DON'T START RUNNING WITH THE WRONG CROWD

Mr. Wallace: Some girls I like to hang with smoke a little pot and drink a
little.

I don't smoke pot and I'm not into alcohol and so far they haven't pressured
me to join in. My mom wants me to stop hanging around with them because she
thinks that eventually they'll put pressure on me to smoke and drink. I
don't believe they ever will.

We just moved to San Jose from Arizona and these girls have really made me
feel welcome, especially at school. What can I do to convince my mother that
teens are not under peer pressure all the time?

My mom wants me to find different friends, but she doesn't realize it's not
so easy making new friends.

- - Kim, San Jose, Calif.

Kim: "On the average, a user convinces three others to try alcohol or
drugs," says Dr. Richard Schwartz of the Georgetown University School of
Medicine. These odds tell me that eventually you will experiment with
alcohol and/or marijuana, as long as you continue to hang out with this
group of girls. This is why you mother is so concerned. Even if they don't
pressure you to join in their "social" activities, chances are you yourself
will want to do so before long.

Since these girls have made you feel welcome at a new school, I can
understand why it would be hard to reject them. But because drug involvement
is such a dangerous path for a teen, I advise you to continue your search
for true friends. At the very least, limit your activities with this group
to school hours.

[snip]