Abstract This paper will review the trends in illegal substance use in the student population of Oregon and more specifically the 6 th and 8 th grade student population of Lake County Oregon, a frontier population during the years of 1998 through 2000. Historically, Lake County has a perceived alcohol abuse history that has been verbalized as a cultural “right of passage” by many local residents. “Hard living’ and “ hard drinking” in a sparsely populated frontier ranching community, has been evidenced by statistical outcome measuring provided by the State of Oregon which, based on past meta analysis, has shown Lake County Oregon Youth as having a higher than the State median average for the use of alcohol. I will review the primary causal factors associated with the early onset and subsequent development of adolescent substance use and misuse. The sources used will consist of published literature, personal observation and local data collection of pre and post testing “non identifiable” evaluations that were used during this project. I will discuss a fundamental approach to prevention of substance abuse that was introduced in Lake County during a 3 year time period. This paper will conclude with a preliminary assessment of the efficacy of the Botvin’s Life Skills Training Program on the 6 th and 8 th grade student population (evidenced based time frame when most substance abuse begins) in rural Lake County over a 3 year period from 1999 through 2000. Introduction Youth drug use and abuse is becoming a growing social and a public health problem. There are many substances blamed to be of use and abuse by adolescents. Substances are categorized into licit or lawful (bought legally as tobacco and alcohol) and illicit or illegal as heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, or cannabis. This has influenced public and individual perception to the whole problem. Public perception on a drug being a licit one there is no enough cause to face its consumption. Second, being licit, it is available for adolescents’ wide use; yet, the harm is still cropping up. There are three main patterns of how people look at an adolescent drug user. First, the user is a morally or religiously defective person (committing a sin or a social offense). The second pattern views the user as an ill person who needs medical or psychiatric help. The third pattern considers the user as a socially injured person who passed or is passing through hardships. However, all these interpretations focus on the individual. Proper understanding of adolescents’ substance use mandates dealing with all sides of the problem, which are the drug, the individual, and the environment (Fagg, 2006). It is important not to avoid dealing with the problem of adolescents’ drug use, since it results in harmful effects on the individual’s behavior, personality with resultant serious social outcomes. Besides the substance’s health adverse effects, adolescents are in a stage of behavior and brain functioning development. Therefore, the results may affect the present individual’s life and in the future (Watkins and others, 2006). According to Burrow-Sanchez (2006), there are four areas to deal with this problem on an individual level. First, a counselor, peer, or a fami