One of my sidelines every year is preparing Red Ribbon Week support materials for the public schools. While it’s rewarding knowing that I can do a small part to contribute to drug awareness education, it’s also a bit depressing to read the statistics related to drug and alcohol abuse.

Each year, the NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) conducts a “Monitoring the Future” study. This study queries high school students and even follows them into college to see if the patterns change. This year’s study added a new facet: the abuse of prescription and non-prescription drugs.  It’s hard to believe that so many teens are abusing prescription drugs (Adderall has become quite prevalent–a drug used for ADHD) and non-prescription drugs (Robotussin leads the list).

Of course, alcohol weighs heavily in the study:

Alcohol use remains extremely widespread among today’s teenagers. Nearly three quarters of students (72%) have consumed alcohol (more than just a few sips) by the end of high school, and more than one third (37%) have done so by 8th grade. In fact, more than half (57%) of 12th graders and one sixth (17%) of 8th graders in 2009 report having been drunk at least once in their life.

The study shows that teens start early abusing substances and carry the trend on into college. I can’t stress enough the importance of talking with your kids early about the dangers of this type of behavior. If you don’t believe your child will drink in college, you’re fooling yourself. Just read the last blog post by a Virginia Tech student and learn how he got sucked into the party scene on campus.

I encourage every parent to read the overview of the study: Monitoring the Future. A knowledgeable parent is a prepared parent.

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