Survey Finds Drug and Alcohol at Many Teen Parties

NEW YORK (AP)  -- Moms and dads may be in denial about drug and alcohol use by their teens.

An annual survey has found that a-third of all teens questioned say they've attended parties where drugs or alcohol were available, even when parents are present. Eighty percent of the parents deny it, according to the survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, known as CASA.

An even higher percentage of 17-year-olds, about half, say they've been to parties where the parents are home and the teens are drinking, smoking pot or using Ecstasy or prescription drugs.

CASA Chairman Joseph Califano says if parents are home, ''They shouldn't be off somewhere totally ignoring what's going on with their kids.'' He says they ''ought to smell the pot and smell the beer,'' or they're acting irresponsibly.