New Jersey doctors aim to identify the risk of drug abuse among teens during regular visits

In an effort to help troubled teens come clean about drug use, some doctors are spending extra time with them during annual checkups, news station WAAY reports.

Doctors in New Jersey have teamed up with Partnership for a Drug Free Community in an effort to prevent, detect and stop teen drug and alcohol abuse. Medical students are now being taught about the new program, which will be integrated into their coursework.

"My peers did not really think of it as a problem," Ben Pearce, medical student, told the news source. "Their friends were doing it, but they have never seen the end of it. [The drug use] is still happening and they are 25 to 30 years old."

Officials told the news source that all the information given to the doctors are kept confidential. Doctors determine the degree of drug and alcohol risk through the answers given by the patient. Parents who suspect their child of using illicit substances may want to enroll them into boarding schools.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 24 percent of high school students reported episodic heavy or binge drinking.