PLAN SUBSTANCE-FREE CELEBRATIONS ALL Edition

• Published in: Sun-sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
• Main Author: - ELAINE M. JOHNSON, director, U.S. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Fort Lauderdale Tribune Interactive, LLC 08.05.1995

High school students will soon be busy preparing for proms and graduations, two events that sometimes mark one's passage into adulthood. Many may be planning to celebrate by using alcohol or marijuana. In some instances, parents unknowingly consent to these plans, believing that it's OK on a special occasion to "break the rules."Often, parents do not realize that leniency can put their teen-agers at great risk for tragedy. According to a recent survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana use is on the rise among high school seniors, increasing from 21.9 percent in 1992 to 30.7 percent in 1994. Many people may not think this is cause for alarm because few have observed or experienced what can be termed "serious medical consequences" from marijuana use. However, marijuana has numerous harmful physical and mental effects, including reflex and judgment impairment, greatly increasing the chance of accidental injury and death. In a recent study of hospital shock trauma unit, 35 percent of car crash victims had traces of marijuana in their blood.