Pubdate: Thu, 11 Sep 2003 Source: Ledger-Enquirer (GA) Copyright: 2003 Ledger-Enquirer Contact: http://www.l-e-o.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/237 Author: Kaffie Sledge Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) STUPID COLLEGE KIDS While many first-time college students are excited about being away from home, and excited about new friends and new experiences, and new learning opportunities, a number of them are already overwhelmed. Some students -- not knowing what to expect -- didn't expect what they found. We received a call from our College Kid: "I never wanted to drink. I don't think it is cool. But now I see how stupid people act when they are drinking. I hate it." That was good to hear. And I hope the memory of how stupid some kids acted and how much some of them threw up that weekend will gross him his entire life. As we spoke, I reminded him of some of the things we'd talked about in the past. Teens and young adults drink and do drugs for the effect. It's not the same as a responsible, non-addicted adult having a beer after a trying day at the office. These kids were not getting the edge off -- they were getting their drink (or smoke) on. There's no way to discern which of the kids who start abusing alcohol and other substances in high school and college will become addicted. In a sense, addiction lies dormant in some people, waiting to be triggered by some drinking or drugging experimentation. I am a licensed therapist, but much of what I know about alcoholism I learned from an uncle, whose charge in life seems to have been to drink every drop of liquor distilled on the planet. After nearly 40 years of documented drinking, two heart attacks and strict doctor's orders, he stopped drinking. But, according to him, he never had a problem with alcohol, and could have stopped drinking anytime he wanted to. "Deterring young people from using drugs is integral to their development into healthy adults," the National Institute on Drug Abuse reports. "Research studies show that kids who make it past 21 without trying alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs are less likely to progress to substance abuse in the future." Unfortunately, the National Institute on Drug Abuse reports, some students may become overwhelmed by school and respond to peer pressure to try drugs. Others, according to a friend whose son is an Auburn freshman, may already be talking about coming back home. "It's boring if you don't drink or do drugs," he told his mother. Parents -- especially those of us who have addicts hanging from our family trees -- do a lot of anti-substance abuse talking to our children. But just saying no means nothing coming from parents who are not themselves clean and sober. Yes, marijuana counts. It makes you stupid. It impairs memory -- users can't recall events or shift attention from one task to another. That makes schoolwork or learning difficult -- if not impossible. Some college kids left home believing marijuana is harmless. Not true. Marijuana has damaging effects on the heart and lungs. It is addictive and it damages the brain. A person who begins smoking marijuana at 16 has the brain of a 72-year-old by the time he or she is 42. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin