Teen life on Vashon

Those who work closely with teens were likely not surprised by the latest results of an exhaustive survey that attempts to measure teenagers’ views and behaviors on a raft of issues. The Healthy Youth Survey shows that Vashon teens are good kids: kids who are completing their high school education, who are not suffering from alarming rates of depression, who are not getting pregnant in any significant number.

It also shows that our teens drink and smoke pot at rates above the state average — in some instances significantly so. And perhaps most alarming, it suggests they do so in part because they perceive that the adults in their lives think that it’s OK.

These aren’t new statistics. Previous surveys painted a similar picture — an Island where teens know not to smoke tobacco but think it’s all right to enjoy some weed on a Friday night.

What is new is what we’re learning about underage drinking and marijuana use. A growing body of research shows that substance abuse at an early age can irrevocably affect a young person’s brain, which continues to develop until his or her early 20s. Those who start drinking before age 15, for instance, have a 40 percent chance of becoming an alcoholic, compared with a 7 percent chance if they wait until age 21, according to new studies.

Substance abuse counselors are also gaining a deeper awareness of the impact drugs and alcohol have on young people. Stephen Bogan, a Vashon therapist, said Islanders are rightfully horrified when a teen dies from substance abuse. What we don’t see are the kids who lose motivation because of substance abuse, who lose a zest for life, who fail to realize their dreams, he said.

Research shows that marijuana, for instance, can have a huge impact on a person’s motivation. Young people who use, he said, “lose their sense of awe about life.”

Teens will always experiment; they’ll always push the boundaries. What we can change, however, is where those boundaries get set. According to experts, it’s not peers alone who influence our teens.Parents, they say, continue to play a significant role in their teens’ lives, and the bright lines they draw — the clarity with which they say what’s OK and what’s not — can have a profound effect on their kids’ behavior.

The Island community is responding to what has been a troubling trend for the last several years. After a couple of years of laying the groundwork, several Islanders are creating a Healthy Community Network in an effort to more fully understand and address a number of issues on Vashon, teen drug and alcohol use being high among them. This is a good development, as are others that suggest the community is beginning to fully comprehend the seriousness of the situation.

Another survey will be take place this fall. Perhaps we’ll begin to see a different picture, one that suggests teenagers are beginning to approach alcohol and marijuana the same way they approach tobacco.

Recalling Betty MacDonald

In a few weeks, it will be the 100th anniversary of Betty MacDonald’s birth. Get ready for a good celebration.

The Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association will host a storyteller performing her celebrated Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle stories. The Vashon Library and Vashon Park District will join forces, offering a film on the beloved author, exhibits and a walk to her former haunts. And The Hardware Store Restaurant, in honor of Betty’s love of a stiff drink, will offer what it’s calling the Betty MacDonald martini on her actual birthday, March 26. Details of all of these events will be described in next week’s Beachcomber.

Meanwhile, however, those who love a good scavenger hunt can jump into the fray. Thanks to the heritage association, 24 quotes from her book “Onions in the Stew” are displayed in several businesses around town — quotes that speak to Betty’s passionate love of life. The first to find all 24 quotes, transcribe them and say where they’re located will win a $100 gift certificate to The Hardware Store Restaurant, a place that was actually a hardware store when Betty was alive.

And we’ll give you a hint. One of them is in The Beachcomber office — one that particularly appealed to the staff because it fit the theme of the paper this month: the tumultous nature of adolescence. Much has changed since Betty’s days, but some things have stayed the same.