INDIANAPOLIS -- Teens who have seen their parents drunk are more than twice as likely to drink themselves, according to a national study that hits close to home for some Indianapolis charter school students.

The 14th-annual back-to-school survey conducted by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbus University found that 51 percent of 17-year-olds have seen one or both of their parents drunk, while 34 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds said they had.

Those teens are more than twice as likely to get drunk in a typical month, and three times likelier to use marijuana and smoke cigarettes, researchers said.

The statistics are reality for many of the 30 students at Indianapolis' Hope Academy, a charter school for teens with drug and alcohol addictions, 6News' Derrik Thomas reported.

"The whole concept of it makes sense, especially at a younger age," said student John Voelker, 18. "If you see your parents drink, you learn everything from your parents. It makes a lot of sense to me."

Classmate Lora Socks, 17, said she experienced that at home.

"I've had close family members get drunk on a daily basis, and it rubbed off on me," she said.

The survey also found that two thirds of students said that drugs are used, kept or sold at their schools. More than 9 million 12- to 17-year-olds said they could get prescription drugs to abuse in a day, while 5 million said they could get the drugs in an hour.

"They can get drugs if they want them, regardless of where they're at," said Hope Academy Principal Gale Stone. "They are prevalent in every school in the state of Indiana."

Of the parents polled as part of the study, 60 percent said their child's school was not drug free, while almost half said thought there was nothing they could do about it.

Voelker, who has been clean for about a month, said adults just need to listen.

"Let them know you are there to help, not to punish them, because they are just going to rebel," he said. "We're teenagers, we are going to do that."

The Hope Academy is one of 25 recovery programs in the country, and the only one in Indiana. It has a capacity for up to 60 students and is still enrolling.

More Information: Hope Academy