Maybe you really should wait until you're 21

"Teens may act invincible, but when it comes to drugs and alcohol, they're actually more vulnerable than adults to harmful effects on the brain, researchers said at Neuroscience 2010, the Society for Neuroscience conference in San Diego, California, on Monday."Brain development is actively transpiring even in the teen brain, and [if] you throw in a drug on top of that, you could change the trajectory of brain development." said Dr. Frances Jensen of Children's Hospital Boston.The effects of getting high in the teen brain are longer-lasting than in the adults, she said. Even several days later, cannabis can stay in the teen's system, affecting the building blocks of learning and memory.That's because there are likely more receptors for the drug to bind to in the teen brain than in the adult brain, she said."-CNN

Well if my health teacher had just given us this article in high school it could have changed a few things..maybe. Anyways, I found this article sort of interesting of why exactly the teenage brain is affected more by alcohol and other drugs. The scary thing is though that you are exposed to alcohol and other drugs during these teen years in high school and in college. Most of these studies were also done to those who binge drink which is about the only type of drinking that actually goes on around most colleges and universities. These habits are able to throw off stress hormone production which causes you to lose ability to manage stress and may also lead to anxiety and depression later on in life