Leonard C. will soon celebrate his third birthday. Though hes in his 40s, its been three years since Leonard asked God to help him end his 30-year fight with alcoholism and drug addiction. I was tired of drinking and drugs, he said. My life was so screwed up. I was on the sixth floor at The Medical Center, praying to die. I asked for Gods help. I usually ask him to help get out of jail or get home, but this time, he knew that I was tired. A peace finally came over me and I knew that it would be okay.He spent 28 days at Park Place Recovery Center, then began attending Alcohol Anonymous at the 13th Street Club and has been there ever since. Leonard C. will share his story with about 1,800 fellow recovering alcoholics during the 51st Kentucky State AA Convention at the University Plaza Hotel. It started on Friday and will conclude Sunday. Normally, the convention travels between Louisville, Lexington, northern Kentucky, Owensboro and Paducah, but its making its first appearance in Bowling Green, said Nancy B., host committee treasurer. Its awesome, she said. We found out that we were able to host it roughly three years ago and have been planning for the convention ever since. With it being on a six-year rotational basis, the convention wont be back in Bowling Green until 2008. Under the theme, One Primary Purpose: To Carry the Message of AA to the Suffering Alcoholic, the three-day convention will allow recovering alcoholics chances to share whatever is on their minds and encourage each other to stick with AAs 12 steps of recovery, Nancy B. said. Members also will get encouragement from the conventions five speakers, including Bob Smith, the son of AA co-founder Dr. Bob S., an Akron, Ohio surgeon. The best part about the program is that everybody there had gone through what I went through, Leonard C. said. Alcoholics are good people, but alcohol took over their lives. Alcoholics Anonymous has almost 2 million members, according to the AA Web site. Most members worldwide are between 31- and 51-year-old males who have professional and administrative positions. Almost 47 percent of the members remain sober more than five years with the average being seven years and most remain married, the site said. Approximately one out of 10 adults in a America have an alcohol or drug problem, said Russ H., a certified alcohol and drug counselor at The Medical Center. Thats about 10 to 15 percent of the general population. Russ H., who will celebrate his 15th year of sobriety in June, said he counsels about 50 people a month. About 25 percent of our admissions (at The Medical Center) are alcohol and drug related, he said. I think its increased, with the youth showing the biggest increase. Russ H. said he believes that peer pressure and increased accessibility and acceptance has contributed to the higher number of teen alcoholics. People are also starting to recognize the problem earlier, guidance counselors are becoming more familiar and there are more cases in the judicial system, Russ H. said. The stigma of drinking excessively isnt what it used to be. Its more acceptable and accessible. Administrators from the Bowling Green and Warren County school districts supported Russ H.s facts in the 2001 PRIDE survey they released Jan. 24. According to the survey, students are getting more chances to get alcohol as they advance through the grades. The percentage of seniors drinking alcohol was 52.6 for beer and 54.8 for liquor, both slightly higher than the national average. Leonard C. recalls how peer pressure and shyness caused him to start drinking at 15 years old. I was shy, he said. I was scared to death to talk to girls. I couldnt dance and skate at Beech Bend park, but when I get a few drinks, I felt like James Bond. You get sick, but you never forget the buzz or the feeling you get. Now, Leonard C. gets his high from helping others, he said. Im grateful that I went through the crazy life to learn how to live, Leonard C. said. The only way I could keep my sobriety is by helping others and being the best person I can be.