A DEADLY TRIO: TEENS, DRUGS, SUMMER DRIVING

"Summer's lease hath all too short a date," wrote William Shakespeare,
apparently foreshadowing the all-too-soon approach of fall. But a short
summer season is time enough still for even the most unlikely of kids to
find trouble in the most likely of places: cars and roadways. Two
consecutive reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
make clear the devastating spike in teen fatalities during June, July and
August.

With adult attention focused squarely on the dangers of teen drinking and
driving (at least among those adults who bother to focus on such matters at
all), another - and seemingly more common - threat to adolescent safety
remains largely hidden and often difficult to detect: drugging and driving.

As if rampant pot smoking by teens weren't problem enough, many of them
believe that driving under the influence of cannabis poses little risk of
impaired operation and virtually no chance of arrest. And that's bad news
in one of the most dangerous times of year for young drivers.

"There's definitely a misconception that you can still drive under the
influence of pot - that that's what differentiates pot from alcohol," a
Massachusetts teen told me the other day, mirroring a prevalent view among
youth that drugging and driving is a safe alternative to drinking and driving.

Let's look at the facts: Marijuana use, even a little, negatively affects
driving performance and is linked to tens of thousands of serious
automobile crashes, injuries and deaths each year. Marijuana and cars make
for a combustible mix, blurring judgment and inviting catastrophe.

Even so, data from a 2002 survey of middle and high school students
conducted by SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions/Students Against
Driving Drunk) and Liberty Mutual Group reveal that:

At least one in three 7th-12th graders has used or are using drugs (36
percent).

The majority of licensed teen drivers who use drugs regularly also drug and
drive (68 percent).

Among teens, driving after drugging is more prevalent (68 percent of those
who use drugs regularly) than driving after drinking (47 percent of those
who drink regularly).

More than one-third of teens who are using drugs regularly are not
concerned about riding in a car with a driver who is using drugs (38 percent).

Scary. So why is no one talking about this?

First, a preponderance of parents are unaware of the degree to which their
teens have access to - and use - drugs.

Second, many parents who are aware seem unconcerned, perhaps
underestimating the potency of today's weed (estimated to be 10-20 times
stronger than the marijuana of yesteryear) or the possible consequences of
its use.

But driving is only the quickest route to drug-induced disaster. Marijuana
is, in fact, addictive and, much like alcohol and other drugs, it directly
affects the brain, impairing the ability of young people to think, learn
and grow . . . and all of this at a time when significant cognitive
reorganization is taking place. In addition, clinicians observing kids on
pot note increased apathy, loss of ambition, diminished ability to pursue
long-term plans and a decline in school performance.

Marijuana is also used by more than a few teens to avoid dealing with, or
to mask, important emotions brought about by a lot of "first time"
situations, thus deferring problem solving and delaying healthy emotional
development.

So what's a concerned parent to do? Plenty.

Educate yourself. There is a lot of new scientific and medical information
available on marijuana.

Talk with your teen. Explain the physical effects of marijuana and other
drugs, their impact on driving, and the legal, social and emotional risks
involved with their use. Teens who have open and honest communication with
their parents are more likely to make good choices and to report that their
parents' methods of preventing them from using drugs are effective.

Monitor whom your teen spends time with. The likelihood of marijuana use is
significantly higher among those teens with friends who smoke pot.

Don't give up. Teens who believe their parents provide a good influence are
significantly less likely to ride in a car with a driver who is drunk or on
drugs.

For many teens, summer represents a much-needed break from the stress of
school, sports and extracurricular commitments. But freedom and fun have
their limits. Developing a dialogue that transcends perfunctory warnings
and reflects reasonable discipline will go a long way toward making sure
that kids make it back to school when the fleeting lease on summer is over.