Effect of Drugs and Alcohol on Teenagers

I.) Introduction:         "Crack, booze, pot, crystal- from the inner city to the suburbs to small towns, the world of the adolescent is permeated by drugs. When 'a little harmless experimentation' becomes addiction, parents, teachers, and clinicians are often at a loss. For this age group (roughly ages 13 to 23), traditional substance abuse programs simply are not enough" (Nowinski, inside cover).         Today's society provides many challenges for adolescents that our parents never had to face. Pre-marital sex …

…youths shows marked increase."         Los Angeles Times. February 1, 1994. Sec:A, p:1, col:6. Joanning, H. et al. "Treating adolescent drug abuse: A comparison         of family systems therapy, group therapy, and family drug education."         The Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. October, 1992. Nowinski, Joseph. Substance Abuse in Adolescents and Young Adults.         W. W. Norton & Company Ltd. New York. 1990. Silverman, Wade. "Prevalence of substance abuse in a rural teenage         population." The Journal of Adolescent Chemical Dependency.         Volume 2. 1991.