There is a high likelihood that your teen will be exposed to drugs and alcohol, and according to drug statistics from the National Institute on Drug Abuse there is a good chance that your teen will try drugs. Teens as young as 13 have often already tried drugs as powerful as cocaine. Teens might tell themselves they will only try a drug once, but many teens find themselves under continual peer pressure to continue to experiment with drugs and “join the party.”
Most teens don't start using drugs expecting to develop a substance abuse problem, and while most teens probably see their drug use as a casual way to have fun, there are negative effects that are a result of this use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs. The biggest consequence to casual drug use can be that it develops into a true addiction. Very few addicts recognize when they have crossed the line from casual use to addiction.
Most teens don't think that they will become addicted, and simply use drugs or alcohol to have a good time and be more like their friends. When teens become addicted they lose friends, develop health problems, start to fail in school, experience memory loss, lose motivation, and alienate their family and friends with their negative behaviors and often unpredictable emotional swings.