Underage Substance Use

From the DEA cracking down on a potent form of marijuana to fingernail drug testing, Join Together kept their readers on top of the news making an impact in their community, work and life.

Among teens who drink, 90 percent have blacked out after drinking at least once by the time they reached age 19, according to a new study of British adolescents. Teens who black out after drinking are more likely to be female.

A new survey of teens finds they are using less marijuana, alcohol and cigarettes. The Monitoring the Future study found marijuana use among teens declined from 26 percent last year to 24 percent this year, USA Today reports.

Lawmakers in a growing number of states are considering banning powdered alcohol, a product that has not yet arrived in stores, according to the Associated Press.

A new study finds that when teens host parties where alcohol is available, their parents are often aware of the underage drinking.

A new study finds teenagers who have been prescribed medications for sleep problems or anxiety are much more likely to abuse them, compared with teens who have never received prescriptions for these drugs.

Brain scans may be able to detect changes in the brain in preteens that predict future alcohol abuse, a new study suggests.

Almost 23 percent of high school students use tobacco products, and more than 90 percent of those students smoke cigarettes, cigars, hookahs or pipes, a new government study finds.

A new study finds teenagers are less likely to drink at parties if their community has strong social hosting laws. These laws hold adults responsible if teens drink on their property, even if the adults claim they were unaware that underage drinking was taking place.

Teens who play high-contact sports such as football, hockey, lacrosse or wrestling are more likely than those who play noncontact sports to drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes or marijuana, a new study suggests.

A campaign to warn young people about the dangers of marijuana, which likens those who use the drug to laboratory animals, is getting mixed reviews, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Teenagers who experience a traumatic brain injury are at increased risk of using marijuana, drinking alcohol and smoking, a new study finds. They are also at risk of getting poor grades, HealthDay reports.

Starting to drink at an early age can increase the risk of alcohol abuse in teens, according to a new study. The shorter the time between a teen’s first drink and the first time they get drunk, the greater their risk of later alcohol abuse.

The rate of drug and alcohol use among American teens continues to decline, a new government study indicates. Teens’ use of tobacco also dropped.

Teens under age 17 who use marijuana every day are 60 percent less likely to graduate from high school, compared with their peers who have never used the drug, a new study finds.

A new study of teens treated at an outpatient substance abuse clinic found many showed symptoms of marijuana withdrawal.

A new version of the “Truth” anti-smoking campaign, aimed at teenagers, urges them to use social media to convince their peers not to smoke, The New York Times reports. Previously, the campaign encouraged teens to focus their rebellious tendencies against tobacco companies.

Using marijuana at least once a week can lead to cognitive decline, poor attention and memory and decreased IQ in teens and young adults, according to researchers at the American Psychological Association annual meeting.

A new ad campaign warns teenagers in Colorado about the long-term effects of marijuana use. The “Don’t Be a Lab Rat” campaign targets 12- to 15-year-olds, Reuters reports.

A growing number of teen athletes are abusing prescription painkillers, according to a new study. Football players are more likely than other athletes to abuse prescription painkillers, HealthDay reports.

Pro-marijuana tweets are reaching hundreds of thousands of American teens and young adults several times a day, a new study concludes. The researchers say they are concerned about their findings because young people can be especially influenced by social media.

The top alcohol brands consumed by underage drinkers are the same ones most heavily advertised in magazines read by those under age 21, a new study finds. The researchers say their findings suggest alcohol ads can encourage young people to drink, HealthDay reports.

After health officials warned antidepressant use could lead to an increased risk of suicidal thoughts among young people, there was a rise in suicide attempts in this age group, according to a new study.

Treatment options are lacking for teens with substance use disorders, experts say. Addiction treatment resources are expensive, hard to find, and often not effective, they tell U.S. News & World Report.

Teens ages 12 to 17 were exposed to many new e-cigarette television ads between 2011 and 2013, a new study finds. Young people in this age group experienced a 256 percent jump in exposure to the ads during those years, according to NBC News.