Around 200 parents and students attended a Drugs and Alcohol Forum organized by the Whitman Stress Busters Committee and Montgomery County Collaboration Council Wednesday night in the auditorium.

This forum is the second drugs and alcohol presentation at Whitman this year and the first since April. The forum included speeches from principal Alan Goodwin and Pyle principal Chris Nardi. There were also four guest speakers: Lynch, police officer Jayme Derbyshire, Director of the Addiction Treatment Center at Suburban Hospital Beth Davidson and Villanova graduate student Katie Hammel.

Montgomery County is a hub for teen drug and alcohol abuse, particularly marijuana and prescription drugs, according to four speakers with experience dealing with substance abuse in the region.

“Our area is ground zero for this stuff,” associate attorney Maura Lynch said.

he speakers focused on common misconceptions about drug and alcohol use, including the dangers of marijuana. Recreational marijuana use was decriminalized in Maryland beginning last month, and D.C. voted to legalize it on Tuesday.

“Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s safe to use,” Hammel said.

The speakers also stressed the illegal use of prescription drugs. More teens are taking prescription medication from their parents and distributing it to their friends. One in six high school students have tried a prescription drug not prescribed to them, Davidson said.

“We have a prescription drug epidemic,” she said. “When you take a prescription not written for you, that’s misuse.”

The speakers emphasized the importance of working together to prevent teen substance abuse. Not only is communication between parents and teens important, but so is cooperation among teens. Students have a responsibility to stay together and help each other refuse drugs and alcohol, Davison said.

“We’re all counting on each other,” Lynch said. “Listen and pay attention.”

This forum was one of three upcoming conferences relating to dangers for teens. The topic next week will be texting and driving, and the one in two weeks will be sexual abuse. These forums aim to make students and parents aware that these topics are prevalent issues in our region, as well as offer tips to students and parents on how to avoid dangerous situations.

“We wouldn’t be having this forum if there wasn’t a problem in our school area,” Goodwin said.