In the United States, today is the day before Thanksgiving Day. A lot of people do not have to work or go to school tomorrow because it’s a holiday. A lot of students are home from college and eager to meet up with their friends. These conditions mean that a fair number of young people twenty-one and older might be visiting bars tonight.

The day before Thanksgiving (or Thanksgiving Eve) has even seemed to become a rite of passage for some people who think that they need to visit bars and drink large amounts of alcohol on that night.

Alcohol use isn’t just confined to college students, of course. Teens and younger children are getting in on the act, drinking alcohol and abusing drugs like college students and other adults.

Some people might deny that alcohol and drug abuse is even an issue, but the proof is right in the statistics. Every year, the Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey reports alcohol, drug, and tobacco among young people. Researchers for this survey reported that in 2015, people in eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade used less alcohol and synthetic marijuana and fewer cigarettes and opioids (painkilling drugs related to opium). The students in the survey did, however, use about the same amount of marijuana than they had in previous years.

Even if students used lower amounts of substances than the previous year, the survey results demonstrate that they still used substances. Fortunately, if these teens have a substance use disorder problem, they can find help.

Since people might not be aware of drug addiction among teens, they might not be aware that there is also drug and alcohol rehab for teens. Such treatment addresses the specific needs of teens. It can help them relate to their families. It can help them interact at school and with their friends. It can help them create lives for themselves that don’t rely on alcohol and drugs.