"Every child in America is at risk of using drugs, regardless of race, ethnicity or economic status."
Every day, families have their lives disrupted and ruined by the effects of drugs, alcohol, and violence or a combination of the three.
Drugs and alcohol-along with the presence of violence in the home-are key risk factors for all involved. Kids are fragile and can be injured emotionally and physically without their parents' knowledge . . . sometimes permanently.
Suddenly, your life is changed. Issues that you felt were other people's problems are now yours: therapy, the juvenile justice system, rehabilitation, and detoxification. This happens all over America to families of every social class. Youth drug use cuts across all ethnic, geographic, and socio-economic lines; drugs do not discriminate. And virtually all youth experience pressure to use alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs at increasingly younger ages. The discovery that your teen or preteen is using drugs can be devastating news to any parent, but the problem must be confronted head-on.
"Youths 12-17 named drugs as the most important problem they face-more than social pressures, violence, crime or any other issues."2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse