This is an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of American secondary school students, college students, and young adults. Each year, a total of approximately 50,000 8th, 10th and 12th grade students are surveyed (12th graders since 1975, and 8th and 10th graders since 1991). In addition, annual follow-up questionnaires are mailed to a sample of each graduating class for a number of years after their initial participation.

To read the 2004 results, go to:
www.monitoringthefuture.org

Childhood can and should be a time of wonder and discovery, when parents nurture, protect, and care for the precious gifts of life they have brought into the world. But for children of alcoholic parents, life often is filled with shame, suffering, and fear. These children may find themselves trapped by the same disease that affected their parents and grandparents unless there is outside intervention from caring adults in their lives.

For more information:
www.samhsa.gov

Noting important gender differences in addiction, a new book
says that women become dependent on alcohol, tobacco, and 
other drugs faster than men and suffer worse health effects 
as a result of their addictions.           

                      
For more information: 
www.jointogether.org

A two-fold approach is helping prevent and treat substance use
among young people in Northern Michigan.            
           
For more information: 
www.jointogether.org

            

Alcohol tends to be the drug of choice for older Americans
enrolled in addiction treatment programs, according to a new
report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA).            

For more information: 
www.jointogether.org

            

More teenage girls than boys now smoke and abuse prescription
drugs, and girls also are starting to use marijuana, alcohol,
and cigarettes at a higher rate than boys.

For more information: 
www.jointogether.org

Two-thirds of community anti-drug coalitions say that alcohol is
a major problem they face, compared to 59.3 percent citing
marijuana, 51.3 percent that cited tobacco, and 32.9 percent 
who named methamphetamine, according to research from 
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA).           

For more information: 
www.jointogether.org

Americans ages 50 and older are more likely to seek treatment 
for alcoholdependence than any other drug addiction, and older 
men are particularlyat risk of problem drinking.

Link to Full Article:
www.jointogether.org

A new survey predicts that the number of Americans age 50 or
older who are addicted to alcohol or other drugs will double by
2020.

Link to Full Article:
www.jointogether.org

And studies show that alcohol takes a much greater physical toll 
on women than on men, in a much shorter time. A rising rate of 
heavy drinkingamong today's teen girls may signal a future 
women's health crisis. 


Link to Full Article:
www.latimes.com

A recent study concludes that society earns $7 in benefits for
every $1 spent on addiction treatment, including savings on
medical care, mental-health services, and welfare payments,
increased employment, and reductions in criminal activity.

Link to Full Article:
www.jointogether.org

A new federal study shows that more emergency-room (ER) visitsare caused by misuse of pharmaceuticals -- including
over-the-counter and prescription drugs -- than by cocaine,
marijuana, or other illicit drugs.

Link to Full Article:
www.jointogether.org

For the third straight year, a Partnership for a Drug-Free
America study has found that about 20 percent of U.S. teens havemisused prescription painkillers like Vicodin and OxyContin,even as smoking and drinking decline.

Link to Full Article:
www.jointogether.org