'PARENT POWER'

TAKE teenagers, add a little boredom, stress and a some cash and what do
you get? The perfect recipe for teen drug and alcohol abuse, according to a
new survey from Columbia University. The eighth annual National Survey of
Attitudes on Substance Abuse provides at least some insight on a problem
that stretches from the inner city to the rural countryside.

Among the findings:

Teens with $25 or more a week in spending money are nearly twice as likely
to smoke, drink and use illegal drugs, and more than twice as likely to get
drunk.

Bored teens are 50 percent more likely to smoke, drink, get drunk and use
drugs.

High-stress teens are twice as likely to smoke, drink, get drunk and use
illegal drugs.

More than 5 million 12-to-17 year olds (20 percent) can buy marijuana in an
hour or less; another 5 million (19 percent) can buy marijuana within a day.

More teens are finding beer easier to buy than cigarettes or marijuana.

Teens at schools with more than 1,200 students are twice as likely as teens
at schools with fewer than 800 students to be at high risk of substance
abuse. Catholic and other religious middle and high schools are more likely
to be drug free.

Parents, of course, are the first line of defense. Too many parents,
though, assume their children will experiment with drugs. In fact, that
assumption may prove devastating to kids. The teens with parents who
thought future drug use was "very likely" were actually three times more
likely to become substance abusers than children of parents who thought
future drug use wasn't likely, according to the survey.

"Many parents think they have little power over their teens' substance use
and a disturbing number view drugs in schools as a fact of life they are
powerless to stop," said Joseph A. Califano Jr., the center's chairman and
president and former U.S. secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.

"How parents act, how much pressure they put on school administrators to
get drugs out of their teens' schools, their attitudes about drugs, and how
engaged they are in their children's lives will have enormous influence
over their teens' substance use. Parent Power is the most underutilized
weapon in efforts to curb teen substance abuse."

The need for such "parent power" shouldn't come as a surprise. Experts
frequently urge parents to talk with their children early and often about
the dangers of alcohol and drugs and get to know their friends. Parents
can't afford to wait for such discussions on the assumption it won't happen
to their kids. The survey found that the average student tries alcohol and
cigarettes before turning 13.

For parents who don't know what to say, ask a pastor, a doctor or a school
counselor for help. Ignoring the potential problem won't make it go away.