At KeepComingBack.com, we invite addicts, recovering addicts, and their family and friends to learn more about addiction, share their stories of recovery and relapse, and help each other through the ongoing challenges of getting and staying sober.

Learn More About Teens & Marijuana Use
On June 2008, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University released a key white paper examining the trends in non-medicinal marijuana use among adolescents in the United States. Entitled “Non-Medical Marijuana III: Rite of Passage or Russian Roulette?” the study examined a series of growing risks with pot use among teenagers, including:

* Approximately 204,000 12th grade teenagers are using marijuana on a daily basis;

* From 1995 to 2002, the percentage of teenagers admitted into emergency departments and abusing marijuana as a major substance increased 136%;

* Despite claims that trivialize the addictive power of marijuana, the potency of pot has increased 175% from 1992 to 2006.

Although drug use and dependence has declined among adolescents, today more than 10 million high school teens in America have used marijuana. Learning more about this important problem will bring us one step closer to resolving it as a society. CASA’s white paper can be found online here.

Learn More About Teens, Addiction, and Parents
Every year, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University releases a “back to school survey” on the state of addiction, teens, and their parents in America. In August 2008, their 13th “National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse” found a number of troubling developments in the fight against addiction, including:

* One quarter of surveyed teens know a parent of a classmate or a friend who uses marijuana;

* Half of 16- and 17- year olds stated that among their peers, smoking marijuana is more common than smoking cigarettes;

* More teenagers said that prescription drugs, such as Vicodin and OxyContin, are easier to buy than beer.

Understanding the importance of involved and informed parenting can keep kids safe from drugs and alcohol. For more information, the CASA survey can be downloaded for free from their website.