A huge debate erupted this past week over the legal drinking age in the United States. The debate was sparked by John McCardell (former Middlebury College President) and his Choose Responsibility organization’s call to discuss this issue. More than 100 college presidents are now on board with the initiative, which asks the public to consider a lowering of the legal drinking age.

McCardell and his supporters argue that the current drinking age of 21 encourages young college students (who are going to drink anyway) to hide their drinking; putting them more at risk than if the drinking age was lowered. Supporters of the initiative agree that college officials and parents have a hard time teaching 18-20 year olds about safe drinking when legally this age group isn’t supposed to be drinking. By bringing the issue out into the open and making drinking legal at 18, these supporters believe that they can more effectively educate this age group about making responsible choices about alcohol.

Supporters of lowering the drinking age also argue that 18-20 year olds are allowed to vote and serve in the military, and forbidding them to consume alcohol seems hypocritical and degrading.

Choose Responsibility plans to continue to push for this discussion throughout the country, and they have come up with a plan on how this will all work. The “Amethyst Initiative” is the group’s alcohol education program, which allows for drinking licenses to be issued to 18-20 year olds who successfully complete the program, similar to drivers’ education. Teens who drink before they turn 18 would lose their right to apply for the alcohol license.

Not everyone is convinced. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has lead the way for the critics, claiming that these college officials on the list of supporters are taking the easy way out instead of enforcing laws on their campuses. MADD has called for these college presidents to remove their names from the list and partner with law enforcement to come up with real solutions.

Also taking a stand against the initiative is the National Transportation Safety Board, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police, who say that lowering the drinking age would “jeopardize the lives of more teens”. These organizations maintain that increasing the drinking age to 21 in the 70’s and 80’s has nationally saved 1000 lives a year.

Critics of lowering the drinking age say that the way to handle alcohol abuse in 18-20 year olds is to enforce the 21 drinking age and have stricter consequences for adults and establishments providing alcohol to individuals under 21. Another key issue according to these opponents is that colleges need to seriously consider the environment found on their campuses and work to do away with the “college is for drinking” attitude found all too often.

The timing is significant for this whole debate. A 1984 federal law restricts a state’s access to federal highway funds if it sets a drinking age lower than 21, which quickly lead to all states raising their drinking ages to 21. This law is up for reauthorization next year, and there will be much more discussion until that time.

Enos, Gary A. Drinking age law vaults into debate Addiction Professional 8/21/2008

The Right Age for Drinking editorial Washington Post.com August 24, 2008

Henson, Scott The case for lowering the legal drinking age Dallas News.com August 23, 2008

Pope, Justin College presidents spark debate on drinking age Associated Press August 22, 2008

How stressed is your teen? What are the consequences of stress on adolescents? What can be done to relieve teens’ stress? A new study released this month by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America indicates that stress may be more of a concern than most parents think. The study, reported August 4, 2008, reveals that 73 percent of teens say that school stress is the primary reason for drug use. This study also showed that “parents severely underestimate the impact of stress on their teens’ decision to use drugs. Only 7 percent of parents believe that teens might use drugs to cope with stress.”

Causes of Teen Stress

It used to be that teens did drugs to feel cool, or to go along with peer pressure, or to have fun. But these days, teens are often so overwhelmed by school and daily pressures that they feel they are led to use drugs just to cope.

While the pressures of performing well in school and getting into a good college weigh heavily on many teens’ minds, there are many stresses young people face during their teen years. The basic changes that their bodies go through at this age can lead to biological stress. The rapid way teens develop at this stage in their lives can be a source of worry and concern to them. Added to this is lack of sleep because of school, social life, family life, and work.

Family stress is another cause of pressure for adolescents. As teens struggle to become adults and independent from their parents, arguments and harsh words often take place. Almost every parent has experienced the all-knowing, angry attitude of a teenager, who is disgusted by their parents’ rules for them. These problems are often exemplified when parents are divorced, leaving the teen confused about where they belong in the family.

Social stress can also be overwhelming during the teen years. Dating and breakups, struggle for popularity at school, and teasing and bullying can put a lot of pressure on teens.

What can you do to help your adolescent through stress?

One of the most important things for parents to do is to be aware of the stress their children are under, and also the risks their teens face because of the stress. Moodiness, lethargy, forgetfulness, isolation, antisocial behavior, lying, difficulty concentrating, lack of sleep, headaches and stomach aches can all be signs of stress.

If your teen seems stressed, as a parent you can help them reduce the stress, and also help them cope with the stress. Are the worries your teen faces real? Talk to them, and hear their fears, being careful not to minimize their concerns, but rather to work through them. Parents should also model healthy stress management at home. If teens realize they are not alone, and that everyone experiences some sort of stress, teens can learn their own positive ways to cope, rather than turning to things like drugs. And if the teen is unable to function in everyday life, or turning to destructive behavior, parents should consult a professional for help.

Study: Stress is leading cause of teen drug use The Toledo Journal NAPSI 8/12/2008

Adolescent Stress Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P.
Dr. Spock.com

Adolescent Stress, Stressors, and Coping Stephanie K. Ferguson
Adolescence Site

Stress in Adolescents Healthopedia.com

News release Partnership for a Drug-Free America August 4, 2008
http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/About/NewsReleases/School_Pressure

Many in the recovery community claim to be “Clean and Sober” But, what exactly does this mean? Clean refers to living without using drugs. Sober is used in the same context. However, the definition of “Sober,” also reveals a path, and a desired character. A path, and character, prescribed and modeled, by the founders of the 12 Step Fellowships. A path, and character, prescribed for spiritual living. Let us begin with the basics. Following is the dictionary definition for “Sober:”
1. Habitually abstemious in the use of alcoholic liquors or drugs; temperate.
2. Not intoxicated or affected by the use of drugs.
3. Plain or subdued: sober attire.
4. Devoid of frivolity, excess, exaggeration, or speculative imagination; straightforward: gave a sober assessment of the situation.
5. Marked by seriousness, gravity, or solemnity of conduct or character. Marked by circumspection and self-restraint.

The first, and second, parts of the above definition are about abstinence. The other three parts describe attributes. The person that displays these attributes is Sober, not just abstinent from chemicals, not just clean. His, or her, Sobriety is manifested in “all their affairs:”This person practices Sobriety, with a capital S.

This Sobriety with a capital S is manifested in the way people live their lives, not in what they say. Sobriety is life lived in the pursuit of simplicity, and “serenity;” a way of life that avoids “excess.” For excess is the way of addiction. Addiction is excess in everything. Excess in using chemicals, and in exaggerated thinking, and behaving. The addict is addicted to extremes, and drama, as much as he, or she, is addicted to a chemical. To incorporate the above described attributes into a Sober character is the antidote for addiction. And, the acquisition of this character is the foundation of recovery. As well as, the goal of any program, or therapy, that seeks to treat addiction.

To counter the addicted character, an addict must be confronted with a person that has developed a Sober character. A person that is capable of modeling what this character is. That is capable of displaying it in daily living. Capable of showing the addict how life can be lived Sober. Modeling for the addict new ways of dealing with the challenges of life from a Sober perspective.

Then, by observation, and practice, an addict begins to substitute old patterns of thinking, and behavior. Through exposure to a Sober character, they can begin to live “as if” they had this character. By ‘faking it, till they make it,” they get a sense of what Sober life is. When their new behaviors begin to yield responses that reinforce them, they become incorporated into a new pattern of dealing with life. Through this process, a new character is formed.

In the process of this new character formation, the presence of a Sober sponsor, mentor, or therapist is fundamental; the presence of a person that personifies Sobriety. If the sponsor, mentor, or therapist has not internalized, and manifest the attributes of Sobriety, all that the addict is exposed to is another role to play: The role of “recovering person.” Because addicts are adept at role playing, the modeling of a person who is clean, but not truly Sober, will invite the addict to create yet another persona, or mask. Recovery becomes a new way to act, speak, and relate to others, without true change, without authenticity.

Many in the recovering world have adopted the persona of a recovering addict. A person can become “clean,” if this is the price that he, or she, pays for sustaining new friendships, lovers, work, or status. For, they now belong to a community where respect, admiration, business opportunities, and popularity are founded on “clean time.” However; such a person is clean, not Sober. This kind of recovery is dangerous. It is dangerous to those who practice it, and for those who are seeking recovery.

A person with “clean time,” regardless of character development, is in a position to be a sponsor, a therapist, or even to run a treatment center. They can be in a position to dictate the process of addiction treatment. They can place themselves in a position of authority. They can be in a position of power. They can be in a position to do harm.

For, without the grounding influence of a Sober character, power, money, and status, become tools of the ego. They become tools for exploitation. They become means that allow the clean, but non-Sober addict to indulge in their addictive character traits. Under the guise of recovery, and “helping,” a clean, but non-Sober person can indulge in drama, chaos, blaming, and self-righteousness. They can exercise control over the lives of others, for self-gratification. They continue to act from the basis of their “defects of character,” even if they are not using chemicals. They harm themselves, and others.

The goal of the 12 Step programs, therapy, and all interventions of addiction treatment, is to “remove” these “defects of character;” not to find a new way to manifest them under the disguise of being “clean.” According to the founders of the 12 Step programs, in order to remove these defects of character, a person must engage in a spiritual path, seek a “spiritual solution.” A spiritual solution that is ancient, and Universal. A spiritual solution that has been taught by every spiritual master in history. This solution is to become free from the “bondage of self.”

What is this “bondage of self?” It is the bondage of a flawed self that the addict has constructed through the process of his, or, her life. Once this self became chronic, the addict constructed a character to protect it, to defend it. But, this self, and character are false. They were constructed as protections, and maladaptive strategies for survival. They cover up the true Self: the Self that was created by a Higher Power. So, every true spiritual path seeks the return to this true Self. Every true spiritual path offers a way, a method, and a program, to return to true living; to return to living life on “life’s terms,” to live Sober.

For, in Sobriety, life is again experienced, as it is. When the false self no longer rules a person, its demands for power, money, status, reputation, excess, drama, etc. no longer rule that person’s thoughts and actions. As a result, the person becomes free. The person is free to enjoy simplicity. Free to recognize the mystical of the everyday. And, through this recognition, a free person can find joy, pleasure, contentment, and fulfillment in the ordinary. They can again embrace life with the joy of a child at play, not because everything is perfect, but because it is all part of life; and life is good enough in its own terms. This is spiritual living. This is Sobriety.

This Sobriety is hard to attain. It is not easy to live Soberly in a culture that is increasingly hysterical. In a culture that prizes image above substance. We live in a culture of hysterical “personalities.” A culture of dramatic, “reality” television shows, screeching religious leaders, flashy gurus, “spiritual guides,” and shocking, instantaneous, psychotherapies. It is not surprising that the development of a Sober character is not a modern, or popular quest. However; for a recovering addict it is the essential quest. Just as it was for the suffering addicts that found their salvation in it, and prescribed it to future generations; as all spiritual seekers before them had done. In order for many to stay clean, many have to become Sober.

J. E. Lesende

Sober Definition From Answers.com

It is a problem that has been around for decades. Adolescents feel stress from personal or family problems, high expectations at school, and peer pressure. One way teens deal with the pressure is to turn to drugs. In the past it was marijuana, LSD, heroin or cocaine that lead curious teens to try drugs. There are countless stories of teens who have suffered severe consequences because of abuse of drugs such as these. Brain damage, seizures, toxicity, and death are only some of the side effects of drug abuse.

With all the anti-drug campaigns in communities today, it seems that teens may be getting the point about the dangers of some of these “street drugs” and are actually turning away from them in some cases.

Prescription Drugs

Today, however there are many more drugs available to teens, and different drugs of choice are making their way into schools and homes. Prescription painkillers like oxycodone and Vicodin® have been used more and more by adolescents in recent years. Many teens today believe there is nothing wrong with prescription drugs when taken once and while for fun, yet statistics show that oxycodone and Vicodin® are the most common drugs involved in fatal overdoses by young people.

The risk with these drugs is that young people do not believe they are dangerous or illegal because they are prescribed by a doctor. Another danger with these prescription drugs is that teens are able to get them for a very low cost or even free from friends or relatives. The easy accessibility of these drugs leads to a higher number of teens getting their hands on them, simply stealing the pills from their parents’ medicine cabinet.

Drugs such as oxycodone and Vicodin®, when used under the supervision of a physician, can be very beneficial to patients. On the other hand, the abuse of these drugs can cause strokes, seizures, comas, addiction, and even death. These prescription drugs can be just as addictive as street drugs, and the effects can be serious on the bodies and minds of young, developing teens.

Prevention

Even though the problem seems staggering, there are ways for parents to help prevent the misuse of drugs in their homes. Parents need to keep track of their prescription drugs, and be aware that their children may be able to get drugs from family members or friends very easily. Parents should talk with their children about the use of medication, and alert them to the severity of abusing prescription drugs.

While it seems that many anti-drug campaigns have been beneficial in the past, funding is becoming an issue when it comes to teen drug prevention. Every year, Congress gives money to states for drug treatment prevention, allowing the states to divide up the money among some of the programs they wish. A recent trend shows many states often spend very little of the money on adolescent drug prevention. With the new problem of prescription drug abuse in teens, it seems it is important that organizations that educate teens on prevention and treat teen addicts would receive funding to continue to fight this national problem.

Sources

More Kids Dying, New York Times July 18, 2008

Heroin’s Hold on the Young, New York Times Jan. 13, 2008

OxyContin, Vicodin Grow Popular as Teen Drug Use of Choice, Think and Ask nonprofit news February 2007

Teens Turn Away from Street Drugs, Move to Prescription Drugs, New Report Reveals ONDCP Press Release February 14, 2007

Rx—A New Intentional High for Teens National Youth Anti Drug Media Campaign, Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse 2006