Consequences of youth drinking
FAIRFIELD - The first step in Alcoholics Anonymous is admitting an addiction. Brian Holland took that step last summer while curled up in a jail cell after crashing his mom's car during a drunken binge.
Holland was just 18.
He should have graduated in 2004, but instead got caught up in a wild life consumed by alcohol and drugs. Holland doesn't have a driver's license or a high school diploma. He has a daily invitation to AA and a 12-step program to put his life back together.
"Everything in my life that's screwed up is because of drugs," he said. "I would have been in college right now."
Every day, his thoughts swarm around alcohol and drugs, but the consequences of slipping up keep him straight - for now.
"If I get drunk and I get caught, I'm going to jail for months."
Holland's life spun out of control, and though he may be the extreme of teenage drug and alcohol use, he certainly is not alone. Many others teeter on the edge of experimentation and addiction.
Widespread consumption
The legal drinking age in California is 21, but studies show alcohol consumption is widespread among American youth. In Solano County, least 35 percent of high school juniors, 27 percent of ninth graders, and 13 percent of seventh graders reported drinking alcohol in the previous 30 days, according to the 2003-2004 California Healthy Kids Survey.
Some teens started experimenting in grade school. The Healthy Kids Survey showed that by the seventh grade, 21 percent of youth reported trying alcohol and at least 64 percent of 11th graders had.
Solano County Health and Social Services launched a countywide campaign in April to raise awareness of the prevalence and risks of teen drinking. The campaign includes cable television spots and the Web site www.nodrugs.info. Health educators hope to reach young teens before serious problems begin.
Holland took his first drink at 12, but he had already smoked marijuana. He was home alone watching TV and took a few beers from the refrigerator. It started as innocent curiosity, but exploded into an addiction that knew no limits, Holland said.
The first semester of his freshman year was the last Holland spent in mainstream high school. He was expelled for poor attendance. Over the next few years, he moved between alternative schools, and had a brief stint in Hawaii while living with his father. No school program worked because Holland was rarely sober. At that point, he was drinking and using every day.
He supported his habit by manipulating his mother for money and stealing. Getting alcohol and drugs was never a problem, he said.
"It's easy to get everything. You just have to know where to look."
That could be a parent's fridge or a mall. One walk through the mall hooks teens up with whatever they want, Holland said.
It doesn't matter who you are, how old you are or where you live, you just have to know the right person, he said. An older sibling or neighbor, a homeless person or a classmate usually suffice.
'An adult is involved'
Adults play a key role in curbing underage consumption, said Del Royer, Solano County substance abuse administrator.
"Whenever a young person drinks, an adult is involved in some way," Royer said. "It is time we hold adults accountable for underage drinking."
Parents know if their children are using alcohol and drugs, but whether they want to admit and confront it is another question, Holland said. His mom tried helping him, but every strategy failed. He disregarded plenty of other warnings and offers for help. His addiction buried him.
Parents don't understand the extent of teenage drinking, according to national surveys. One 2003 survey by Hart Research Associates showed only 31 percent of parents of 15- and 16-year-olds believed their children had a drink in the past year, compared to the 60 percent of teens in that age group who reported drinking.
Parents can find out if their children are unhappy and using drugs simply by talking to them and trying to understand, Holland said.
"Talk to your kid. That's the biggest thing."
Crawling out of the hole
After six years of using, Holland burned everyone who loved and cared about him. When he finally decided to try and climb out of the deep hole he dug himself into, he found very few hands reaching in to help him out.
In his jail cell, Holland realized he would need to build his own steps out of that hole. His first step was to get sober through an intensive outpatient program. Next, he enrolled in AA and now attends meetings regularly. The next, very difficult step is winning back his family's trust and faith.
Holland found a part-time job and wants to finish high school and enroll in college. He has big goals, but approaches life one day at a time.
"I don't know what I want to do, but I'll probably be a drug counselor or write books about (my experience,)" he said.
He speaks like an old man of a foreign life, long ago, but he has only been sober for a couple months. Now, he realizes how lame all the crazy parties were.
"I never really did anything or went anywhere. All I did was get high."
More importantly, he seems to have found reasons not to use and feels fortunate he is on the right track. He only wasted six years of his life, unlike the guys at AA who drank for decades, he said.
"When you first start doing it, it seems so cool, but then you realize that it's not worth it."
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