Since the early 1960's youth drug and alcohol prevention have become major issues in the American society. Much has been done throughout several presidential administrations to diffuse the problem and also to get the message out to promote prevention and awareness. Past and current studies have been able to depict the direction our nation is going in, and how much of an impact our "war on drugs" is having on the youth of our nation. As a group we will collectively be monitoring different drug and alcohol youth prevention programs and survey their effectiveness from years past to present day. I will specifically be monitoring the current trends of youth drug and alcohol abuse throughout the past decade. I will also take a look at our local and national government officials and their views and actions regarding the issue. Though much government funding towards programs have helped to get the word out on youth drug and alcohol prevention, no one program has been given the lead for providing a structure that every community in our nation can implement. We hope to achieve that in this report and also provide more incite on the issue at hand.
Drug and alcohol prevention policies have earmarked the concern for the youth of our nation. Many of our past and present government leaders have given the go-ahead to many different policies, programs, and funding which help to provide awareness for our youth. One underlying question still remains, Are these policies, programs, and funding working, or are they contributing to the problem?.
Current Trends in Youth Drug and Alcohol use:.
Since 1975 the Monitoring the Future survey (MTF) has annually studied the extent of drug abuse among high school 12th graders. The survey was expanded in 1991 to include 8th and 10th graders. It is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and is conducted by the University of Michigan's Institute of Social Research.
