Should parents teach responsible drug/alcohol use?

i could not agree with you more. I am like you, 16 and a sopre in high school. I go to parties and get drunk and smoke (occasionally). i'm pretty good at hiding it, but sometimes my parents have their suspicions. my parents aren't expecting me to wait till i'm 21 to have a drink, but they do want me to wait until about 18. honestly that is just a bit unrealistic. like you, i get all A's in school, i'm a great kid all around. whose to say i can't have a little fun? i'm not expecting my parents to be super thrilled with me getting like wasted, but having a few drinks to just feel a little buzzed is fine. i do think that it would be a better idea for parents to just educate kids about this stuff, so that if they do choose to do these things they at least know what they're getting themselves into. i think a lot of kids do stuff like this just to rebel because they know their parents are absolutely against it. if my parents had told me they didn't care if i had a few drinks, it probably wouldn't feel so cool. now i understand where parents are coming from by not wanting their kid to drink or smoke if they have the kid that is just dumb and would completely over-do it and let it take over their lives. i know with me, i am responsible and smart enough to be safe about these things. i know my limits and everything. i wish my parents could understand that they don't have to worry about me like that, i wish they could trust me to be careful because they do know what a good kid i am. i'm sure theyre are tons of people with the same problem. the only thing you can really do is try to have an open conversation with your parents about it and maybe they'll eventually come around at some point and make a compromise with you. i wish i didn't have to sneak around my parents. i know some kids whose parents actually let them drink and smoke under their roof. lucky them lol. i'm trying to prove to my parents that i can be responsible :)