Laura is a straight-A student, on the volleyball team and a popular girl in the 8^th grade. Every day for the last six months, she has come home from school, done her homework and retreated to her room to play music. Typical teenager? In her parents' eyes, she is. What her parents don't know is she has also been in her room trying to get a quick "high" off of the inhalants she raided from their cleaning cabinet - hairspray bottles, nail polish remover, glue, magic markers and household cleaners.

Think this scenario won't happen in your household? Think again. According to the "Monitoring the Future" survey funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, students in 8th grade regularly report high rates of inhalant abuse. In 2007, the survey reported that 17.3 percent of 8^th graders had tried inhalants

Drug abuse typically begins in adolescence and sometimes even earlier. Current evidence suggests that adolescents may be particularly vulnerable because the brain regions involved in judgment, decision-making, and emotional control do not fully mature until early adulthood.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) can help kids and their families better understand, prevent, and treat drug abuse and addiction, and better understand the risks teenagers and parents face:

From Choice to Trap:  What Kids Need to Know About the Risks of "Casual" Drug Use - Talk to your readers about the often lifetime struggle associated with so-called "casual" drug use.

It's Just Cigarettes!  Surprising News That Reveals Your Risk of Becoming Addicted -- Addiction experts can share some of the latest findings on the risks and impact of tobacco use.

America's Kids & Drug Abuse - Learn about the latest news from the 2008 "Monitoring the Future" Survey (2008), an annual NIDA-funded study that collects data on drug abuse patterns and attitudes among secondary school students and young adults.

Drugged and Driving for the Holidays: It's More Common and Dangerous Than You Know - Find out about the risks of drug use/abuse and driving.

Everybody's Doing It - Drugs and alcohol can increase the chances of risky behaviors by altering judgment and decision making such as the link between drug abuse and HIV/AIDS.

It's No Big Deal - The most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that among marijuana users over age 12, almost 35 percent used marijuana 20 or more days in the past month.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world's research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to ensure the rapid dissemination of research information to inform policy and improve practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs of abuse and further information on NIDA research can be found on the NIDA web site at http://www.drugabuse.gov. To order publications in English or Spanish, call NIDA's new DrugPubs research dissemination center at 1-877-NIDA-NIH or 240-645-0228 (TDD) or email requests to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .