The bad news: That decade of decline has ended, and the resurgence of teen drug abuse is in full swing across the nation (Partnership for a Drug-Free America: 2009 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study). From 2008 to 2009, past-month use among high school students significantly increased: 11 percent for alcohol, 19 percent for marijuana and 67 percent for ecstasy.

According to this same study, 20 percent of the parents surveyed, believed that their child had gone beyond “experimentation” with alcohol or other drugs, yet only about half of them chose to take action right away. As for the other parents, nearly half of them waited somewhere between a month to a year to intervene in their child’s drug use, and the rest chose to do nothing at all.

Parents need to know: Alcohol and other drug use is not a rite of teen passage. Drinking, smoking and using others drugs does not (and should not) have to be a part of their “growing up.” As a parent you have an opportunity to make a difference before it becomes an issue, just by talking to your child.

Children whose parents talk early and often with them about the dangers of alcohol, marijuana and other drug use are 50% less likely to ever use in the first place.

While the rate of use among youth in your local community may differ from these national results, the bottom line is; too many kids are using and not all parents are taking the opportunity to weigh-in with their influence to prevent it. Parents: Even when it appears that your children are not listening, talk. You have the power to help them choose to live healthy, substance-free lives.

For tips on opening the conversation about alcohol and other drugs, visit: www.TimeToTalk.org.  

Source: Partnership for a Drug-Free America: 2009 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS), March 2010.