by Mathea Falco

About the author: Mathea Falco is president of Drug Strategies, a nonprofit research institute. He was assistant secretary of state for international narcotics matters from 1977 to 1981.

Recent tragedies such as the death of a 20-year-old Georgetown student following a drunken fight and other tales of alcohol-related arrests and accidents have opened many parents’ eyes to the problem of binge drinking on college campuses. But too many parents fail to realize that excessive drinking often begins much earlier.

Alcohol Is Kids’ Drug of Choice

Alcohol is the drug of choice among high school and middle school students today. And while one-third of high school students say they have binged on alcohol in the past month, a Peter Hart poll found that just 3 percent of high school students&rsquo...