My son left for to go away to college for the first time this past fall and my wife and I really miss him. We were little worried about sending him off into the real world because he's been so sheltered. We've tried our best to teach him to make good decisions, so we're hopeful for his future. His college is doing a good job at trying to help us feel comfortable. They gave us a tour of the facilities and there is a lot of help and support for freshman. A big concern is drug and alcohol use. We remember how difficult it is to avoid and say no to, when everyone else around you is partaking. We look back and are thankful that we survived some of the situations we got ourselves into. The good news is that his private college is very proactive about dealing with it. Anyone caught with drugs or alcohol is disciplined. They also require all incoming freshman to take an alcohol and drug awareness class before the semester starts. We found one online that was highly recommended by friends and sat with him while he went through the information. We all learned a lot about the risks and long-term effects of alcohol and drug use and even binge drinking.  I'm glad to see the college is taking this issue so seriously. My wife and I will still worry, but we feel much better knowing that he is armed with enough information to feel confident in saying no to the peer pressure.  So far, so good.

I can definitely say that my brother has been down a really long road. He is only 23 years old, but he has had a drug and alcohol addiction for the last six years. My parents have been very supportive of him and so have I. He hit rock bottom several times and it it's been really difficult for us to watch him do this to himself. He has so much to live for but just hasn't been able to kick the addictive habits. All the therapists we've consulted have told us that nothing will work until he is ready to admit to his problem and face it head on. He's slowly coming around so this past Thanksgiving weekend when we were all together staying at our parent's house they suggested he take an online alcohol and drug class just for educational purposes. They sold it to him like it would be a low-key, interesting experience that he could do from the comfort of the family room. He actually agreed and we immediately enrolled in an 8 hour alcohol and drug class. The great news was that he actually took it seriously and became engrossed. He spread it out over the 4 days of the long weekend and we'd sit with him on and off to add support and comments. I think he was shocked about hearing all the long-term side effects he's up against if he continues on this road. It was a good way to start the discussion with him and now my parents are going to follow-up with the psychologist who created the class about continuing with some one-on-one therapy. Taking this online class was easy and my parents are really happy with how my brother seemed to take the information to heart. Now it's up to him to apply all the skills he learned to make a serious lifestyle change.

When our sixteen year old son was caught with marijuana at a party, his father and I were both devastated. I thought we had done everything right and felt for sure that we should have seen the signs. He assured us that it was only his second time to even try it, and he didn't even care for it. He just did it because his friends were doing it and he didn't want to look like a wimp in front of them. The judge was very fair and I am so thankful of that. When it came time for his hearing, he was sentenced to take a 12 hour minor in possession class as well as 20 hours of community service. We all knew he got off easy, but he took his punishment very seriously. He did his classes online and actually learned a lot about peer pressure and how to say no. The ability to take the class online really helped our family because both my husband and I work and we would have had to take time-off to get him to the classroom course on time. He also did his community service and this has actually changed him into a better person. This has been a life changing experience for him and I don't think we'll have to worry about drug usage ever again.

Sometimes when a person is a drug or alcohol addict, they report that they first used the substance when they were in college. It started as a casual situation of partying to relieve stress from test taking or to become more social and escalated into addiction . That is why it is really important for students in college to have drug and alcohol awareness classes available to them. When young adults are in college, eventually they are going to be exposed to a situation in which alcohol and drugs are being used by the people around them. If they are educated on the effects and risks of these substances, they will be much less likely to feel tempted to use them. Did you know that alcohol is the most widely abused drug on college campuses. Part of the reason is because alcohol is easily available, even if they are underage.  It's time for parents to take notice and insist their kids take alcohol and drug awareness classes prior to going away to college. Enrolling in them online is the easiest and most convenient way to get the education.  Your teenager can sit at home from any internet based computer and scroll through the class.  She'll learn all about the different street drugs and types of alcohol out there, and the negative repercussions usage will have on her life.  Education is always the best prevention!

My uncle has been going through some really hard times lately with regards to alcoholism, and my mom wants us to make sure that he feels supported. He's tried AA, but keeps falling off the wagon. She's going to have us look into some Alcohol Awareness Classes, as she thinks that we should all learn more about the addiction potential surrounding alcohol, partially so we can understand what Uncle Tim is going through, but also in part so that we don't fall into the same traps that he has. Now, I consider myself a social drinker, and if I'm feeling particularly fun or sad, I'll probably have a few more drinks than I usually do. But at the end of the day, I really do feel that I'm in control of my own fate and destiny with regards to the substance. To this end, I don't think that I'm in any real danger of becoming addicted, but it's always good to learn more. We're hoping that the more we learn about the disease, the more we can help Uncle Tim and hopefully convince him to take a class as well. Maybe learning about the physical risks and long-term repercussions of alcoholism will scare him enough to try harder.