Whether it’s alcohol or marijuana, the message to parents is the same: Talk to your kids

SALT LAKE CITY — For the first time, research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that teenagers are leaving alcohol behind in larger numbers than before and choosing marijuana instead.

In Utah, underage drinking — 6.4% of high schoolers — continues to drop, but teens still use alcohol more than marijuana, 4.2%, according to the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior survey data. The number of teens using alcohol and/or marijuana in Utah also continues to grow closer together.

This has some parents worried.

“It’s definitely concerning,” said Tonya Schilling, a mother of three. “We’re getting more and more research about marijuana, so we’re learning more about it. So we have to talk to our kids. It’s not as safe as some people think.”

Although underage drinking rates and marijuana use among teens is much lower in Utah than other states — nationally, 30% of 12th graders have used marijuana in the last year, according to the CDC — parents in Parents Empowered do not believe this is the time to sit back and relax.

A campaign to educate parents about the dangers of alcohol use, Parents Empowered works statewide to educate parents about effective ways to limit your children’s chances of alcohol use.

Key strategies include talking to your children about these dangers, telling them you do not approve of underage drinking, and building a strong bond with them.

Parents Empowered leaders say underage drinking prevention is their focus. But parent members acknowledge that what helps them address underage drinking with their children — Parents Empowered focuses on youth between 9 and 16 years of age — could certainly help in discussing marijuana. The key is you have to talk to your children starting when they are as young as 8 and 9 years old.

“We have to think, ‘What can we do?'” Schilling said. “We can get to the outcomes that we want. My son is 8 years old and I’m already talking to him about all of this. You start with small explanations … otherwise they are learning about this from someplace else.”

Marijuana use among teenagers is increasing in Utah, according to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, although the numbers are lower than the national average. And binge drinking — consuming four to five alcoholic drinks in two hours, according to the National Institutes of Health — is still high among the 13,000 teens and pre-teens who use alcohol.

Parents Empowered staff and parents, which also includes Schilling, do not see these numbers as a sign that they are done with their work. Substance use prevention will always be important work in Utah, they said.

Their work has been successful, so far, due to the collaborative nature of their efforts, leaders say. Local and statewide government offices, law enforcement, the Utah Legislature and others have come together to focus on educating parents about the dangers of substance abuse.

But whether it is alcohol, marijuana, sex or even frustrating behavior, talking to your children is effective. It also builds a stronger bond between parent and child, parent members say.

“Parents have great influence over their children,” said Doug Murakami, a founder of Parents Empowered. “We looked at parents and saw that they were the most important piece. If we can get our message, we believed it would make an impact. Children do listen to their parents, more than you think.”