Marijuana

September 15, 2003
These three titles update conventional knowledge about teens and drugs. In Teens Under the Influence, Ketcham, coauthor of Under the Influence, a best seller that exploded myths about alcoholism, and Pace, former chair of the New York State Governor's Advisory Committee on Alcoholism, define the magnitude of the teenage drug problem-which is huge-and offer a wealth of information. After showing us that so many kids are users (with anecdotes from them), the authors dedicate ten chapters to ten drugs, from alcohol and Ecstasy to cocaine and Ritalin, describing who's using them and why, short- and long-term effects, symptoms of use, dependence, and more. The final pages let parents see the problem and get help. As the most current and comprehensive resource on the teen drug problem, this will find an audience with teens, parents, and professionals. Highly recommended. Alcohol and Marijuana, the first two entries in a new series, come from the Hazelden Foundation, a leader in chemical dependency education and treatment. Both bring new findings to traditional ways of understanding these drugs. In Marijuana, Cermak (director, California Soc. of Addiction Medicine Task Force) describes the world of difference between experimenting with marijuana at age 12 and age 20. Rejecting the "just say no" approach, as well as the legalization model, he urges schools to adopt programs that will teach kids social and emotional competence, not just drug education (in most cases, they already know a lot about drugs, yet they're willing to try them). Pot, Cermak says, wreaks havoc on adolescents and their families. Incarceration is not the answer; marijuana dependence is a disease like alcoholism, not a crime like murder. In Alcohol, Biddulph, an adolescent therapist and addiction counselor, rejects the idea that underage drinking is so common that parents should overlook it. There is no such thing as responsible teenage drinking, he states; it is against the law and can lead to alcohol dependence. Like Marijuana, Alcohol provides 21st-century research to help parents define what's permissible and what's not. Though marred by dimestore cover art, the Hazelden titles will make excellent additions to public and school libraries that need brief profiles of certain drugs and their teen users. They are more current and thorough than Enslow's "Drug and Library" series and less sensational than that publisher's "Hot Issues" series.-Linda Beck, Indian Valley P.L., Telford, PA

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