One Florida county sees decrease in drug and alcohol use

Officials from Martin County, Florida recently announced that the number middle and high school students who admitted drug and alcohol use has declined over the past 10 years, the TC Palm reports.

However, according to the 2010 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey, the county is still the worst in underage drinking, binge drinking and drug use.

The study shows that 31.4 percent of the 1,044 students examined admitted to consuming alcohol in the 30 days prior to the survey. Meanwhile, only 28.8 percent of the 72,797 students across the state said they drank.

"The goal is to reduce early age and onset alcohol use and we are below the state at this point in time in that area," said Robyn Vanover, who works for the Martin County School District. "From 15 percent of our youth reporting (in 2000) they used at 13 and younger to now 4 percent, that is incredible progress right there."

Residential boarding schools for troubled teens can help students who use drugs and alcohol by offering group therapy.