Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

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JENNIFER C. KERR, Associated Press
      

WASHINGTON (AP) - Downing five or more alcoholic drinks nearly
every day isn't seen as a big problem for many of the nation's
teens, says a new report.


      When asked if they see "great risk" in drinking that much,
almost half the teens questioned - 45 percent - didn't see it as a
big deal.
      

 also showed upward trends in marijuana and Ecstasy use
among young people in grades 9 through 12.


      "You're seeing this weakness in this generation of teens'
attitudes around drug and alcohol use," says Steve Pasierb,
president of the partnership. "It's not like this generation of
kids thinks they're more bulletproof than others, but they really
don't see any harm in that heavy drinking."
     

 Among teens, the average age when they had their first drink was
14, the study said.


      Overall, 68 percent said they had consumed alcohol. Of those,
one quarter of teens had their first drink at age 12 or younger.


      "It is much more terrifying these days than it was when we were
younger," says actress and mother Melissa Gilbert, national
spokeswoman for the partnership.


      Gilbert, the former "Little House on the Prairie" star, is
herself a recovering alcoholic who at one time was drinking two
bottles of wine a night but has been sober now for six and a half
years. She has faced drug-abuse struggles with one of her four
sons, and she says she is doing everything in her power to make
sure her youngest, now 15, knows the drama and pain addiction can
bring.


      "The most important thing is to get to know his friends and
stay in constant communication with the people that are around him
all day - his teachers, his counselors at school," Gilbert told
The Associated Press in an interview from her Los Angeles home.


      Being sober, she says, is the best way to live. "It's not the
easiest, but it's definitely the best," she said.
     

 According to the study, teens said the top reasons for drinking
were "because it is fun" and "so they won't feel left out."


      Pasierb says early drinking can often signal deeper problems.
"It's about that vulnerability," he said, "Why is a 12-year-old
drinking?"


      Gregg Aguero of Houston, Texas, says he started drinking
regularly at 13 after his parents split up. That led to cocaine and
other drugs and eventually landed him in rehab for several stays.


      Now 22 and in college, Aguero says he's been sober for 4 months
and is trying to help teenagers avoid the mistakes he made.


      "It's never too late," he tells them. "That's the most
important thing. It's never too late to turn and get help."


      -Twenty-five percent of teens said last year that they had
smoked marijuana in the past month. While that number is unchanged
from the previous year, it is higher than 2008 and confirms an
upward trend that ended nearly a decade of declines in pot usage
among teens.


      -Ecstasy abuse also continued an upward trend, with six percent
of teens reporting past-month use - up from four percent in 2008.


      The Partnership's "attitude tracking" study was sponsored by
the MetLife Foundation. Researchers surveyed 2,544 teens with
anonymous questionnaires that the youngsters filled out from March
to June of last year. The study has a margin of error of plus or
minus 3.6 percentage points.


      Based in New York, The Partnership at Drugfree.org is formerly
The Partnership for a Drug-Free America - perhaps best known for
the "this is your brain on drugs" ads of the 1980s and 1990s. 

The
group launched its new name last October, a move meant to position
the partnership as more of a resource to parents and to avoid the
misperception the nonprofit is a government organization.

Gallery

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Study shows pot more popular among teenagers

Health

Social Issues

Downing five or more alcoholic drinks nearly
every day isn't seen as a big problem for many of the nation's teens, says a new report being released Wednesday by the The Partnership at
Drugfree.org. It also showed upward trends in marijuana and Ecstasy use among young people in grades 9 through 12.

Study: Teens see 5 or more drinks a day as no big deal

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