Teen Drinking & Driving Risk Peaks During the Summer
School is out and summer is here. For teens, this means a sense of freedom and fun—but on the roads across Connecticut, it signals an increase in car accidents. In fact, the 100 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day are the riskiest of the year for teen drivers.
Preventing teens from drinking and driving is essential to keeping our communities safe, and this begins with supporting their well-being. That’s why this month, we’re taking a look at how underage drinking is tied to the state’s seasonal spike in fatalities, and exploring how a growing mental health crisis among America’s youth is helping to fuel these tragedies.
April is Alcohol Awareness month, making now a great time to reflect on the causes as well as the effects of addiction. But to truly reduce the incidence of addiction in our communities, we need more than awareness—we need strong public policies aimed at preventing underage drinking and substance use.
For years, popular television shows and movies have portrayed American youth as frequent users of marijuana—so much so that it’s sometimes considered a rite of passage among young people. Many parents feel it’s inevitable that their children will experiment, and wonder if a permissive approach might be a safer, more realistic strategy than completely banning it. But letting kids use cannabis at home doesn't teach them to use it responsibly—and it doesn't keep them safer. Here's what you need to know about underage cannabis use at home.
Talking about cannabis with your teens can be unnerving, especially if you’re a past or present cannabis user yourself. If your child asks, should you disclose your own experience with cannabis to them? Will honesty hurt or help this conversation?
Since Connecticut’s legalization of adult-use cannabis last year, there’s been a lot of discussion about the potential ramifications for teens and adolescents. Becoming part of this conversation—and the solution—starts with getting informed. Here’s what you need to know about the complex relationship between mental health and cannabis use among young people, whose brains are still developing.