Juvenile Law: Young Adults and Substance Abuse

One lf the most common reasons parents and young adults seek out our services is for legal problems associated with substance use or abuse, for example, traffic violations, possession and/or sale of illicit drugs, theft or injurious behavior. The first thing we do is to assess the seriousness of the drug or alcohol abuse. This may require the involvement of an outside professional experienced in this area. The initial goal is to assure that the problem is being addressed if needed. One million teenagers need drug and alcohol treatment. Only one in ten receives it. Not everyone who comes into our office needs intensive treatment, but many do.

The legal needs of adolescents and young adults requires a different approach. That approach, by definition, will involve a multi-disciplinary, multi-system intervention. The goal in all criminal cases, but particularly in this age group, is to prevent further problems and to reduce the long term, life long consequences associated with arrest and court involvement. While we deal with the legal issues, one of our roles in representing and advocating for our client is to assure that they get the needed assistance. This is something the court looks for in most cases and we help navigate through this process. Sometimes convincing parents and their young adult or teen that they need assistance is the first step.

As a person and a lawyer who typically tries to find opportunity in situations, I stress to parents and kids who may be minimizing use or the negative consequences, that brain development is under way and continuing to engage in using will impact that development negatively. The HBO website on Addiction is a great website with links to many other informative and helpful links. They list the 5 things to know about adolescent brain development and drug use:

1. The brain's front end, the part above the eyes, exists to slow us down or stop our impulsive behaviors. It considers the risks and benefits of our actions, and it hits the brakes when we consider doing things that are too risky.
2. The front part of the brain is still developing connections to the rest of the brain until adulthood, so adolescents' brains lack some of the wiring that carries brake or stop messages to the rest of the brain.
3. Drugs of abuse are often available to adolescents. These drugs feel good, but they can be very harmful. Lacking some of the wiring for the "stop" message, adolescent brains may not fully weigh the risk of the drug use.
4. The two drugs that cause the most deaths are also the most available drugs: tobacco and alcohol. Late adolescence, before the brain is fully matured, is the peak time for developing dependence on these (and other drugs).
5. Heavy drug use during times of critical brain development may cause permanent changes in the way the brain works and responds to rewards and consequences. Therefore, it is important to begin to address a developing substance abuse problem as soon as possible.

HBO Addiction 2011