Marin Voice: Training, education help when youth face pressures of experimenting with drugs, alcohol

The recent out-of-control teen drinking party in Mill Valley is not a new occurrence in our community. Teen house parties have been an issue for a long time.

Marin County enacted its first social-host ordinance in 2005 after the tragic death of two teens who attended a house party in Novato. Subsequently, every jurisdiction in Marin adopted a social host ordinance hoping to curb underage house parties.

Unfortunately, social-host ordinances – laws that fine party hosts – don’t keep youth safe. Parents and peers are better positioned to do that job.

Given that drinking and substance experimentation is fairly normative during adolescence, we need to help teens navigate what can be a life-threatening activity. Just saying no to drugs and alcohol is not an effective strategy to keep our children safe.

As founder and executive director of Youth Transforming Justice (YTJ), I would like to invite Marin families to participate in our Substance Safety Skills Harm Reduction Training to inform yourself and your teen about how to be safe during the risk-taking ages from 12 to 25 years old. YTJ is a Marin-based nonprofit that has been supporting families and teens’ wellbeing for nearly two decades. Thousands of families have benefited from this valuable training.

The first time a child is sanctioned for underage substance use it is critical to involve them and their parents in a thoughtful and thoroughgoing manner. During YTJ’s Substance Safety Skills Training, parents spend six hours on a Saturday with their child in a “no shame, no blame” environment discussing the biology of teen risk-taking and Marin’s drug culture. This experience can be invaluable to helping families have open and effective conversations on how to support their child during this complicated time of development and easy substance accessibility.

I often say that surviving the teen years is a team sport. Young people need to protect each other’s wellbeing during these experimental years. Teens are often each other’s first responders and they need to learn the skills to be effective in that role.

A core component of the Substance Safety Skills Training is role playing life-altering scenarios. Teens develop strategies to take the car keys from someone who should not be driving. They learn how to respond if someone overdoses from alcohol or narcotics, how to minimize substance-driven sexual assault and how avoid becoming a sex offender. We also inform youth that calling 911 to get emergency medical help for a peer’s substance use gone wrong gives everyone at the location immunity from prosecution.

An additional component of the training is educating teens on how to respectfully exercise their search-and-seizure civil rights when police are investigating a possible violation of law. From the description in the media of the teen mayhem in Mill Valley on Nov. 5, this information could benefit the youth, police and the community.

Most teens who experiment with substances will outgrow the behavior by their mid-20s. It is our job to help them avoid addiction and the more serious consequences of substance use. In his best-selling book, ”The Tipping Point,” Malcolm Gladwell points out, “What we should be doing instead of fighting experimentation is making sure that experimentation doesn’t have serious consequences.”

Youth Transforming Justice (formerly known as Marin Youth Court) has diverted over 1,400 youth from the juvenile justice system. Approximately 65% of law enforcement referrals to YTJ have been for substance violations. All youth referred to the program, regardless of the crime, must attend the training with their parents.

Substance Safety Skills Harm Reduction Trainings are held monthly. If you would like to know more about Youth Transforming Justice or our group family trainings, please contact me at dcarney@ytjustice.org  or visit our website at www.ytjustice.org .

Don Carney, of Fairfax, is the founder and executive director of Youth Transforming Justice (formerly known as the Marin County Youth Court). He also serves as the co-chair of Marin’s Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission.