Editor,
Last April, I, along with Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol, launched a campaign aimed at protecting children by limiting their access to alcohol. Parents responded, along with law enforcement agencies, store owners, school administrators, and others.
As a result, this office had the lowest reports of youth and alcohol related incidents in years. Now that prom and graduation season has returned, it is time to re-invigorate a community-wide effort aimed at changing the culture around underage drinking. We can and must do this because it is not possible for an adolescent to drink responsibly or safely. And it is a crime to provide alcohol or a place for a minor to consume alcohol.
Taking the keys and believing that everything will be all right is a very dangerous myth. In fact, only one-third of alcohol-related deaths among youth are from auto crashes – two-thirds of alcohol-related youth deaths involve alcohol poisoning, homicides, suicides and unintentional injuries such as burns, drowning, and falls. Drinking contributes to risky sexual behavior resulting in unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease and academic failure. It contributes to perpetrating crimes of violence and to being vulnerable to crimes of violence.
But the damage is not always that immediate and obvious. Scientists have discovered that alcohol interferes with healthy brain development, causing loss of cognition skills. This diminished human potential can never be fully restored.
Even worse, youth who begin drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to become an alcoholic than those who wait until they are 21. It’s undeniably a gateway to other dangerous, addictive, and illegal drugs. No heroin addict started by sticking a needle in his or her arm.
We absolutely can create a culture where it is unacceptable for adolescents to drink and for adults to condone it. This work begins in our homes.
Parents – stay diligent. Regularly inventory and lock your alcohol supply. Set rules, boundaries, and consequences and stick to them. Know who your children are with, what they are doing, and when they’ll be home. Require them to give you a hug when they get home, even if you are already asleep. Listen to them and help them develop scripts to say “NO,” such as: “My mom will smell it on my breath.” “My dad will kill me.” “I’ll be grounded until I’m 21.” “I don’t want to get suspended from the team.” “I won’t be able to use the car.”
Contact hosting parents to determine what action will be taken if alcohol is brought to the premises. If the host is going to allow or provide alcohol, tell that parent they are being reckless with children’s lives and their future potential, and that they are committing a crime for which the penalty is jail. Then help your child make other fun plans for that evening. Thank merchants who card their customers, refuse to sell to someone without proper ID, and don’t give in to poorly placed alcohol promotional advertising.
The problem of underage drinking here in Maine is very real. A recent survey found that 65 percent of Maine students in grades eight through 12 have consumed alcohol and that about one-third of 11th and 12th graders in Cumberland County engaged in binge drinking during the previous two weeks. In fact, 90 percent of all alcohol consumed by minors is through binge drinking. They don’t drink to be sociable, to relax, or because the merlot really enhances the beef. They drink to get drunk.
These are just some of the reasons why underage drinking is both dangerous and against the law and why we are so serious about it. Please join us in our efforts. Be smart. Take a stand. No alcohol until they’re 21. Together we can and must foster a culture that will protect our children and help them achieve their full potential.
For more information, go to www.cumberlandcounty.org/da/docs/DAsa.html.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Anderson
Cumberland County District Attorney
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