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Dr. Kim Mulvihill ReportingA national survey released today shows the parties your teen may attend are awash in alcohol, marijuana and other illegal drugs.
Drinking and drug use among teens is not new. What's alarming is that they're using illegal substances at house parties where parents are present. Inside suburbia, teens are boozing, toking and snorting up, all in the comfort of their own homes.
Joseph A. Califano, Jr.: "The messages is loud and clear. Parents, wake up and smell the pot and beer."
A new survey conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse reveals startling statistics: one of out three teens has attended a party, supervised by an adult, where kids are drinking alcohol, popping pills, smoking marijuana, even snorting cocaine.
Unidentified Girl: "From beer to hard alcohol to anything we can get our hands on."
And when a parent is not present, the chances of being offered these items skyrocket. According to the study, parents are simply clueless. Eighty-percent believe neither alcohol nor marijuana is available at the parties their teens attend. However, fifty percent of teens say of course they are.
The riskiest age is when a teen turns 154. The study shows 14-year olds are four times more likely to attend a party where prescription drugs are used, three times more likely to be offered ecstasy or marijuana, and two times more likely to be offered cocaine."
Unidentified Girl: "You can get it from your friends, or your friends' parents or their older siblings"
Joseph Califano: "The lack of involvement, the denial and the self delusion of these palooka parents, put their teens at enormous risk of drinking and using illegal and prescription drugs."
Bay area experts say the age of the first use of drugs and alcohol has dropped to the tender age of 10. The health consequences are severe - from brain damage to rape and violence. Experts urge parents to get involved in what their kids are doing.
