What Should You Do If a Friend Has a Drug or Alcohol Problem?

Even if you never take or become addicted to drugs, they can have a large impact on your life through friends and family. Drug and alcohol addictions are not just phases or bad habits that are going to go away. If left untreated, it can be very deadly. Substance abuse is one of the leading causes of death in the country, so it is very important to get that friend help. Simply talking to them about it could save their life. However, if you do seek help, be prepared for a negative reaction at first because they aren't going to be happy immediately, but, when they are better, they will be eternally grateful to you. If you want to talk to them about their problem, make sure that it is at a time where they are completely sober. Every attempt to help your friend is one step closer to recovery, and its never too late to start so do your friend a huge favor and get them help.

Alcohol, Not Marijuana, Worsens Depression

Although marijuana is very harmful for the brain and body, recent studies, patient reports, and observations have proven that its bad name in causing mental illness and depression is false. On the contrary, it is now believed that it may actually be a "mood lifter." Although this does not make it okay to use marijuana, it is believed to be healthier than abusing alcohol because alcohol is a depressant and plays a huge role in people becoming depressed and suicidal.

Parents Are Out of Touch With their Children

• 44% of parents believe that teens who abuse prescription drugs get them from their parents and yet 71% of parents do not take any precautions to prevent their children from doing this.




• Only 12% of parents think that a teen's biggest concern is drugs, while 29% of teens report their biggest concern as drugs.




• 45% of teens attend parties where alcohol is available; 30% where alcohol is available; 10% where prescription drugs are available; and 9% where cocaine or ecstasy are available.




• 21% of 12 to 17-year olds can buy marijuana in an hour or less and 40% can buy it within a day.




• Teens who attend religious services regularly are at less than half the risk of smoking, drinking, or using illegal drugs as teens who do not attend such services.

A Startling Link Between Teen Drug Use and Sexual Behavior

The 9th annual CASA survey found that:

• compared to teens with no sexually active friends, teens who report that more than half of their friends are sexually active are more than 31 times liklier to get drunk; 22.5 times liklier to have tried marijuana; and more than 5.5 times liklier to smoke.


• girls with boyfriends two or more years older are more than twice as likely to drink; almost 6 times liklier to get drunk; 6 times liklier to have tried marijuana; and 4.5 times liklier to smoke than girls without boyfriends.

Also, it has recently been proven that teens who abuse drugs and alcohol are also more prone to cheating in school and fighting with other classmates.

Moderate Drinking Does Not Impair Youth Development

Recent studies have proven that moderate alcohol consumption can have no harm on a teen's development whatsoever. On the contrary, teens have less affects from alcohol than fully developed adults and it has been shown that the teens' bodies are able to handle it better. However, this is not the case when it comes to alcohol abuse which has many negative effects for both teens and adults. These studies prove though that no harm can be done from an occassional drink with the teenager's parents. This could even be beneficial because it can show them responsible drinking behaviors and can estinguish the novelty or excitement that many underage teens feel when they sneak alcohol.

DARE Doesn't Work

Many studies have shown that the D.A.R.E. program is not only not making progress in lowering the rates of teen alcohol abuse, but that it is being counterproductive and causing a rise in juvenile drinking. Although the program makes their stance against teen drinking very clear to the students, students think that they can now "drink safely" since they are now aware of the dangers present with alcohol abuse. However, this is not the case. It is said that teen drinking is never safe. In addition, one teen claimed that he especially enjoyed the DARE program because he now knows they easiest and quickest ways to get himself drunk. This is causing many parents to believe that this program is only having a negative impact on children and is not worth the average $1 billion spent on the program each year. Studies still need to be done, but s it is likely that the program will soon be cut out completely.

Mixed Messages on Teen Drinking

According to M.A.D.D., in order for drinking laws to be effective, parents need to instill them onto their children. However, this is not the case. Many teens are recieving rediculously confusing messages from parents, peers, and from the media. Teachers and parents think that it is okay as long as they supervise because according to them, the teens are going to drink anyway so they think that they might as well watch out for them while they are doing it. Unfortunately, this only promotes teen drinking and causes that child to think that drinking is an okay thing, resulting in them drinking more than they would if their parents hadn't condoned it. This is especially dangerous because now they then are not usually drinking with their parents, and don't have their parents to drive everyone who has been drinking.