Booze will keep them off harder drugs. Early use of alcohol is associated with greater involvement in other drug use and with more frequent use of alcohol. There is a strong association between the use of alcohol and the use of marijuana. The extent of marijuana use rises with increases in drinking levels by youth. There is no difference between teens and adults, and I would be a hypocrite to tell my child to abstain.
Teenagers walk the same road from the first drink to alcoholism in three to six months.
Regular drinking causes kids to give up sports, hobbies, and later, productive work at school - resulting in guilt and a declining sense of self worth. The use of alcohol suppresses inhibitions and judgments, permitting young people to cross the line of sexual involvement at younger and younger ages. Forty-seven percent of teenagers surveyed in 1982 were intoxicated the first time they engaged in sexual intercourse. My child can drink responsibly. Just as there is no such thing as a responsible shoplifter, burglar or murderer, there is no such thing as a responsible underage drinker.