained, from the kitchen, or appear blackened on the underside
|
