Despite the fact that drinking is illegal for teenagers, general acceptance of alcohol use in mid-adolescence prompts many underage individuals to drink. However, an early start in drinking not only suggests a general tolerance for deviance, it also indicates a violation of role definitions. As explained by problem behavior theory, individuals’ tolerance of drug use--or the lack of it-- may influence lifetime and current drug-using behavior. It was hypothesized that the younger individuals are when they start to drink, the more frequently they will engage in drinking and also in illegal drug use. Using the repeat survey data collected in the “Monitoring the Future” project, this study offered a new method of partially evaluating the generality of the deviance hypothesis. By comparing 21 years of trends seen in the effects of onset age of drinking on the use of different drugs, the study derived some support for the generality of deviance. Tables, figures, note, references