A long line of addiction is present in my family. My grandpa was an alcohol addict for countless years. His two sons became substance addicts later in their lives as well. All of them had to leave their lives and go to rehab. Even years later, they still struggle with staying sober, and falling off the wagon is a harsh reality for my family. When they started partying in high school, little did they know their lives would be showered with Alcohol Anonymous meetings. Addiction is a terrifying epidemic with teens as the main culprit. Teenagers are not aware that having fun at a party can turn into a lifetime of rehab, drugs and health problems.

 

According to the NSDUA 33.1% of 15 year olds have had at least one drink in their lives.  More kids than ever think alcohol is safe when it destroys brain cells. All over the US kids are dying because they don’t know how to handle a substance as powerful as alcohol. Alcohol needs to stop being associated with a good time and it needs to start being noticed as a drug. Too many negative health effects are in play to consider it safe for teens.

 

Laurence Shapiro, a high school principal in Wolcott, Connecticut states, “This is very much a fact and there can not be a single community in the state that has not experienced the destructive results of drinking by teenagers and those even younger. In my own town, in the last two years, four teenagers have been killed in motor vehicle accident where liquor was the causative agent.” This is the reality in every middle and high school in America. Some people believe alcohol is a part of the teenage experience. Kids go to parties for a good time. What they don’t know is that they are walking right into a trap of alcoholism. Young minds are more likely to become addicted because their brains don’t fully develop until age 25. This means more precautions are needed to keep teens away from alcohol. One drink triggers a need for more and immature kids cant handle staying away.

Alcohol causes destructive results in teens like 97,000 sexual assaults on college campuses annually and 28 drunk driving accidents a day. Law enforcement needs to realize this destructive epidemic and enforce it. Police need to crack down on alcohol. They need to save teenagers lives. Lets stop ignoring the glaring issue and realize the problem. Teens are dying because of this drug. Change needs to happen or the next life that is taken could be one you love.