Detrimental effects of alcohol and other drugs

It disturbs me to try to wrap my brain around the fact that teenagers and young adults can already be alcoholics regardless of the fact that I've seen it right in front of me. I've met kids that say they want to stop drinking and doing various drugs which is good but the fact that they're 15 and 16 years old and have these kinds of problems saddens me. I have watched friends of mine go down a nasty road because they thought alcohol provided a nice escape from reality. It's really hard to watch knowing that there is nothing you can do until they reach the point of realization, until they are willing to admit that it is now a problem. I have friends that experiment with various drugs, they know I don't like it, and some of them know why. I've seen enough people with too many problems because of it. But again, there's really nothing I can do. I do the little things I can and put in my two cents when able but whether or not it makes a difference I really don't know. I know somewhere along the way I made a difference with one friend when he had the realization that he could be doing all the things that I was if he wanted to. He made some positive changes and did what he could in attempt to counteract some of the poor choices he'd made previously. I've had conversations with teenagers at early hours of the morning discussing the effects that various drugs have on one's body. Very strange. It's not something I can relate to and in this case that is something I am glad that I can say. There is no appeal to me. It seems that much of the appeal is an escape from reality, filling a desire to be somewhere else, mentally if not physically. I suppose that everyone has their own mechanisms of escape and for some people to achieve that they look towards drugs and alcohol. Maybe they see it as the easiest way of removing themselves from their current situation, at least momentarily. Personally, I would much rather get lost in music, the words of another, or just simply silence. I know this kind of thing won't work for everyone and I don't expect it to necessarily work for anyone but me. Everyone has to find their own escapes; I just hope that some find less destructive ones, and preferably sooner than later.