Tweeners who think Pot is cool are more likely to drink and drive when they get to high school. That’s the suggestion from a new study that followed nearly 1,200 U.S. middle school students from 2009 to 2013.
The kids were assessed at ages 12, 14 and 16. The scientists found that positive beliefs about marijuana and confidence in their ability to not use marijuana when the kids were 12 were significant predictors of later driving drunk or riding with a drinking driver when they were 16.
Lead researcher Brett Ewing said they found that, for 14-year-olds, drinking, having positive beliefs about marijuana, having friends who drink or family members who use marijuana were all strong predictors of driving while drunk in high school.
Colleen Sheehey-Church, national president of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers wasn’t surprised by the findings say it validates “This study what they have been seeing for a while.
Colleen said that parents need to start talking to their children about alcohol and drugs early and put a plan in place to change some of these beliefs.
Starrla Penick, national program director at MADD, added, “Teens who do not start drinking until they are 21 are 85 percent less likely to be in a car crash than those who start drinking before age 14.” And she said parents have an essential role in fighting peer pressure.
Keeping young people away from alcohol and drugs is key to living a healthy lifestyle.