(October 4, 2004) — The U.S. Surgeon General reports that over 2.6 million of our youth are not aware of the fact that one can die from alcohol overdose. That shows how educated we really are about alcohol. Alcohol is a huge problem for the youth in our society and legal and health consequences are constantly arising because of it. According to The National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, more than five million people attending high school engage in binge, or excessive, drinking in the United States. Males and females are just as likely to drink, 40% to 41% respectively. Those who have their first drink before age 15 are four times more likely to depend on alcohol as they mature than a person who starts drinking at the legal age of 21. According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, teenagers often say that another person’s home provides them with the best environment for drinking. Over one-third of ninth graders obtain alcohol from their own homes. With drinking also comes consequences. You might find yourself facing legal actions with the law if you are caught having anything to do with alcohol. If the Glendale Police Department catches a minor driving under the influence of alcohol, they might order the minor to take a roadside sobriety test. If the minor has an intoxication level of 0.01, his or her license will be taken away for one year or until they turn 18. Similarly, if a minor is in the same position with officers from the Burbank Police Department, he will have to take a field sobriety test. If he does not pass the test, the minor will then have to give a blood sample at the police station. If officers from either department happen to walk in on a minor buying alcohol, they would immediately arrest the minor and take him or her to jail. The clerk will also be arrested and the business will lose its license to sell alcohol, if and only if the clerk was aware of the fact that he was indeed selling to a minor. With underage drinking comes health-related issues as well. Those who drink increase the risk of developing cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatitis and hemorrhagic stroke. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources, the use of alcohol among adolescents may cause them to become sexually active at a young age and choose to have unprotected sex, which can lead to them getting several sexually transmitted diseases. Alcohol can also lead to depression and even drive a person to commit suicide. Expecting mothers should definitely not be drinking because drinking may cause brain damage to the unborn child.