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Alcohol — especially binge drinking — can harm teens. New research shows teen drinking may leave a lasting legacy.

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Be sure to take a look at the "Time Stamps" option. You probably don't have 2 hours to listen to the whole episode.

P.S. Dr. Huberman is a professor of brain science at Stanford University, one of the best universities in the country.

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What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain & Health

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In this episode, I discuss the physiological effects that drinking alcohol has on the brain and body at different levels of consumption and over time.

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National Institute of Health: Alcohol on the Adolescent Brain

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National Institute of Health: Alcohol on the Adolescent Brain

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The NIH is a well-respected government organization. This has lots of examples of Numbers and Statistics that may be helpful to your reseach.

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As adolescents mature, they undergo complex developmental changes, especially in their brains. The widespread changes in the organization and functioning of the brain-which continue into a person's mid-20s-bring about the cognitive, emotional, and social skills necessary for adolescents to survive and thrive. The nature of these rapid changes may also increase the adolescent brain's vulnerability to alcohol exposure.

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This may be a good starting point since it is written for a teenage audience.

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What Is Alcohol?

Alcohol is created when grains, fruits, or vegetables are fermented. Fermentation is a process that uses yeast or bacteria to change the sugars in the food into alcohol. Fermentation is used to produce many necessary items - everything from cheese to medicines. Alcohol has different forms and can be used as a cleaner, an antiseptic, or a sedative.

When people drink alcohol, it's absorbed into their bloodstream. From there, it affects the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), which controls virtually all body functions.

How Does Alcohol Affect the Body?

Alcohol is a depressant, which means it slows the function of the central nervous system. Alcohol actually blocks some of the messages trying to get to the brain. This alters a person's perceptions, emotions, movement, vision, and hearing.

In very small amounts, alcohol can help a person feel more relaxed or less anxious. More alcohol causes greater changes in the brain, resulting in intoxication. People who have overused alcohol may stagger, lose their coordination, and slur their speech. They will probably be confused and disoriented. Depending on the person, intoxication can make someone very friendly and talkative or very aggressive and angry. Reaction times are slowed dramatically - which is why people are told not to drink and drive. People who are intoxicated may think they're moving properly when they're not. They may act totally out of character.

If someone drinks large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time, they're at risk for alcohol poisoning. Alcohol poisoning is exactly what it sounds like - the body has become poisoned by large amounts of alcohol. Violent vomiting is usually the first symptom of alcohol poisoning. It also can cause extreme sleepiness, unconsciousness, problems with breathing, dangerously low blood sugar, seizures, and even death.

Why Do Teens Drink?

Experimentation with alcohol during the teen years is common. Some reasons that teens use alcohol and other drugs are:

curiosity

to feel good, reduce stress, and relax

to fit in

to feel older

From a very young age, kids see advertising messages showing beautiful people enjoying life - and alcohol. And because many parents and other adults use alcohol socially - having beer or wine with dinner, for example - alcohol seems harmless to many teens.

What Are Some Reasons to Not Drink?

Although it's illegal to buy alcohol in the United States until the age of 21, most teens can get access to it. It's therefore up to you to make a decision about drinking. In addition to the possibility of becoming addicted, there are some downsides to drinking:

The punishment is severe. Teens who drink put themselves at risk for obvious problems with the law (it's illegal; you can get arrested). Teens who drink are also more likely to get into fights and commit crimes than those who don't.

People who drink regularly also often have problems with school. Drinking can damage a student's ability to study well and get decent grades, as well as affect sports performance (the coordination thing).

You can look really stupid. The impression is that drinking is cool, but the nervous system changes that come from drinking alcohol can make people do stupid or embarrassing things, like throwing up or peeing on themselves. Drinking also gives people bad breath, and no one enjoys a hangover.

Alcohol puts your health at risk. Teens who drink are more likely to be sexually active and to have unsafe, unprotected sex, which can lead to unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. The risk of injuring yourself, maybe even fatally, is higher when you're under the influence too. One half of all drowning deaths among teen guys are related to alcohol use. Use of alcohol greatly increases the chance that a teen will be involved in a car crash, homicide, or suicide.

Teen drinkers also are more likely to get fat or have health problems. One study found that people who regularly had 5 or more drinks in a row starting at age 13 were much more likely to be overweight or have high blood pressure by age 24 than their nondrinking peers. People who continue drinking heavily well into adulthood risk damaging their organs, such as the liver, heart, and brain.

How Can I Avoid Drinking?

If all your friends drink and you don't want to, it can be hard to say no. No one wants to risk feeling rejected or left out. Different strategies for turning down alcohol work for different people. Some people find it helps to say no without giving an explanation, others think offering their reasons works better ("I'm not into drinking," "I have a game tomorrow," or "my uncle died from drinking," for example).

If saying no to alcohol makes you feel uncomfortable in front of people you know, blame your parents or another adult for your refusal. Saying, "My parents are coming to pick me up soon," "I already got in major trouble for drinking once, I can't do it again," or "my coach would kill me," can make saying no a bit easier for some.

If you're going to a party and you know there will be alcohol, plan your strategy in advance. You and a friend can develop a signal for when it's time to leave, for example. You can also make sure that you have plans to do something besides just hanging out in someone's basement drinking beer all night. Plan a trip to the movies, the mall, a concert, or a sports event. You might also organize your friends into a volleyball, bowling, or softball team - any activity that gets you moving.

Where Can I Get Help?

If you think you have a drinking problem, get help as soon as possible. The best approach is to talk to an adult you trust. If you can't approach your parents, talk to your doctor, school counselor, clergy member, aunt, or uncle. It can be hard for some people to talk to adults about these issues, but a supportive person in a position to help can refer students to a drug and alcohol counselor for evaluation and treatment.

In some states, this treatment is completely confidential. After assessing a teen's problem, a counselor may recommend a brief stay in rehab or outpatient treatment. These treatment centers help a person gradually overcome the physical and psychological dependence on alcohol.

You also can find help and support online at:

What if I'm Worried About Someone Else's Drinking?

Sometimes people live in homes where a parent or other family member drinks too much. Many people can't control their drinking without help. This doesn't mean that they love or care about you any less. Alcoholism is an illness that needs to be treated just like other illnesses.

People with drinking problems can't stop drinking until they are ready to admit they have a problem and get help. This can leave family members and loved ones feeling helpless. The good news is there are many places to turn for help: a supportive adult, such as your guidance counselor, or a relative or older sibling will understand what you're going through. Also, professional organizations like Alateen can help.

If you have a friend whose drinking concerns you, help them stay safe. Don't let your friend drink and drive, for example. If you can, try to keep friends who have been drinking from doing anything dangerous, such as trying to walk home at night alone or starting a fight. And protect yourself too. Don't get in a car with someone who's been drinking, even if that person is your ride home. Ask a sober adult to drive you instead or call a cab or car service.

Everyone makes decisions about whether to drink and how much - even adults. It's possible to enjoy a party or other event just as much, if not more so, when you don't drink. And with your central nervous system working as it's supposed to, you'll remember more about the great time you had!

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Deciding whether to drink is a personal decision that we each eventually have to make. Get the facts about alcohol.

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This article is hosted on a rehab website.

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FHE Health - Addiction & Mental Health Care

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Long-term alcohol abuse is known to cause permanent health problems ranging from cirrhosis of the liver and heart disease to kidney failure and dementia. But what are the effects of alcohol on the brain of adolescents and young adults under 25? Is teenage drinking really more dangerous than adult drinking?

Alcohol Rewires the Brain of Adolescents

Most teenagers will drink alcohol at some point when hanging out with friends. Parents can lecture their teens endlessly about the dangers of drinking, but it's inevitable that a teenager has a beer or two at an occasional party. Of course, alcohol won't damage a teenager's brain if they drink sporadically. However, when a teen starts drinking every weekend, then graduates to drinking several times a week, they could be rewiring their brain in ways that cause long-term damage.

Why does this rewiring occur? Humans have millions more neurons at birth than they do as teens and adults. We need these extra neurons as children to learn from our environment and develop valuable cognitive skills. As connections are forged between neurons essential for acquiring and remembering information based on experiences, unused neurons simply die off.

The brain is still winnowing out neurons during adolescence, especially in the prefrontal cortex area of a teen's brain. The pre-frontal cortex is responsible for impulse control, rational thought, personality, motivation, decision-making, and planning. Just as the whole-brain experiences rapid growth and remodeling in childhood, the prefrontal cortex also continues forming new connections during adolescence.

Developmental changes involving the adolescent prefrontal cortex are controlled by neurotransmitters. Playing a powerfully influential role in shaping teenage behavior following puberty, neurotransmitters also facilitate nerve signaling and communication between neurons.

Alcohol abuse interferes with normal regulation of neurotransmitter levels, destroys new neurons, prevents growth of new signaling pathways and may cause brain atrophy in alcoholic teens. In addition to potentially impairing a teen's memory and cognition in adulthood, alcohol increases levels of enzymes that cause liver damage.

Why Teenage Alcoholism is More Dangerous Than Adult Alcoholism

Studies have shown the adolescent brain is abnormally susceptible to the harmful effects of alcohol. Teens and young adults show greater impairment (slurring, loss of self-control, lack of inhibition, stumbling) when compared to older adults, after drinking the same amount of alcohol. Doctors think this susceptibility has to do with the immaturity and rapid, ongoing development of the teen brain as well as the surge of puberty hormones.

One of the worst effects of teenage alcoholism is damage to the hippocampus and a teen's inability to retain new information. Activity of certain hippocampal cells are drastically reduced in teens who drink both occasionally and regularly. Studies also show that high levels of alcohol actually cease activity of memory-forming cells altogether.

Some early research indicates that heavy drinking during adolescence can detrimentally affect normal development of the reproductive system. Female teenagers who drink heavily risk having difficulties getting pregnant later in life, while male teen alcoholics may experience low sperm counts.

Other long-term health problems seen in teens who misuse alcohol include hepatitis, pancreatitis, gout, anemia, hypertension and a variety of nutritional deficiencies. Premature onset of osteoporosis and cholesterolemia is commonly diagnosed in adults who were heavy drinkers as teenagers.

Is Teenage Alcoholism Genetic?

Some studies have discovered differences in the neural functioning and brain structure of teens with an extensive family history of alcoholism and drug abuse. These findings could suggest that susceptibility to substance abuse may have a genetic component. According to one study, teen subjects between 12 and 14 years of age who had alcoholic parents or grandparents had reduced inhibitory responses within the prefrontal cortex and areas involved in addiction.t

Additional research has explored to what degree the effectiveness of medications used to treat alcoholism in teens and adults is dependent on a person's genetic make-up. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) reports that naltrexone seems to help some people overcome alcohol abuse but not others. Genetic studies comparing genomes of those who respond well to naltrexone and those who don't have found gene variations between the two groups. Further studies are needed to gain a better understanding of how genes can help doctors develop an effective treatment plan for teens and adults with substance use disorders.

Are the Effects of Teen Alcoholism Permanent?

How much a teen drinks and what kind of alcohol they regularly consume may cause chronic physical or mental problems in the future. Although health issues may not be noticed initially, alcohol abuse during adolescence increases risks of liver damage, hypertension, cardiovascular conditions and pancreatitis as adults. Diseases more commonly diagnosed in adults over 50, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and osteoporosis, may also be diagnosed in teen drinkers before they turn 30.

Consequences of Teenage Drinking-When Parents Should Seek Professional Help

The CDC lists the following as possible signs of teen drinking:

An unusual drop in academic performance

Increased absences at school

Fighting at school/getting detentions for not following rules

Complaining of not "feeling good", especially in the morning (hangovers, nausea, and vomiting)

Getting arrested for a DUI, public intoxication, disorder conduct, stealing, etc.

Worsening cognitive problems (inability to remember everyday things, communicating less with family, making irrational or impulsive decisions)

Losing weight/lack of appetite

Recurring illnesses, especially upper respiratory illnesses

Teenagers may be able to hide their out-of-control drinking in the beginning but as they drink with more regularity, they won't be able to conceal their alcoholism from concerned parents.

Do Statistics Show That Adolescent Drinking Indicates a Higher Risk for Adult Substance Abuse?

NIAAA research into risk factors for adult alcoholism found people who started drinking between the ages of 12 and 15 were 50 percent more likely to develop an alcohol abuse problem as adults. For teens who begin drinking after age 15, that risk dipped slightly to around 25 percent. Scientists conducting the large study supported validity of the research by controlling for certain risk factors such as family history of alcoholism and length of time a teen was exposed to drinking (whether from peers or family members)

Authors of the NIAAA study believe that alcohol's interference with executive cognitive functioning leads older teens and young adults to make poor, sometimes dangerous choices. This co-occurs with diminished decisionmaking abilites, impulse control, and compulsions for immediate gratification.

Call FHE Health Today for Information on Teen Drinking

Treating teenage drinking before alcoholism causes a teen's life to spiral out of control is critical to their long-term physical and mental health. Early signs of adolescent alcoholism should be addressed quickly by doctors, counselors, and psychologists specializing in teenage drinking. For related information or further guidance regarding next steps in treatment, FHE Health is glad to serve as a resource. Call our trusted counselors today.

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Alcohol's Effect on the Developing Teenage Brain

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Alcohol sabotages the normal development of the teenage brain, and its potentially severe, harmful consequences can last late into adulthood.

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Under Construction: Alcohol and the Teenage Brain

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This article is written more like a college level journal article, but it is mostly accessible. Feel free to ask if you get confused with parts of it. For example when it says N=44, it means that there were 44 people in the study group

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Abstract

Results from a qualitative study with parents about underage drinking are presented. Semi-structured interviews (n=44) were conducted with parents of teens to investigate whether and why parents permit underage drinking. Parents had three primary reasons for allowing underage drinking: deliberate, spontaneous and harm reduction. Deliberate reasons included passing on knowledge about drinking responsibly and appreciating alcohol. Parents also spontaneously decided to let their teen drink. Some of these spontaneous situations involved feeling pressure from other adults to let their teen drink. Another reason was a desire to reduce potential harm. Parents feared that forbidding underage drinking would harm their relationship with their teen and potentially lead to drunk driving. Prevention efforts aimed at parents should take into account parents' motivations to let teens drink.

Keywords: parents, adolescents, alcohol, alcohol, rules

Introduction

Parents constitute a source of alcohol for some teens ( Hearst, Fulkerson, Maldonado-Molina, Perry, & Komro, 2007; Ward & Snow, 2011). About 20% of 12-14 year old drinkers report getting alcohol from a parent in the past month ( Paschall, Grube, Black, & Ringwalt, 2007). Youths often have their first taste of alcohol in the form of a sip given to them by their parents ( Donovan & Molina, 2008). Many parents believe that underage drinking at special occasions in the home is harmless ( Kypri, Dean, & Stojanovski, 2007).

The rules that parents set for their children concerning the consumption of alcohol may influence teens' drinking behaviors. Some researchers have found that parents' providing alcohol to children is associated with earlier onset or increased drinking. For example, sipping or tasting alcohol by the age of 10 has been shown to be predictive of early onset drinking (Donovan & Molina, 2011). Other researchers have found that parental provision of alcohol, as well as availability of alcohol in the home, are linked to increased intentions to drink among teens ( Komro, Maldonado-Molina, Tobler, Bonds, & Muller, 2007; Livingston, Testa, Hoffman, & Windle, 2010). Parents' strict rules concerning alcohol use may help to prevent drinking by their teens ( Spijkerman, Van den Eijnden, & Huiberts, 2008; Van den Eijnden, Van de Mheen, Vet, & Vermulst, 2011; Van der Vorst, Engels, Deković, Meeus, & Vermulst, 2007).

Other researchers, however, have found that drinking with parents may have a protective effect. In one study having parents and adult relatives provide alcohol was protective of underage drinking, but that protective effect was dependent on the social setting within which the alcohol was supplied ( Foley, Altman, Durant, & Wolfson, 2004). Having parents provide alcohol for a party was related to a higher likelihood that a teen would report consuming alcohol in the past 30 days, whereas drinking with parents had a protective effect on drinking behaviors. In another study it was found that parents providing the first drink to adolescents reduced subsequent alcohol-related risks compared to those who got their first drink from other sources ( Kelly, Chan, & O'Flaherty, 2012).

Parents' communication with teens about alcohol may also influence underage drinking. For example, parents who communicate in a way that makes teens feel comfortable may prevent their teens from drinking alcohol ( Spijkerman et al., 2008). However, others have found that frequent communications between parent and teen about alcohol are positively associated with teen alcohol use ( Van der Vorst, Engels, Meeus, Deković, & Van Leeuwe, 2005). Perceived consequences have been linked to drinking behavior. Teens who expect that their parents would talk with them or take away privileges if they were caught drinking are less likely to drink and less likely to drink heavily ( Foley et al., 2004).

This paper includes results from a qualitative study that examined parental rules concerning permissive drinking of underage family members. The study examines the circumstances under which parents let their teens drink and the reasons why parents let their teens drink.

Methodology

Parents of teens, ages 15-18 living in Northern California, were recruited for this qualitative study. The youths were participants in a large (N = 1,312) survey study ( Paschall, Grube, Thomas, Cannon, & Treffers, 2012) and were selected for this qualitative study because they had reported drinking alcohol on at least four occasions within the past 12 months and lived within 150 miles of the San Francisco Bay Area. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with their parents. One parent per household was interviewed and the first available parent was selected for participation. In total, 44 parents (31 mothers/female guardians, 13 fathers/male guardians) out of a total number of 60 households that were contacted were interviewed, resulting in a response rate of 73%.

The purpose of the interviews was to investigate under what circumstances parents allow their teenager to drink at home. All interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and imported into ATLAS.ti ( Muhr, 2009). The transcripts were first coded for a priori themes created in conjunction with the interview guide, such as rules, reasons for providing alcohol, drinking location, drinking context, and perceived inevitability of teens drinking (fatalism). One team member coded the transcripts for these themes, and every fifth transcript was double coded by another team member for reliability testing. Discrepant codes were resolved through discussion. Data were analyzed using pile sorts, in which four researchers grouped coded segments for thematic similarity and then wrote descriptions of how the groupings were related. This process required discussion and consensus on resulting clusters of coded transcript segments. Brief quotations illustrative of prominent and recurring themes were identified. The research protocols were approved by the IRB of the authors' institution.

Results

Rules about teen drinking

When parents were asked whether they allowed their teen to drink alcohol, most parents' initial response was that they did not condone underage drinking. About two third of parents (69%) indicated that they did not think it was a good idea to allow their teen to drink at home. However, during the course of the interviews parents revealed a number of exceptions to their initially stated opposition to underage drinking. These contradictions were revealed when parents were asked: Some parents who do not normally allow their teenagers to drink allow them to drink on special occasions. Think of an occasion when you allowed your youth to drink. Parents were then prompted to think about any other occasions when they allowed their teen to drink. Parents indicated numerous exceptions to their no drinking rule. Some exceptions that parents made to underage drinking rules were on special occasions, such as family celebrations, during moments of instruction when parents attempted to teach their teen about drinking, and in cases where parents were trying to preserve family and cultural traditions. Exceptions were also made when parents felt pressured to allow their teen to drink. The findings illustrate the underlying reasons why parents may let their teen drink, including a sense of inevitability, the fear that being too strict could harm the relationship with the teen, and the fear that forbidding drinking alcohol would lead to teens rebelling and possibly endangering themselves.

Drinking on special occasions

Most of the parents (n = 36) allowed their children to drink on special occasions. Special occasions included family celebrations such as weddings, birthday parties, holidays, and family vacations. Parents reported feeling more comfortable allowing their teenager to drink when their family was around them. For instance, one mother decided to let her daughter join in on the family celebration by permitting her daughter to drink champagne with orange juice: "It was just recently, I let her have a mimosa. We had a celebration, my mom's 75th birthday. And it was all adults and we were all dressed up and we were doing it and I let her because her cousins were also having mimosas." One father discussed allowing his son to drink alcohol at a family wedding: "Yeah, at their cousin's wedding. I don't think too much at holidays, but you know, the weddings 'cuz there's so much booze flowing ... and then we're driving [th]em home. What could be a better situation?"

Some parents (n=15) stressed moderation when drinking in a family setting. Drinking was permitted as long as the teen did not "overdo it" as one parent explained. An example of this was a parent who disregarded his son overindulging in alcohol at an anniversary dinner as long as he did not embarrass the family: "[He] was fifteen or sixteen. We weren't keeping a tab on him. We were spending the night there so it was no big deal and he was definitely drinking. He was drunk. And I pulled him aside and said, '[name of teen], just don't embarrass the family. I want you to maintain.' And he didn't do anything really stupid. He wasn't barfing in the bushes or anything, so I guess it was okay."

Holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year were also described as special occasions when teens were allowed to drink alcohol. One mother discussed a family holiday party where teens were allowed to drink: "Last New Year's Eve we had a big party here at the house and we let the kids have a flute or two of champagne...New Year's we'll let them have some and Christmas Eve we usually let them. Thanksgiving not usually because it's pretty low key." Another mother reported offering wine to her children during a Thanksgiving dinner: " Oh, just, maybe offering them a glass of wine at Thanksgiving, when everybody's sitting around."

Other special occasions when some parents (n = 10) permitted their teens to drink were family vacations. In particular, parents allowed their teenagers to drink in locations where drinking by youths is more accepted, such as Europe. One parent described a family trip to Spain and pointed out that drinking alcohol was part of enjoying the foreign culture: "Yeah, I would say [my daughter] tried almost every [wine]...and I wouldn't say we encouraged it, but it was really fun to enjoy the culture. Maybe let [her] see a little bit what Spanish wine is [like] versus others. So, yeah, I think we were a little more free when we're on vacation, definitely." One father discussed allowing his teen to drink when they went to Paris on vacation: "We were in Paris in November and we had a bottle of Dom[Pérignon ®] and so we said'everyone, who wants some?' and they all said'yeah.'"

Domestic vacations in the U.S. were also occasions for some parents to allow their teens to drink. For example, family trips to Las Vegas or camping trips to Lake Tahoe were cited as occasions when the parents allowed their teens to drink. One parent who did not condone underage drinking in the home discussed monitoring her teen's drinking while on vacation: "We don't let [our son] drink at home, maybe when we're on vacation, like in Tahoe. Obviously, you can't do it in public, so when we're in Tahoe to have a beer or two. But in excess, absolutely not. And frequently, absolutely not." Another parent discussed her reasons for allowing her daughter to drink beer on a camping trip: "We went to Yosemite this year and we took my nephew who's the same age as my daughter....I noticed that beer was disappearing out of my ice chest so I said something to [my daughter] and she laughed. She goes,'That would be [nephew].' [My daughter] asked if she could have a beer...I said,'Sure.' [my nephew] looks at me and I said,'You know, all you had to do was ask. You're camping. You don't have to steal it out of my ice chest.' ...I wouldn't let them drink excessively, but I don't care if we're camping and she wants to have a beer and she's with us. She's not driving. She's not going anywhere. She's with us."

The teens' safety and the parents' ability to monitor their teens' behavior appeared to be two underlying reasons for allowing their teen to drink on special occasions. Teens were usually with their parents during these occasions, and therefore, parents did not worry about their teens driving or getting into other trouble. Parents also believed that their teen was in a safe environment with family members.

Teaching drinking practices

Teaching teens how to drink alcohol was another reason why parents said that they allowed their teen to drink. Some parents (n = 13) reported letting their teen drink alcohol in order to teach them to drink responsibly, including teaching how to drink in moderation, how to minimize drunkenness, and how to appreciate certain types of alcohol.

In particular, parents wanted to teach their teen how to drink appropriately before being exposed to outside influences such as peers or before going off to college. One parent mentioned: "I figure that I'd rather have 'em learn how to drink properly at home, with us, than learn with a bunch of teenagers who just guzzle beer ... and throw up. So that was my reason and I figure it's just sort of a family thing and it just seems like a pretty harmless thing." Another parent expressed her belief that drinking at home with parents could minimize teens' interest in drinking excessively by introducing them to alcohol: "Those kids that get drunk in college, if they had one beer with their dad or mom when they were 15 or 16, they wouldn't be doing that." Another parent mentioned that allowing teens to drink small amounts of alcohol with dinner would reduce alcohol problems later in life: " The kids who grow up in a house where they get a sip of wine or, watered down glass of wine with dinner, it actually seems to help prevent alcohol abuse."

Some parents (n = 10) reported that letting children try alcohol would demystify it. One parent noted this: "By letting them taste beer and letting them taste wine ..., at least they're not like thinking 'oh gosh, I've never had that before,' and it's something that they can experience in a controlled safe setting." Another parent explained that letting children taste wine would teach them how to appreciate it. The parent explained: "If you allow your children to drink and taste wine, they're not going to tend to overuse it or abuse it. You teach them that it's something of value. ... Wine is not something that's this forbidden fruit, but rather something that is to be enjoyed and to be used in a way to make your meal more enjoyable."

Drinking to preserve tradition

Another reason why some parents (n = 14) allowed their teens to drink alcohol was because it was part of the family culture. In particular, parents who were of Latin American or European background referenced their childhoods and the drinking culture that existed in their family when they were growing up. One mother whose family was originally from Mexico explained why she lets her teen drink: "Like here in the United States it's like a no-no, ... socially not accepted. But in our culture ... we don't tend to see it as a problem .... You can drink in your house, with your family. You don't get drunk. You have one or two beers." Parents who referenced their family background often wanted their children to share the same experiences that they had when they were growing up. For example, one parent of European descent said: "I come from a European background where if you drink it's not that big a deal. My mother's English. We always tried to sort of, I mean not promote drinking, but, when I lived in England for a while, I'd go to the pubs with my uncles and have those Shandies [lemonade mixed with beer] and so, we do the same with our kids."

A few parents (n = 8) expressed a belief that European customs teach children how to drink in moderation. One parent said that he noticed a difference in the drinking behavior of the European kids that he has hosted: "They all start drinking when they are 10 or 12 years old and it's a moderation thing, it's social, we're having a glass of wine with dinner. Most of them don't drink very much, and they certainly never had problems with alcohol in terms of finding empty bottles around the house [laughter], tucked under the bed or something like that. It just seems that they have a better sensibility about alcohol."

Parents feeling pressure to let their teens drink

Some parents (n = 10) reported that they were opposed to letting their teen drink alcohol, but have been in situations where another adult offered their teen alcohol without their consent or where they felt some pressure to let their child drink. One mother who did not condone underage drinking was overruled by her husband who allowed their daughter and her friends to play a game of beer pong in the home. When asked why she let it happen she said: " Um, because I was outnumbered. My husband thought it was okay and my daughter really wanted to do it." Another mother described how her son was offered alcohol at a family celebration without her consent. She said: "We were at a [holiday] celebration once and the other parents determined that it's okay for their kids to drink because they would prefer their kids drink in their presence, rather than secretly and I watched [son] drink more at that time than ever before and I felt really uncomfortable. I wished the other parents hadn't said that was okay [...] but I felt that because there were other teenagers there and I couldn't say ... and other parents who I respected ... But what they did is they sort of announced it at the table and I felt like I couldn't notch it back in that situation." Having older children may also make withholding alcohol from younger children more difficult. A mother allowed her younger son to drink beer because his older sibling was allowed to drink: "[L]ast Thanksgiving [my older son] and his roommate from college were here. They were both 20, ... and we were at grandma's house, and so we said, 'oh, you guys can have beer.' We knew they drank all the time at [college], and then I said [my younger son] could have one and, so it was kind of ...'ooh [he] can have one,' and we made a big deal, a lot of jokes about, 'well, it's nice I'm here for your first drink.'"

Parents' belief that underage drinking is inevitable

Underlying parents' stories of exceptions and reasons why they let their teen drink alcohol was a sentiment that teen drinking was unavoidable. This was reported by more than half of the parents (n = 25). One parent said: "I think underage drinking is just a horrible thing, but kids are going to experience it." Parents noted how widespread underage drinking was due to the availability of alcohol. One father explained: " Availability has never been a problem [whether] the age [is] 18, 21, or 14. Alcohol is going to get to kids." Parents talked about not being naïve about what their children did, regardless of the parent's stance on underage drinking. One mother discussed: "[daughter's] running around with several different groups of friends and some of them I can trust her with a little more than others [because] I know their family and their background. But like I said, I'm not gonna sit here and be real naïve and go, 'I told her not to drink, she's not gonna drink.'"

A few parents (n = 3) also expressed the belief that their teens were going make mistakes, but that it was best for them to make mistakes before they left home. For instance, one mother said: "These kids are gonna be 18 years old. You gotta let them make their own mistakes and I'd rather they make their mistakes when they're at home than when they're away. ... but ... I have to give her the rope until she hangs herself ... and in 18 years she's only hung herself twice. I think that's pretty good."

Fear of harming their relationship with their teen

Some parents (n = 8) mentioned that being too strict was not the best tactic to use. They expressed their belief that forbidding teens to drink would have negative consequences. One mother stated it was best to find a middle ground between forbidding them to drink and allowing them to drink: "If you're too strict with your kid, they're just going to rebel. So there's kind of a happy medium you have to find.... and [son] taught me over the years that you can't just shut them down and not let them do anything 'cuz then they're just going to be angry and it's going to make my life miserable." Moreover, parents stressed that open communication with teens was essential in order to help them should they get into trouble while drinking alcohol. One mother reported: "It's rampant everywhere. ... it's going to happen and you got to keep an open verbalization with your kids. If you don't do that, then they're going to do it either way, but if they go do it and you have an open path of communication then you can assist them more when there is trouble 'cuz there [will] be and you're not going to stop it."

Some parents (n = 6) felt that it was best to teach their teen how to make good decisions. In particular, parents were very concerned about drinking and driving. For instance, one mother stressed that all that she could hope for was that her son used good judgment while under the influence of alcohol: "If you put in a rule that's really firm, it's not realistic. If you say, for example, to a kid 'You can't have sex until you get married,' it's not necessarily they're going to hold to that. They're going to have sex when they want to and they're just not going to talk to you about it. So, you have to raise them with wisdom. I feel the same about drinking. If you say, 'don't drink until you're 21' and you're so rigid about it, they're just not going to talk to you. So, you have to kind of raise them with wisdom like, 'You know, if you ever get into a situation, call me,' because I'd rather have a drunk kid alive than a dead kid."

Harm reduction

Believing that teens are likely to drink alcohol, many parents (n = 24) wanted to offer harm reduction approaches to avoid dangerous situations. Thus, creating a safe place for open discussion was important to parents. Parents' fear of their teen not telling them what was going on led some parents to not expressly forbid drinking. However, parents were clear about their rules concerning drinking and driving. Parents preferred that their teen call them for a ride if they were inebriated or stay overnight at a friend's rather than drive home. A parent elaborated on her stance about her teen's drinking and expressed the contradictions parents deal with when telling their children not to drink but at the same time want to make sure that they are safe if they do drink. She said: "If my children did [drink], that would have to be on their own conscience because they know how I feel about [underage drinking], and they would be going against what I [said]-and they aren't going to call me and say, 'Hey Mom, can I drink?' It's hard because I'm not going to okay it, but then on the other hand, I'm not naïve [about] what children are doing today. There is a lot of underage drinking, but I will tell my children if you are going somewhere and if alcohol is there, I don't want you to get in anybody's car, or if you need me to pick you up. On one hand, you are telling them don't do this, but if you do I want them to know that [they] can call me. I'm not going to be mad, no questions. Because I just want to make sure that they are safe. So it's hard, but it's just that kids will be kids and we can tell them don't do this but they are still going to maybe do it."

Discussion

Findings from this study reflect a new perspective into the often contradictory reasoning process that parents employ in situations where their children are exposed to alcohol. Even though parents' initial response to questions about underage drinking indicated that they do not allow it, further questioning revealed that many will allow drinking in specific circumstances. In addition, the findings from this study indicate the reasoning parents use as to why they allow underage drinking. Some parents discussed allowing drinking during holidays, vacations, and other special occasions. They felt that drinking during these occasions could be used to teach teens how to drink responsibly and how to appreciate alcohol. In some cases allowing their teen to drink was seen as carrying on a family's cultural tradition. Researchers have shown that some parents perceive drinking at special occasions in the home as harmless ( Komro et al., 2007; Kypri et al., 2007). However, this study shows that some parents see actual benefits in letting youths drink in certain situations. Specifically, some of them see it as an opportunity to teach teens about alcohol and drinking and as a way of letting teens experience alcohol in a safe environment. Even though alcohol provided in a family setting may have a protective effect on underage drinking ( Foley et al., 2004), some of the parents' beliefs were based on misinformation. For example, some parents justified letting their teens drink based on the belief that youths in Europe drink in moderation. Literature suggests that this is not the case, and that young people in many European countries are more likely to report drinking and drinking heavily than do youths in the U.S. ( Friese & Grube, 2010).

Data from this investigation illustrates why some parents think it is difficult to prohibit underage drinking. Parents discussed situations where they felt pressure from their spouse or other adults to let their teen drink. The decisions to let their teen drink were made in the moment, and sometimes went against a parent's previously set rules. Parents also revealed it was more difficult to say no to underage drinking in cases where there were older siblings present who were allowed to drink. They appeared to be concerned that they not make their teen feel excluded on such occasions. Other researchers have found that fathers may be more likely than mothers to have a non-restrictive attitudes towards underage drinking, possibly increasing the likelihood of parents' disagreeing about letting teens drink ( Pettersson, Linden-Bostroem, & Eriksson, 2009).

Some parents also expressed concerns that saying no to underage drinking would harm their relationship with their child and potentially lead to unsupervised drinking and thus to associated problems, particularly drunk driving. For example, parents worried that if they forbid drinking their teen would not call them for a ride if he or she needed one. Open communication was seen as very important and some parents were worried that if they were too strict about their underage drinking rules, their teen would rebel and drink anyway or not tell them what was going on in the teen's life. It is noteworthy that some parents primarily discussed drunk driving as the harm that could come to their teen. Other dangers such as exposure to violence, sexual assault, and unprotected sex were rarely considered.

It is important to point out that providing alcohol to minors in California is illegal. In California, unlike some other states, the law does not permit an exception for providing alcohol to a minor who is a family member or providing alcohol to a minor in a private residence ( APIS, 2012). California is one of 20 states that does not allow for either exception. This means that parents furnishing alcohol to a minor, even if that minor is their own child, and even if the alcohol is provided in a private residence, could be cited and fined. Parents participating in this study did not indicate any concern about provision of alcohol to their teen being illegal, suggesting that they may not know that it is illegal or that there is little concern about this law being enforced.

Limitations of this study are that the parents interviewed are not a representative sample and therefore their experiences may not be representative of experiences of other parents. In particular, all of the families were selected because their teen had reported on a telephone survey that he/she had consumed alcohol on four or more occasions in the past 12 months. Thus, parents who let their teen drink are likely overrepresented in this sample. A small subset of the parents interviewed in this study was consistently opposed to giving minors alcohol in any situation. Because this paper focused on reasons why parents may let their teen drink, these parents' views are not represented in this paper. In addition, parents in Northern California may not be representative of parents in other areas of the US or other countries. Also, parents interviewed were of relatively high socio-economic status with 67% of mothers having completed college or higher. Thus, teaching children an appreciation of alcohol or allowing drinking when on vacation may be particular to our study population. Because this is a qualitative study with a non-representative sample it is unclear how pervasive these reasons for providing alcohol or allowing teen drinking are. A quantitative study with a representative sample is needed.

In spite of its limitations, the findings of this study are important because they provide in-depth information about when and why parents allow their teens to drink alcohol. These findings suggest that prevention efforts aimed at parents should take into account the different motivations they have for letting their teens drink. Parents who allow their teens to drink and who see benefits of letting their children drink, should be educated about the misperceptions those parents may have, such as the view that teens in Europe do not drink as much as teens in the United States. Parents who make spontaneous decisions to let their teens drink or who have been pressured into letting their teens drink will likely need a different intervention than parents whose provision of alcohol is more deliberate. Such parents may benefit from interventions on how to communicate their rules concerning underage drinking to other adults and to their teen before being placed in a situation where they feel they need to let their teens drink. Parents who are motivated by a concern to reduce harm and who are primarily concerned with drunk driving should be educated about other dangers associated with alcohol consumption, such as sexual assault and unprotected sex. The effectiveness of such tailored prevention approaches should be investigated in future research

Acknowledgments

This publication was made possible by grant R01 AA018378 (PI: Bettina Friese) from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NIAAA or NIH.

References

Alcohol Policy Information System. Underage drinking: Furnishing alcohol to minors. Retrieved from. 2012 http://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/Furnishing_Alcohol_to_Minors.html.

Friese B, Grube JW. Youth Drinking Rates and Problems: A Comparison of European Countries and the United States. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 2010 [Google Scholar]

Muhr T. ATLAS.ti (qualitative analysis support software), Version 5. Berlin: Scientific Software; 2009. [Google Scholar]

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Parents' rules about underage drinking: A qualitative study of why parents let teens drink

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Results from a qualitative study with parents about underage drinking are presented. Semi-structured interviews (n=44) were conducted with parents of teens to investigate whether and why parents permit underage drinking. Parents had three primary reasons ...

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Note: While this article is from a news organization, it is argumentative in nature. Be on the lookout for "Extreme" language.

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This argumentative essay is written by a professor of health science at Indiana University

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Why the drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based upon research

Engs, Ruth C. (1997, 2014). "Why the drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based upon research. Indiana University: Bloomington, IN. Adapted from: IUScholarWorks Repository: http://hdl.handle.net/2022/17594

Summary

The legal drinking age should be lowered to about 18 or 19 and young adults allowed to drink in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions. In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs. Mature and sensible drinking behavior would be expected. This opinion is based upon research that I have been involved in for over thirty years concerning college age youth and the history of drinking in the United States and other cultures.

Although the legal purchase age is 21 years of age, a majority of college students under this age consume alcohol but in an irresponsible manner. This is because drinking by these youth is seen as an enticing "forbidden fruit," a "badge of rebellion against authority" and a symbol of "adulthood." As a nation we have tried prohibition legislation twice in the past for controlling irresponsible drinking problems. This was during National Prohibition in the 1920s and state prohibition during the 1850s. These laws were finally repealed because they were unenforceable and because the backlash towards them caused other social problems. Today we are repeating history and making the same mistakes that occurred in the past. Prohibition did not work then and prohibition for young people under the age of 21 is not working now.

The flaunting of the current laws is readily seen among university students. Those under the age of 21 are more likely to be heavy -- sometimes called "binge" -- drinkers (consuming over 5 drinks at least once a week). For example, 22% of all students under 21 compared to 18% over 21 years of age are heavy drinkers. Among drinkers only, 32% of under-age compared to 24% of legal age are heavy drinkers.

Research from the early 1980s until the present has shown a continuous decrease, and then leveling off, in drinking and driving related variables which has parallel the nation's, and also university students, decrease in per capita consumption. However, these declines started in 1980 before the national 1987 law which mandated states to have 21 year old alcohol purchase laws.

The decrease in drinking and driving problems are the result of many factors and not just the rise in purchase age or the decreased per capita consumption. These include: education concerning drunk driving, designated driver programs, increased seat belt and air bag usage, safer automobiles, lower speed limits, free taxi services from drinking establishments, etc.

While there has been a decrease in per capita consumption and motor vehicle crashes, unfortunately, during this same time period there was an INCREASE in other problems related to heavy and irresponsible drinking among college age youth. Most of these reported behaviors showed little change until AFTER the 21 year old law in 1987. For example from 1982 until 1987 about 46% of students reported "vomiting after drinking." This jumped to over 50% after the law change. Significant increase were also found for other variables: "cutting class after drinking" jumped from 9% to almost 12%; "missing class because of hangover" went from 26% to 28%; "getting lower grade because of drinking" rose from 5% to 7%; and "been in a fight after drinking" increased from 12% to 17%. All of these behaviors are indices of irresponsible drinking. This increase in abusive drinking behavior is due to "underground drinking" outside of adult supervision in student rooms, houses, and apartments where same age individuals congregate. The irresponsible behavior is exhibited because of lack of knowledge of responsible drinking behaviors, reactance motivation (rebellion against the law), or student sub-culture norms.

Beginning in the first decade of the 21st century, distilled spirits [hard liquor] began to be the beverage of choice rather than beer among collegians. Previously beer had been the beverage of choice among students. A 2013 study of nursing students, for example, revealed that they consumed an average of 4.3 shots of liquor compared to 2.6 glasses of beer on a weekly basis.

This change in beverage choice along with irresponsible drinking patterns among young collegians has led to increased incidences of alcohol toxicity - in some cases leading to death from alcohol poisoning. However, the percent of students who consume alcohol or are heavy or binge drinkers has been relatively stable for the past 30 years.

Based upon the fact that our current prohibition laws are not working, the need for alternative approaches from the experience of other, and more ancient cultures, who do not have these problems need to be tried. Groups such as Italians, Greeks, Chinese and Jews, who have few drinking related problems, tend to share some common characteristics. Alcohol is neither seen as a poison or a magic potent, there is little or no social pressure to drink, irresponsible behavior is never tolerated, young people learn at home from their parents and from other adults how to handle alcohol in a responsible manner, there is societal consensus on what constitutes responsible drinking. Because the 21 year old drinking age law is not working, and is counterproductive, it behooves us as a nation to change our current prohibition law and to teach responsible drinking techniques for those who chose to consume alcoholic beverages.

Research articles that support this opinion are found in the Indiana University Repository at: https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/17133/browse?type=title

and https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/17130/browse?type=title

Some material here also used in: Engs, Ruth C. "Should the drinking age be lowered to 18 or 19." In Karen Scrivo, "Drinking on Campus," CQ Researcher 8 (March 20,1998):257.

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Published article by Ruth C. Engs, "Why drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based on research"

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This website is designed to collect arguments for both sides of a question. Take some time to explore the quotes on either side as well. It can be helpful to follow the hyperlinks to the articles it references.

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All 50 US states have set their minimum drinking age to 21 although exceptions do exist on a state-by-state basis for consumption at home, under adult supervision, for medical necessity, and other reasons.

Proponents of lowering the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) from 21 argue that it has not stopped teen drinking, and has instead pushed underage binge drinking into private and less controlled environments, leading to more health and life-endangering behavior by teens.

Opponents of lowering the MLDA argue that teens have not yet reached an age where they can handle alcohol responsibly, and thus are more likely to harm or even kill themselves and others by drinking prior to 21. They contend that traffic fatalities decreased when the MLDA increased. Read more background...

Pro & Con Arguments

Pro 1

18 is the age of legal majority (adulthood) in the United States.

Americans enjoy a range of new rights, responsibilities, and freedoms when they turn 18 and become an adult in the eyes of the law.

18-year-olds may vote in local, state, and federal elections; may serve on juries; and may be charged as an adult if accused of a crime. 18-year-olds are responsible for any legally binding contracts they enter; are liable for negligence; and may be sued.

18-year-olds must register with the Selective Service if male and may be drafted into service at times of war. However, 17-year-olds may enter US military service.

18-year-olds may get married without parental consent; buy a house; and enjoy new privacy rights including the shielding of medical, academic, and financial information from parents.

However, drinking alcohol remains regulated under a legal age of license. An 18-year-old may legally be responsible children and legally allowed to make life decisions with years of impact, but may not legally drink a beer.

Todd Rutherford, South Carolina State Representative and Democrat House Minority Leader, who filed a bill on Nov. 10, 2021 to lower South Carolina's MLDA to 18, stated: "This is a personal freedom issue. If you are old enough to fight for our country, if you're old enough to vote, if you're old enough to sign on thousands of dollars of students loans for a college education, then you are old enough to have a[n alcoholic] drink."
Read More

Pro 3

MLDA creates a mindset of non-compliance with the law among young adults.

Lowering MLDA from 21 to 18 would diminish the thrill of breaking the law to get a drink. Normalizing alcohol consumption as something to be done responsibly and in moderation will make drinking alcohol less of a taboo for young adults entering college and the workforce.

High non-compliance with MLDA 21 promotes general disrespect and non-compliance with other areas of US law. MLDA 21 encourages young adults to acquire and use false identification documents to procure alcohol. It would be better to have fewer fake IDs in circulation and more respect for the law.

Further, MLDA 21 enforcement is not a priority for many law enforcement agencies. Police are inclined to ignore or under-enforce MLDA 21 because of resource limitations, statutory obstacles, perceptions that punishments are inadequate, and the time and effort required for processing and paperwork. An estimated two of every 1,000 occasions of illegal drinking by youth under 21 results in an arrest.

Combine a lack of consequences with the thrill of breaking the law, and MLDA 21 actually encourages underage drinking and potentially other illegal activities, such as driving while intoxicated and illicit drug use. Lowering the MLDA would make 18- to 20-year-olds subject to the same laws enforced for those 21 and over.
Read More

1. Underage drinking is allowed in some US states if done on private premises with parental consent, for religious purposes, or for educational purposes.

2. Between 1970 and 1976, 30 states lowered their Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) from 21 to 18, 19, or 20.

3. The enactment of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 prompted states to raise their legal age for purchase or public possession of alcohol to 21 or risk losing millions in federal highway funds.

4. After the repeal of alcohol prohibition by the 21st Amendment on Dec. 5, 1933, Illinois (1933-1961) and Oklahoma (1933-1976) set their state drinking age at 21 for men and 18 for women. The 1976 US Supreme Court case Craig v. Boren ruled 7-2 that this age difference violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

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Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered in the US? 13 Pros and Cons

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Proponents of a lower drinking age say 18 is the US age of adulthood. Opponents say lowering the age would be medically irresponsible. Research both sides.

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This organization seeks to argue against drunk driving. Look for "Extreme or Absolute Language." Remember, a bias doesn't make the source unreliable, but it is important to note.

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Drunk Driving Impacts Everyone Drunk Driving does not discriminate. It takes sons, spouses, mothers, daughters, fathers, grandparents and grandchildren. If it hasn’t impacted you or someone you love, it still could. Drunk driving is the #1 cause of death on our roadways. The numbers don’t lie. The destructive force of drunk and drugged driving must… Continue reading Drunk Driving

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This is written for a teen audience, it may be a helpful starting point.

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What Is Marijuana?

Marijuana (also called weed, dope, or pot) is a mix of dried flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves from the cannabis plant. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the ingredient in marijuana that causes someone to feel high.

In the past, most people who used marijuana smoked it like a cigarette (a joint) or from different types of pipes. Now it's more common to vape it with a vape pen. Mixing it into foods or drinks (edibles) like brownies, teas, alcohol, or gummies is also very popular. Some people use a "wax pen" or "dab pen" to inhale the oil or other extracts from the cannabis plant. Called "dabbing," this delivers high concentrations of THC.

Synthetic marijuana ("fake weed") is made in a lab. It doesn't contain any THC from a marijuana plant, but it is marketed as having the same effects. The makers often spray the synthetic marijuana onto herbs to give the impression that it's natural, but it is not. Fake weed products are largely unregulated, so there is little information about whether they're safe. But it looks like their effects can be unpredictable and dangerous. And withdrawal from synthetic marijuana is more serious and lasts longer than withdrawal from THC products.

What Are the Effects of Marijuana?

Marijuana has both short-term and long-term effects. The effects vary from person to person and depend on how much marijuana is used. Smoking marijuana leads to effects very quickly while edibles take longer to have an effect.

Short-Term Effects

After using marijuana, someone may feel more relaxed, hungry, sleepy, and have a different sense of reality (for example, colors may seem brighter). Some people may feel anxious and distrustful of others. In rare cases, it can cause a short-term psychosis with hallucinations (seeing things that aren't there) and paranoia (feeling very threatened). It affects the skills needed to drive safely and may lead to car crashes.

Long-Term Effects

People who use marijuana over a long period of time might:

Find it harder to remember, multitask, and pay attention.

Cough more, get more lung infections, and get lung scarring.

Be more likely to get depressed, be anxious, or have thoughts of suicide.

Become dependent on marijuana and develop cannabis use disorder. This means they can't stop using marijuana even when it causes health, social, and school problems. Cannabis use disorder can make someone:

have trouble in social situations

have memory problems

struggle in school or at work

Also, marijuana doesn't only affect a person who uses it. Being around secondhand marijuana smoke and vapor can:

cause lung irritation and asthma flare-ups

make someone feel high because they contain THC

What If I Want to Quit?

People who use marijuana for a while can have withdrawal symptoms when they try to give it up. They may feel irritable, anxious, or depressed; have trouble sleeping; or not feel like eating.

Marijuana withdrawal can be a bit like caffeine withdrawal: It's usually worse a day or two after someone stops using it. After that, withdrawal symptoms gradually decrease. They're usually gone a week or two after the person no longer uses the drug.

If you want to stop using marijuana but are having trouble quitting, it can help to talk to a counselor. Studies suggest that a combination of individual counseling and group therapy sessions is the best approach for stopping marijuana use.

For more on treatment options, visit:

Date reviewed: January 2023

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Marijuana (for Teens) - Nemours KidsHealth

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You’ve probably heard a lot of conflicting information about marijuana. Here’s what you should know.

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The "Abstract" is the summary of what the article is about. Take a look to decide if this article is useful to your research.

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Abstract

Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of alcohol, with heavy drinking risking impaired brain development and future alcohol dependence. Advertisements increase expectancies about alcohol, leading to a greater likelihood of drinking. A systematic review of 13 longitudinal studies of over 38,000 young people found convincing evidence of an impact of media exposure and alcohol advertising on subsequent alcohol use, including initiation of drinking and heavier drinking among existing drinkers. All European countries, with the exception of the UK, have a ban on one or more types of advertising. Since self-regulation is reported as failing to prevent marketing which has an impact on younger people, and since advertising commonly crosses country borders, there is an argument to approximate advertising rules across Europe banning alcohol advertising targeted at young people, a highly cost-effective measure to reduce harmful alcohol use, and one supported by European citizens and case law.

Key Words: advertising, alcohol, young people

Introduction

Children and adolescents have greater vulnerability to the harmful effects of alcohol than adults. As well as usually being physically smaller, they lack experience of drinking and its effects. They have no context or reference point for assessing or regulating their drinking and, furthermore, they have built up no tolerance. From mid-adolescence to early adulthood there are major increases in the amount and frequency of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. Those with heavier consumption in their mid-teens tend to be those with heavier consumption, alcohol dependence and alcohol-related harm, including poorer mental health and education outcome, and increased risk of crime, in early adulthood.1 During adolescence, alcohol can lead to structural changes in the hippocampus (a part of the brain involved in the learning process) and at high levels can permanently impair brain development.2 Drinking by adolescents and young adults is associated with road traffic injury and death, suicide and depression, missed classes and decreased academic performance, loss of memory, blackouts, fighting, property damage, peer criticism and broken friendships, date rape, and unprotected sexual intercourse that increases the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV infection and unplanned pregnancy.3

In 2006, over one in five of 11-15 year olds in England reported drinking alcohol in the week prior to the interview. Although this proportion has been slowly declining in recent years, among those who drank alcohol the average weekly consumption has almost doubled from 5.3 units (42 g alcohol) in 1990 to 10.4 units (83 g alcohol) in 2000.4 An independent review of the effects of alcohol pricing and promotion concluded that:

Regardless of their explicit intention there is evidence for an effect of alcohol advertisements on underage drinkers. Consistent with this, evidence suggests that exposure to such interventions as TV, music videos and billboards, which contain alcohol advertisements, predicts onset of youth drinking and increased drinking. As a consequence one may conclude that restricting the volume of advertisements and merchandising is likely to reduce consumption and subsequent harm. 5

This paper, based on a lecture given at the Royal College of Physicians in 2007, gives nine arguments to inform whether or not it is time to ban the advertising of alcohol.

Advertising of tobacco products is banned

Based on quite limited evidence the advertising of tobacco products is effectively banned throughout the European Union (EU).6,7 Two arguments are often put forward that alcohol is not the same as tobacco, and therefore, policy should be different:

there is far greater harm associated with the use of tobacco than alcohol

any level of tobacco consumption poses health risks, whereas for alcohol it is only excessive consumption that poses risks.

However, these arguments do not stand scrutiny. First, the World Health Organization's Global Burden of Disease study, which developed a measure of the extent to which different health risk behaviours reduced life expectancy and quality of life, Disability Adjusted Life Years, found that in the year 2000 tobacco contributed 4.1% of the total burden of premature death or disability, and alcohol 4.0%. Since then, alcohol's share has increased to 4.6%.8 Second, when examining alcohol's contribution to premature death, the risk that lifetime death is caused by an alcohol-related illness increases linearly with the volume of alcohol consumed from a zero level of consumption.9

Alcohol cheats the brain

The pharmacological effects of alcohol on behavioural decision-making show that alcohol has a predictable unfair advantage over other products.10 Like all addictive drugs, alcohol specifically disrupts calculations made by the brain's reward circuitry. To determine the value of naturally rewarding substances, the brain conducts an in-depth calculation of the impact of consumption of the substance on the consumer within the current and historical environment. Alcohol short circuits this assessment by pharmacologically augmenting a signal indicating the difference between the predicted value of the reward and the observed reward, such that the circuit mistakenly calculates that it underestimated the value of consuming alcohol, regardless of whether the drinker was helped or hurt as a result of drinking. As the brain corrects its 'underestimates', it increases expectations about the value of alcohol consumption. This leads the drinker to overvalue alcohol and thus favour working harder to obtain it, even if it provides no objective or subjective benefit to the user. Thus, alcoholic products include a chemical that directly distorts the brain's decisions about how much work to devote to consuming them, thus ensuring that people will pay more to get an alcoholic drink than it is worth.

Alcohol advertisements increase the desire to drink alcohol

Alcohol advertising is one of the many factors that have the potential to encourage adolescent drinking.11 For young people who have not started to drink, expectancies are influenced by normative assumptions about teenage drinking as well as through the observation of drinking by parents, peers, and role models in the mass media. Research has linked exposure to portrayals of alcohol use in the mass media with the development of positive drinking expectancies by children and adolescents.11 Young people with more positive affective responses to alcohol advertising hold more favourable drinking expectancies, perceive greater social approval for drinking, believe drinking is more common among peers and adults, and intend to drink more as adults. All these beliefs interact to produce a greater likelihood of drinking, or intention to drink within the near future. Adolescents aged 14 to 17 years with alcohol use disorders also show substantially greater brain activation to pictures of alcoholic beverages than control youths, predominantly in brain areas linked to reward, desire, and positive affect.12 The degree of brain response to the alcohol pictures is highest in those who consume more drinks per month and report greater desires to drink.

Alcohol advertisements increase young people's drinking

A recent systematic review to assess the impact of alcohol advertising and media exposure on future adolescent alcohol use identified 13 longitudinal studies of a total of over 38,000 young people.13 Twelve of the 13 studies concluded an impact of exposure on subsequent alcohol use, including initiation of drinking and heavier drinking among existing drinkers, with a dose-response relationship in all studies that reported such exposure and analysis. The 13th study, which tested the impact of outdoor advertising placed near schools, failed to detect an impact on alcohol use, but found an impact on intentions to use.

For example, Ellickson et al examined the relationship between a range of advertisement exposures, over the course of one year, and subsequent drinking among US adolescents age 12 to 13 years followed-up for at least two years, and assessed whether exposure to a prevention programme mitigated any such relationship.14 Of the 1,206 grade 7 non-drinkers, 48% consumed alcohol during the previous year at grade 9. Bivariate relationships found a significant impact of all types of alcohol advertisement exposure on initiation of drinking. Controlling for exposure to all different types of advertising as well as the impact of the prevention programme, exposure to beer concession stands at sports or music events predicted drinking onset for non-drinkers in the previous 12 months (OR=1.42, p<0.05). Of the 1,905 grade 7 drinkers, 77% consumed alcohol in the previous year at grade 9. Again, controlling for exposure to all different types of advertising as well as the impact of the prevention programme, exposure to beer concession stands at sports or music events predicted frequency of drinking among existing drinkers in the previous 12 months (coefficient=0.09, p<0.05), as did exposure to magazines with alcohol advertisements (coefficient=0.10, p<0.05). Similarly, Collins et al carried out a school-based longitudinal survey which evaluated the impact of exposure of alcohol marketing on beer use among 1,786 grade 6 students (11-12 year olds) one year later.15 The joint effect of exposure to advertisements from all sources (F (8, 28)=8.36, p<0.0001), and from three television sources (F (3, 33)=3.35, p<0.05), were significant. Of youth in the 75th percentile of alcohol marketing exposure at grade 6, 20% reported past year beer drinking at grade 7, compared with 13% in the 25th percentile.

The results of the longitudinal studies are consistent with the findings of econometric studies, in which, for example, a meta-analysis of 132 studies which provided 322 estimated advertising elasticities, found a positive impact of advertising on consumption (coefficient=0.029), when controlling for alcohol price and income.16

Alcohol advertising rules require approximation across Europe, allowing for the opportunity of stronger restrictions

A study of 24 European countries found that all had at least one regulation that covers alcohol marketing and advertising, with 49 statutory and 27 non-statutory regulations overall.17 All countries, with the exception of the UK, had a ban of one or more types of advertising. Statutory regulations were more likely to cover volume restrictions than non-statutory regulations. There were clear differences between European countries' laws, regulations and administrative provisions on the advertising of alcohol products. Such advertising commonly crosses country borders or involves events organised on an international level. As has been the case with tobacco products, the differences in national legislation are likely to give rise to increasing barriers to the free movement between countries of the products or services that serve as the support for such advertising. Thus, there is a strong argument that these barriers should be eliminated and, to this end, the rules relating to the advertising of alcoholic products should, in specific cases, be approximated across Europe. As was the case with tobacco, and given the extent of existing bans for certain products and media, there is a need to specify the extent to which alcohol advertising in certain categories of media and publications is allowed.18

Self-regulation is not the answer

In several European countries, there is a reliance on 'self-regulation' - voluntary systems implemented by economic operators, including advertising, media and alcohol producers. However, evidence from a number of studies shows that these voluntary systems do not prevent the kind of marketing which has an impact on younger people. Self-regulation seems to work only to the extent that there is a current and credible threat of government regulation. For example, in Australia, following a formal review in 2003, the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy proposed a revised Alcoholic Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC), which came into operation in 2004. From May 2004 until March 2005 television and magazine advertising campaigns were monitored for alcohol products.19 Over this period, 14 complaints against alcohol advertisements were lodged with the self-regulatory board, and the study authors recruited an independent expert panel to assess the advertisements and complaints. In eight of the 14 cases a majority of the judges perceived the advertisement to be in breach of the code, and in no cases did a majority perceive no breach. Conversely, however, none of the complaints were upheld by the Advertising Standards Board (ASB).

The public supports stricter regulations

A 2006 Euorbarometer survey found that 76% of the EU population would approve the banning of alcohol advertising targeting young people in all member states.20 Every second respondent (50%) said that they 'agree totally' with this idea. A country-by-country analysis shows that in all polled countries the majority of respondents would favour such a ban, with 71% of the UK population agreeing.

European case law supports stricter regulations

In 2002, the French government was taken to court, alleging that its advertising law, by prohibiting alcohol advertising on boardings visible during the retransmission of bi-national sporting events on TV, entailed restrictions on the freedom to provide advertising and television broadcasting services. In other words, it was not possible to re-broadcast British football matches in France. However, the European Court of Justice ruled in favour of the French law, noting that it is in fact undeniable that advertising acts as an encouragement to consumption; the French rules on television advertising are appropriate to ensure their aim of protecting public health; and that they do not go beyond what is necessary to achieve such an objective.21

Health impact assessment predicts the health impact and cost

Using data from international time-series analyses, the World Health Organization's CHOICE project modelled the impact of an advertising ban in the EU.22 The model estimated that a ban on advertising implemented throughout the EU could prevent 5% of all alcohol-related ill-health, at an overall cost of €95 million each year. With a cost-effectiveness ratio of €500 per year of ill-health and premature mortality prevented in western Europe, an advertising ban would be about half as cost-effective as a tax increase (€241), but nearly four times as cost-effective as an early identification and brief advice programme in primary care (€1,959).

Conclusion

Young people are particularly vulnerable to alcohol, and to alcohol advertising which is commonly targeted at them. Alcohol advertisements are related to young people's expectancies about alcohol and their desire to consume it, and a recent systematic review has found evidence that alcohol advertisements increase the likelihood of young people starting to drink, the amount they drink, and the amount consumed on any one occasion. Experience demonstrates that it is possible to regulate commercial communications in traditional and non-traditional media, with, for example, the EU 2003 tobacco directive banning the advertising of tobacco products in the broadcast and print media, and relevant sport sponsorship. Thus, it is feasible to ban alcohol advertising, which, for advertising targeting young people, would be supported by three quarters of European citizens.

Reference

1. Englund MM, Egeland B, Oliva EM, Collins A. Childhood and adolescent predictors of heavy drinking and alcohol use disorders in early adulthood: a longitudinal developmental analysis. Addiction 2008;103(Suppl 1)23-35. 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2008.02174.x [[ PubMed] [ CrossRef] PMC free article] [ Google Scholar]

2. De Bellis MD, Clark DB, Beers SR. [ et al Hippocampal volume in adolescent-onset alcohol use disorders. Am J Psychiatry 2000; 157:737-44. 10.1176/appi.ajp.157.5.737 [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] Google Scholar]

3. Bonomo Y, Coffey C, Wolfe R. [ et al Adverse outcomes of alcohol use in adolescents. Addiction 2001; 96:1485-96. 10.1046/j.1360-0443.2001.9610148512.x [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] Google Scholar]

6. Lovato C, Linn G, Stead LF, Best A. Impact of tobacco advertising and promotion on increasing adolescent smoking behaviours. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2003;(3):CD003439. [ PubMed]

8. Rehm J, Mathers C, Patra J. et al Global burden of disease and injury and economic cost attributable to alcohol use and alcohol use disorders. Lancet 2009;in press. 10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60746-7 [ PubMed] [ CrossRef]

10. Redish AD. Addiction as a computational process gone awry. Science 2004; 306:1944-7. 10.1126/science.1102384 [[ PubMed] [ CrossRef] Google Scholar]

12. Tapert SF, Cheung EH, Brown GG. [ et al Neural response to alcohol stimuli in adolescents with alcohol use disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2003; 60:727-35. 10.1001/archpsyc.60.7.727 [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] Google Scholar]

13. Anderson P, de Bruijn A, Angus K, Gordon R, Hastings G. Impact of alcohol advertising and media exposure on adolescent alcohol use: a systematic review of longitudinal studies. Alcohol Alcohol 2009;10.1093/alcalc/agn115. 10.1093/alcalc/agn115 [ PubMed] [ CrossRef]

14. Ellickson PL, Collins RL, Hambarsoomians K, McCaffrey DF. Does alcohol advertising promote adolescent drinking? Results from a longitudinal assessment. Addiction 2005; 100:235-46. 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2005.00974.x [[ PubMed] [ CrossRef] Google Scholar]

15. Collins RC, Ellickson PL, McCaffrey D, Hambarsoomians K. Early adolescent exposure to alcohol advertising and its relationship to underage drinking. J Adolesc Health 2007; 40:527-34. 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.01.002 [[ PubMed] [ CrossRef] PMC free article] [ Google Scholar]

16. Gallet CA. The demand for alcohol: a meta-analysis of elasticities. Aust J Agric Resour Econ 2007; 51:121-35. 10.1111/j.1467-8489.2007.00365.x [[ CrossRef] Google Scholar]

18. Boessen S. The politics of European Union health policy-making. Maastricht: Maastricht University, 2008. [ Google Scholar]

19. Jones SC, Hall D, Munro G. How effective is the revised regulatory code for alcohol advertising in Australia? Drug Alcohol Rev 2008; 27:29-38. 10.1080/09595230701499175 [[ PubMed] [ CrossRef] Google Scholar]

Articles from Clinical Medicine are provided here courtesy of Royal College of Physicians

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Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of alcohol, with heavy drinking risking impaired brain development and future alcohol dependence. Advertisements increase expectancies about alcohol, leading to a greater likelihood ...

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Alcohol + Marijuana Pressure from Social Media

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Alcohol + Marijuana Pressure from Social Media

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This article was published by a Florida university this year. It is relevant to both Marijuana and Alcohol

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Teens more likely to use alcohol and marijuana if they see their friends post about it on social media

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Friends are more influential than influencers — at least when it comes to substance use, according to new FIU research.

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Overview

Every day, about 37 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes - that's one person every 39 minutes. In 2021, 13,384 people died in alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths - a 14% increase from 2020. These deaths were all preventable.

Traffic Safety Facts & Data Publications

Alcohol is a substance that reduces the function of the brain, impairing thinking, reasoning and muscle coordination. All these abilities are essential to operating a vehicle safely.

As alcohol levels rise in a person's system, the negative effects on the central nervous system increase. Alcohol is absorbed directly through the walls of the stomach and small intestine. Then it passes into the bloodstream where it accumulates until it is metabolized by the liver. A person's alcohol level is measured by the weight of the alcohol in a certain volume of blood. This is called Blood Alcohol Concentration, or BAC. At a BAC of .08 grams of alcohol per deciliter (g/dL) of blood, crash risk increases exponentially. Because of this risk, it's illegal in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to drive with a BAC of .08 or higher, except in Utah where the BAC limit is .05.

However, even a small amount of alcohol can affect driving ability. In 2021, there were 2,266 people killed in alcohol-related crashes where a driver had a BAC of .01 to .07 g/dL.

BAC is measured with a breathalyzer, a device that measures the amount of alcohol in a driver's breath, or by a blood test.

Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) in g/dL

Typical Effects

Predictable Effects on Driving

.02

Some loss of judgment; relaxation, slight body warmth, altered mood

Decline in visual functions (rapid tracking of a moving target), decline in ability to perform two tasks at the same time (divided attention)

.05

Exaggerated behavior, may have loss of small-muscle control (e.g., focusing your eyes), impaired judgment, usually good feeling, lowered alertness, release of inhibition

Reduced coordination, reduced ability to track moving objects, difficulty steering, reduced response to emergency driving situations

.08

Muscle coordination becomes poor (e.g., balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing), harder to detect danger; judgment, self-control, reasoning, and memory are impaired

Concentration, short-term memory loss, speed control, reduced information processing capability (e.g., signal detection, visual search), impaired perception

.10

Clear deterioration of reaction time and control, slurred speech, poor coordination, and slowed thinking

Reduced ability to maintain lane position and brake appropriately

.15

Far less muscle control than normal, vomiting may occur (unless this level is reached slowly or a person has developed a tolerance for alcohol), major loss of balance

Substantial impairment in vehicle control, attention to driving task, and in necessary visual and auditory information processing

Driving After Drinking

Driving after drinking is deadly. Yet it still continues to happen across the United States. If you drive while impaired, you could get arrested, or worse - be involved in a traffic crash that causes serious injury or death.

About 31% of all traffic crash fatalities in the United States involve drunk drivers (with BACs of .08 g/dL or higher). In 2021, there were 13,384 people killed in these preventable crashes. In fact, on average over the 10-year period from 2012-2021, about 10,850 people died every year in drunk-driving crashes.

In every state, it's illegal to drive drunk, yet one person was killed in a drunk-driving crash every 39 minutes in the United States in 2021.

Car crashes are a leading cause of death for teens, and about a quarter of fatal crashes involve an underage drinking driver. In 2021, 27% of young drivers 15 to 20 years old who were killed in crashes had BACs of .01 g/dL or higher.

To reduce alcohol-related fatal crashes among youth, all states have adopted a minimum legal drinking age of 21. NHTSA estimates that minimum-drinking-age laws have saved 31,959 lives from 1975 to 2017.

In 2021, the highest percentage of drunk drivers (with BACs of .08 g/dL or higher) were the 21-to 24-year-old age group and 25-to-34-year old age groups. Men are most likely to be involved in this type of crash, with four male drunk drivers for every female drunk driver.

In 2021, 5,932 people operating a motorcycle were killed in traffic crashes. Of those motorcycle riders, 1,624 (29%) were drunk (BAC of .08 g/dL or higher).

Motorcycle operators involved in fatal crashes were found to have the highest percentage (28%) of alcohol-impaired drivers than any other vehicle types.

The 35-39 and 45-to-49 age groups had the highest percent, 35%, of drunk motorcycle riders killed in 2021.

Repeat offenders who drink and drive are a very real, very deadly problem. Drivers with BACs of .08 g/dL or higher involved in fatal crashes were 4 times more likely to have prior convictions for driving while impaired than were drivers with no alcohol (7% and 2%, respectively).

When it comes to drunk driving, it affects more than just the driver. In 2021, among children (14 and younger) killed in motor vehicle crashes, 25% were killed in drunk-driving crashes. Of those deaths, more than half the time (55%) the child killed was in the vehicle driven by the drunk driver.

In addition to the human toll drunk driving takes on our country, the financial impact is devastating: based on 2019 numbers, impaired-driving crashes cost the United States $68.9 billion annually.

Know the Facts Interactions between alcohol and other substances in the body such as certain medications or illegal drugs increase impairment and make driving more risky. Also see Drug-Impaired Driving

Driving a vehicle while impaired is a dangerous crime. Tough enforcement of drunk-driving laws has been a major factor in reducing drunk-driving deaths since the 1980s. Charges range from misdemeanors to felony offenses, and penalties for impaired driving can include driver's license revocation, fines, and jail time. It's also extremely expensive. A first-time offense can cost the driver upwards of $10,000 in fines and legal fees.

Many states require offenders to install ignition interlock devices at the driver's own expense. An ignition interlock device is a breath test device connected to a vehicle's ignition. The vehicle cannot be operated unless the driver blows into the interlock and has a BAC below a pre-set low limit, usually .02 g/dL. NHTSA strongly supports the expansion of ignition interlocks as a proven technology that keeps drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel.

BEING A RESPONSIBLE DRIVER IS SIMPLE: IF YOU ARE DRINKING, DO NOT DRIVE.

1. Plan your safe ride home before you start the party, choose a non-drinking friend as a designated driver.

2. If someone you know has been drinking, do not let that person get behind the wheel. Take their keys and help them arrange a sober ride home.

3. If you drink, do not drive for any reason. Call a taxi, a ride-hailing service, or a sober friend.

4. If you're hosting a party where alcohol will be served, make sure all guests leave with a sober driver.

5. Always wear your seat belt - it's your best defense against impaired drivers.

If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact local law enforcement. Your actions could help save someone's life.

NHTSA demonstrates its commitment to eliminating drunk driving through research, public awareness campaigns, and state safety grant programs. We will continue until there are zero drunk-driving crashes on our roadways.

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Get resources on ways to prevent drunk driving and alcohol-impaired crashes along with national drunk driving statistics and facts.

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Teen DUI statistics should scare us all. Impaired driving is a major factor that increases the risk of a serious crash. Impaired driving includes driving under the influence of alcohol or drug use, including marijuana, and when drowsy. Impaired driving affects judgment, reaction times, and awareness, which makes it especially dangerous for teen drivers whose inexperience already places them four times more likely to crash than adults.

Teens need to understand when they are unfit to drive. Consuming alcohol or other drugs, including marijuana, in any amount, makes them unfit to drive and can result in a DUI or worse. While it can be harder to recognize, driving while drowsy is also considered an "impairment" and increases crash risk.

It's critical that teens avoid riding with an impaired driver. Teens should know they can always call or text a parent for a ride home instead of getting in a car with an impaired driver. Teenagers and parents should know teen DUI statistics, impaired driving laws, and other facts about impaired driving to help manage this crash risk. Alternative rides home, such as taxis and ride share companies, are options in more populated areas.

Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) offers a Contract for Life that promises the teen, both as driver or passenger, will call or text home for a safe ride instead of getting into a car when the driver could be intoxicated, high, or tired, which is very dangerous. Families may want to consider using this contract to encourage use of a code word when needed.

Families with teens should be encouraged by research conducted at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia that shows teens with involved parents are less likely to crash and much less likely to drive intoxicated compared to teens with less involved parents. Keeping the lines of communication open really matters. Teens who share knowledge about their lives with their parents are less likely to abuse alcohol in the future and to drive while impaired.
Watch this video to improve communication with your teen:
How to Help Your Teen Not Drive Impaired

Listen and be responsive to teens' concerns, which are often quite practical. Although it may be difficult to hear, encourage teens to share potential unsafe scenarios where parents may need to help. These can include being asked to ride home with someone who is impaired or driving while impaired.

Develop rules and expectations together. Teens need to know that they can always call their parents for a ride home instead of getting in a car with an impaired driver or driving themselves without being punished. Parents themselves can be the reason for teens saying "no" to peers to avoid unsafe situations.

Be a role model. Never drink and drive.

It's also important to be aware that the latest personal alcohol breath testing devices paired with smartphones failed to detect drivers when over the legal driving limit more than half the time. So, if your teen plans to rely on one of these tests to avoid a DUI instead of calling you for a ride home, talk about why this is not a good idea based on this new research.

In 2021, 27% of young drivers (ages15-20) involved in fatal crashes had blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of .01 g/dL or higher; 22% of those young drivers had BACs of .08 g/dL or higher.

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Teen DUI statistics should scare us all. Impaired driving is a major factor that increases the risk of a serious crash. Impaired driving includes driving under the influence of alcohol or drug use, including marijuana, and when drowsy.

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Ideas for overcoming addiction could be useful for either substance

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What Do Substance Abuse and Addiction Mean?

The difference between substance abuse and addiction is very slight. Substance abuse means using an illegal substance or misusing a legal substance. Addiction begins as abuse, or using a substance like marijuana or cocaine.

You can abuse a drug (or alcohol) without having an addiction. For example, just because someone smoked pot a few times doesn't mean that they have an addiction, but it could lead to one.

People can get addicted to all sorts of substances. When we think of addiction, we usually think of alcohol or street drugs. But people become addicted to prescription medicines, cigarettes, even sniffing glue.

Some substances are more addictive than others: Drugs like crack or heroin are so addictive that they might only be used once or twice before the user loses control.

Addiction means a person needs a drug, even if they know it has bad consequences. Addiction can be physical, psychological, or both.

Physical Addiction

Being physically addicted means a person's body becomes dependent on a particular substance (even vaping is physically addictive). It also means building tolerance to that substance, so that a person needs a larger dose than before to get the same effects.

Someone who is physically addicted and stops using a substance like drugs, alcohol, or nicotine may have withdrawal symptoms. Common symptoms of withdrawal are diarrhea, shaking, and generally feeling awful.

Psychological Addiction

Psychological addiction happens when the cravings for a drug are psychological or emotional. People who are psychologically addicted feel overcome by the desire to have a drug. They may lie or steal to get it.

A person crosses the line from abuse to addiction when they aren't just using the drug to have fun or get high, but have come to depend on it. Their whole life centers around the need for the drug. An addicted person - whether they have a physical addiction, psychological addiction, or both - no longer feels like they have a choice about using a substance.

What Are the Signs of Addiction?

The most obvious sign of an addiction is the need to have a particular drug or substance. But many other signs can suggest a possible addiction, such as changes in mood or weight loss or gain. (These also are signs of other conditions too, though, such as depression or eating disorders.)

Someone may have a drug or alcohol addiction if they:

Use drugs or alcohol to help forget problems or to relax.

Spend a lot of time figuring out how to get drugs.

Steal or sell belongings to be able to afford drugs.

Tried and failed to stop taking drugs or drinking.

Feel shaky or sick when trying to stop.

Need to take more of the substance to get the same effect.

Have changes in their sleeping habits, eating habits (including weight loss or gain), or mood (including mood swings, anxiety, anger, or depression).

Develop problems in their relationships with family and friends.

Lose interest in activities that used to be important.

Do worse at school.

How Can Someone Get Help With a Substance Abuse Problem or Addiction?

If you think that you or someone you care about is addicted to drugs or alcohol, recognizing the problem is the first step in getting help.

Call SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). This free and confidential service is available in English and Spanish.

Many people think they can kick the problem on their own, but that rarely works. Find someone you trust to talk to. It may help to talk to a friend or someone your own age at first, but a supportive and understanding adult is your best option for getting help. If you can't talk to your parents, you might want to approach a school counselor, relative, doctor, favorite teacher, or religious leader.

Overcoming addiction is not easy. Quitting drugs or drinking is probably going to be one of the hardest things you or your friend do. It's not a sign of weakness if you need professional help from a trained drug counselor or therapist. Most people who try to kick a drug or alcohol problem need professional help or a treatment program to do so.

What Can Help With Addiction Recovery?

After you start a treatment program, try these tips to make the road to recovery less bumpy:

Tell your friends about your decision to stop using drugs. True friends will respect your decision. This might mean that you need to find a new group of friends who will be 100% supportive. Unless everyone decides to kick their drug habit at once, you probably won't be able to hang out with the friends you did drugs with.

Ask your friends or family to be ready to support you when you need them. You might need to call someone in the middle of the night just to talk. If you're going through a tough time, don't try to handle things on your own - accept the help your family and friends offer.

Accept invitations only to events that you know won't involve drugs or alcohol. Going to the movies is probably safe, but you may want to skip a Friday night party until you're feeling more secure. Plan activities that don't involve drugs. Go to the movies, try bowling, or take an art class with a friend.

Have a plan about what you'll do if you find yourself in a situation with drugs or alcohol. The temptation will be there sometimes. If you know how you're going to handle it, you'll be OK. Establish a plan with your parents, siblings, or other supportive friends and adults so that if you call or text using a code, they'll know you need a ride out of there.

Remind yourself that having an addiction doesn't make a person bad or weak. If you fall back into old patterns (backslide) a bit, talk to an adult as soon as possible. It's nothing to be ashamed about, but it's important to get help soon so that all the hard work you put into your recovery is not lost.

How Can I Help a Friend With Addiction?

If you're worried about a friend who has an addiction, you can use these same tips to help them. For example, let your friend know that you are available to talk or offer your support. If you notice a friend backsliding, talk about it openly and ask what you can do to help.

If your friend is going back to drugs or drinking and won't accept your help, don't be afraid to talk to a nonthreatening, understanding adult, like your parent or school counselor. Getting your friend help is the best support you can offer.

Above all, offer a friend who's battling an addiction lots of encouragement and praise. Hearing that you care is exactly the kind of motivation your friend needs.

What Helps With Staying Sober?

Recovering from a drug or alcohol addiction doesn't end with a 6-week treatment program. It's a lifelong process. Many people find that joining a support group can help them stay clean. There are support groups specifically for teens and younger people. You'll meet people who have gone through the same experiences, and you can have real-life discussions about drugs that you won't hear in your school's health class.

Many people find that helping others is also the best way to help themselves. Your understanding of how hard the recovery process can be will help you to support others who are battling an addiction.

If you do have a relapse, recognizing the problem as soon as possible is critical. Get help right away so that you don't undo the hard work you put into your initial recovery. And if you do have a relapse, don't ever be afraid to ask for help!

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Dealing With Addiction (for Teens) - Nemours KidsHealth

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Find out what you can do if you think you or a friend has a drug or alcohol addiction - from recognizing the warning signs to suggestions to help you stay clean.

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Use the Timestamps feature! I recommend checking out 2:06; 2:25; and 2:34

Dr. Huberman is a professor at Stanford University, one of the most respected universities in the country.

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In this episode, I discuss cannabis (aka marijuana), including the biological mechanisms underlying its effects on the mind and body, its known medical applications, its impact on libido, creativity, hunger, hormones and more. I also cover the known adverse health consequences of chronic and even acute (one-time) use and the factors that determine if cannabis is helpful or harmful. Additionally, I detail how the various strains of cannabis: sativa, indica and hybrid strains, can produce such divergent effects depending on the strain type, THC-to-CBD ratio, total dosage, and frequency of use. I review why cannabis can impact speech patterns and one's propensity to develop anxiety/depression during and after use and, in some individuals, paranoia. As the legal landscape for cannabis is rapidly evolving, this episode should interest a wide audience, including former/current cannabis users, those in the medical, sports, law enforcement, and educational communities and, of course, children, teenagers, and parents.

Articles

Other Links and Resources

00:00:00 Cannabis (Marijuana)

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00:07:03 Tool: Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR), Sleep & Anxiety

00:10:08 Levels, Thesis, InsideTracker

00:14:01 Momentous Supplements

00:15:08 Cannabis Strains, Psychoactive Compounds: THC & CBD

00:19:34 Sativa vs. Indica, Stimulant vs. Relaxation Effects

00:25:55 Hybrid Cannabis Strains, Type 1, 2 & 3 Strains

00:30:41 AG1 (Athletic Greens)

00:31:56 Naturally Occurring Receptors: Nicotinic & Cannabinoid Receptors (CB1)

00:40:35 THC, CBD vs. Endogenous Cannabinoids, Dependence

00:43:14 Endogenous Cannabinoids, Cannabinoid Receptors & Nervous System Function

00:53:07 Biological Effects of Cannabis

00:56:29 Cannabis Sativa & Subjective Effects: Mood, Stress, Alertness, Paranoia

01:04:58 Cannabis Indica & Subjective Effects, Memory, Dosage

01:09:41 Brain Areas Affected by THC & CBD, Side Effects

01:16:08 Creativity: Convergent vs. Divergent Thinking & Dopamine

01:26:41 Does Cannabis Increase Creativity?

01:35:08 Chronic Cannabis Use & Changes in Speech Patterns

01:46:46 Cannabis & Libido, Dopamine & Prolactin

01:56:55 Cannabis & Hormones: Prolactin, Testosterone, Estrogen & Fertility

02:06:53 Smoking/Vaping Tobacco or Cannabis & Negative Health Consequences

02:10:06 Avoiding Cannabis During Pregnancy/Breastfeeding, Fetal Neural Development

02:18:13 Negative Health Consequences of Cannabis, Anxiety & Depression, Tolerance

02:25:57 Cannabis Use & Adolescence/Young Adulthood, Predisposition to Psychosis

02:34:36 Adolescent Cannabis Use: Brain Development & Mental Health Disorders

02: 41:44 Cannabis & Pain Management, Divergent Effects of Cannabis

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The Effects of Cannabis (Marijuana) on the Brain & Body

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In this episode, I discuss cannabis (aka marijuana), including the biological mechanisms underlying its effects on the mind and body, its known medical applications, its impact on libido, creativity, hunger, hormones and more.

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Alcohol and consent - Alcohol and Drug Foundation

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Affirmative consent means that people have to actively find out if their partner(s) are consenting to sexual activity

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Effects of Cannabis (Marijuana) on Adolescent & Young Adult Brain | Dr. Andrew Huberman

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This is a good starting point for background knowledge

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Effects of cannabis on the teenage brain NCPIC + Turning Point