Young people are surrounded by alcohol and other drugs and get many mixed messages from society.
Alcohol is the biggest drug abuse problem among our adolescents.
The American Medical Association and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation call this a major public health crisis. Alcohol abuse is linked to as many as two-thirds of all sexual assaults and date rapes of teens and college students. Alcohol is a major factor in unprotected sex among youth, increasing their risk of contracting HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases. As Mike Maidenberg stated in his column, North Dakota has the highest rate of binge drinking for persons age 12 and older. Binge drinking is drinking five or more drinks of alcohol in a row within a couple of hours.