People only talk about marijuana, as a gateway drug.

There are uppers and downers.  People who want to feel numb. People who want to feel calm. People who want to be energized. People who do not want to feel pain (both mental and physically).

People have all these feelings naturally. But they can not quite hold on to them. They  want the feeling to last. Or they do not want the feelings they have, they want to feel nothing.

Caffeine is not talked about as much as it should be. They sell it legally. You can buy it anywhere. They have concentrated caffeine in pill and liquid forms. They sell “energy” drinks, which should be called sugar crash. They keep you awake for a little while. They will get you through the work day, they will keep you up late to finish your homework.  But then you go to bed for 3 hours and your tired, so you get another one, and this process repeats.

Until it doesn’t.

Kids drink sodas, that’s not what I am talking about here.

I am talking about teenagers who drink 5 hour energy drinks, kids who use caffeine pills to help them concentrate and do school work. They think this admirable, they are trying their best to do everything asked of them. But they are running on empty!!! If you see this, this is a red flag. I am trying to give you a wake up call.

If this is your kid.

Next possibilities:

Physical crash from lack of adequate rest

Falling behind in everyday things if they do not get that “fix”

Napping frequently every time they sit down

Caffeine overdose (physically ill)

“Borrowing” medicine from siblings or friends (ADD/ADHD medicine works just the same if it is not medically needed)

SPEED / Cocaine (illegal drugs) that are much stronger than concentrated caffeine

Now tell me I am over reacting. This is far fetched. Tell me again. Not your kid!

Not to make this about me. But I was this kid, and I knew many of them during my teenage years.

Yes caffeine is a gateway drug, I know first hand.