Adolescent drug use in our society is often times viewed as a harmless phase that teens will, eventually, outgrow. Many believe that teens would need to continue drug use for several years into adulthood before actually becoming addicted. However, recent research indicates that the earlier an adolescent begins using chemicals, the higher the chance of his/her drug use progressing rapidly into chemical dependency.

Research conducted by Grant and Dawson showed that the age of when a person started drinking was a strong predictor for future alcoholism as defined by DSM-IV. This research focused on the age at drinking onset of 42,862 subjects and isolated factors such as age, sex, race and family history of alcohol abuse and dependence.

The results of this research indicated that when a thirteen-year-old starts drinking, s/he has a 43% chance of becoming an alcoholic. If however, the thirteen-year-old has a family history of alcoholism, the probability of his/her becoming an alcoholic increases to 58%. In contrast, if the person starts drinking at age 21 and has no family history of alcoholism, the probability of alcoholism is reduced to 10% (1997.)

As this study strongly suggests, rapid progression of chemical addiction in teens appears to be highly correlated with a family history of alcoholism.

Other factors which contribute to rapid progression from experimentation to drug addiction in adolescents are as follows:
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Adolescents tend to use a combination of drugs. Poly substance abuse tends to fuel rapid progression of chemical dependency because the intoxication from many different drugs in the adolescents brain and body increases tolerance at an accelerated rate.

As a result, the adolescent must use increasing amounts of these drugs in order to get the same desired effect.

· Use of Stimulant Drugs: Stimulant drugs appear to be another cause of rapid progression of chemical dependency in adolescents. This is due to the fact that these drugs tend to cause dopamine to be released in very large amounts. As a result of this "rush" in dopamine, tolerance develops quickly and, as a result, the adolescent.must use more of the drug in order to get the same effect.

· School Environment: Easy access to drugs at school significantly contributes to the progression of drug use. Many schools have become a "drug supermarket" where adolescents can buy and sell drugs as well as join in the camaraderie of sharing their fun drug experiences and planning new times to get "high."

· For drug-using adolescents, intoxication is their social event. Although the social events of adults, such as weddings, New Year's Eve, and Super Bowl Sunday, may promote the use of chemicals, the chemical use is only part of the social situation. However, for drug-using adolescents, drug use is the social event. In other words, the main reason for socializing is to become intoxicated.

Because of the increased probability of becoming addicted when drugs are used during adolescence, we, as professionals, need to be aware of the high risk in which teens place themselves when they choose to put chemicals into their bodies and brain.