Teens' brains more vulnerable to alcohol/drug effects

Jack and Toni

Dear Jack,

I’m a sophomore in high school and am worried about some of my friends.  They’re beginning to “party” pretty heavily, drinking, smoking weed, that kind of stuff.  I come from a family where alcohol addiction was a problem so I stay away from it, but I don’t know what to say to my friends so they won’t think I’m being stupid.  They’re really nice people, into technology, computer games and stuff like that so they aren’t bad, just bored.  I was learning about the brain in my science class and thought the information was really cool.  I’d hoped that they would understand too that drugs of any kind are harmful to their bodies and can affect development, but it did not seem to have any impact on them at all.  How can I help them understand?

Pam

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Dear Pam,

You seem like a very good friend caring about others well-being.  My mom, Toni, just read an article by a woman named Emily Moser who wrote about this very thing and how to talk to kids about healthy lifestyle and the developing brain. She said to view the brain as the "body’s computer.”  The body needs to be taken care of to run efficiently.

Drugs and alcohol can affect the body and brain in different ways than adults because they function differently.  The brain continues to develop until the mid-20’s.  Teens’ brains are more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol and can hamper learning as well as brain development.  “Adolescents need only to drink half as much as adults to suffer the same negative effects.”  I know that when you are young you feel indestructible and that you will live forever, but making poor choices may prove otherwise.

Have your techy friends get more information by going on-line at www.drugfree.org/teenbrain/.  Hopefully, these resources will help your friends get a better understanding of brain function and enable them to make better choices. Thank you for writing to me.  If you want to talk to my mom, Toni, you can call the Center Wednesday through Friday.  Take care Pam and keep being a good friend.

Jack