Prevention Works

Binge Drinking: Not Just a College Problem

On October 20, police raided a bar in Fairfield, CT, and found more than 100 underage drinkers, many of them college students. While many debate whether the legal age for consuming alcohol should remain 21 or be lowered to 18, perhaps the question more important than who is drinking is how much people are drinking?

Binge drinking is the dangerous practice of consuming enough alcohol to bring a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 grams percent or above. This typically happens when men consume five or more drinks, and when women consume four or more drinks, in about two hours (National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism). While binge drinking is most often associated with college students, quick stats on binge drinking provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention paint a larger picture of the problem. Notably, 70 percent of binge drinking episodes involve adults older than 25.

Binge drinking carries the risk of alcohol poisoning and other serious health consequences, and can put the drinker at greater risk for being victimized by crime. So, as crime prevention practitioners, how do we reduce the amount of binge drinking that occurs among adults who can legally purchase and consume alcohol? The CDC recommends increasing alcohol taxes and regulating where and when alcohol can be sold.

But another component to addressing binge drinking is increasing public awareness of the problem. Increasing awareness among adults may prove challenging. Many educational materials about alcohol abuse are directed at young people, with key messages about not drinking before age 21. But what materials target adults with messages about the dangers of binge drinking?

It’s Crime Prevention Month, a time to celebrate and enhance our crime prevention efforts. If you have implemented programs or developed materials about binge drinking that target adults in their 20s, I invite you to share them through a comment about this blog. Perhaps your work can inspire another practitioner to expand their alcohol abuse prevention efforts to address a new facet of the issue with a new population.

The Bucket List

“Live life to the fullest,” “Live like there’s no tomorrow,” “Live each day as if it were your last,’’ — our society is filled with a number of catch phrases designed to inspire us all to take nothing for granted and seize the day! Unfortunately, we don’t all take heed of this advice until our days are numbered. Enter the Bucket List—things to do before you “kick the bucket,” the theme of the movie The Bucket List, in which Morgan and Jack travel the world in search of fun and adventure because they believe they are about to die. What would your bucket list look like if you knew or just believed you were going to die? What if you were young? Would you head off into the wild beyond, like Morgan and Jack, or would you abuse drugs and engage in other unsafe behaviors like so many of your peers today?

The perception of time is everything and unfortunately, a number of teens don’t believe they have much time left. According to a recent study conducted by Dr. Iris Borowsky, a researcher at the University of Minnesota, nearly 15 percent of teenagers believe that they are going to die young. Consequently, these feelings of hopelessness cause teens to engage in dangerous behaviors because they feel that they have nothing to lose. Dr. Borowsky’s study found that over seven years, adolescents who thought they would die young were seven times more likely to be diagnosed with AIDS, attempt suicide, and participate in fights that resulted in serious injuries.

Hope for our children’s future, requires us all to ensure that they believe and behave as if they will indeed have one. To do this we must offer them guidance and teach them the necessary skills that promote a safe and long-lasting life. NCPC offers various resources, such as our Community Works curriculum, that educate young people about the cost and consequences of crime and encourages youth to analyze situations, exercise reason and critical thinking skills, effectively communicate ideas, and exhibit positive behaviors. If you have advice or program and resource recommendations for our young people, leave a comment below.

Alcohol At Social Events

Be a Friend to Your Friends!

It's time to host a happy occasion: a time to be with good friends and enjoy good food, good drink, and good conversation. There can be a downside though if your guests don't drink and drive responsibly.

Some hosts who provide alcohol at their social events aren't always aware of their personal responsibility to look out for their guests' safety when they are ready to go home. Although each of us is responsible for our own actions, and although we cannot control the actions of others, we can plan ahead and take practical steps to prevent friends from coming under the influence of alcohol. What if one of your guests became impaired from drinking alcohol that you provided at an event and then caused a fatal accident? Not only would you feel awful, but you could also be held liable for the impaired or drunken guest's alcohol-related offense(s) if he or she is a minor.

Consider what you can do

• Limit the amount of alcohol available.
• If an event is held at a city-owned facility, some municipalities have mandated that only licensed caterers, nonprofit organizations, and onsite retailers are allowed to provide alcoholic beverages on public property. It is often against the law for the guests to bring alcohol to such locations. Know the law and communicate it to your guests. Visit the Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center.
• Assign a responsible individual to serve alcohol.
• If you have a cash bar, check with the server regularly for potential problems.
• As the host, set a personal example of modest alcohol consumption.
• It is against the law in every state to provide alcohol to anyone under 21.
• Guests need to be vigilant about where half-empty drinking glasses with alcoholic beverages are placed when there are young, curious children at the event.
• Offer a wide variety of non-alcoholic drinks, other than just different brands of soft drinks, bottled waters, and coffee. Serve such drinks as fruit shakes and smoothies, milk shakes, fruit punches, and herbal teas.
• Create an atmosphere where no one is pressured to drink. Just one drink can cause disaster for some individuals.
• Smaller gatherings allow the host(s) to be more of aware of what's taking place at their home or at the event location. Also, guests who are parents can better monitor minor children.

Some individuals may not like your decision to control how the alcohol flows at your event. Still others may be disappointed if you decide not to have alcohol at all at your happy event. That's okay. Be a true friend and look out for your friends. Whatever you decide, you want to be able to look back with delight and not regret.

Addiction at Any Age

I work with programs for children and youth, and am well versed in the current statistics and trends of drug abuse by young people. That being said, I have apparently neglected to learn how addiction and drug abuse affects senior citizens. A recent article in The New York Times highlighted the growing number of cases of addiction among the older generations (the majority of the substances being alcohol, opiates, and cocaine), as well as inadequate treatment for these people.

Lately, when I think of drug treatment and substance abuse, my mind immediately flashes pictures of celebrities in rehabilitation clinics—who I am not mocking. I applaud anyone who can recognize and get treatment for, or at least attempt to get treatment for, their disease. It’s often easy for the public to recognize drug abuse problems (or at least symptoms) among the young. But in the elderly population, many symptoms of addiction can be masked by, or misdiagnosed as, other illnesses. Society has to be ready to see and treat the substance abuse diseases of older generations and must do so in a manner that doesn’t involve a rehab center rife with young people who are yelling, telling stories of sexual conquests, and physical violence. Moreover, the article pointed out that older citizens have different needs: “different health issues, different emotional issues, [and] different grief issues.”

Moreover, people who have been drinking responsibly all of their lives may realize at an elderly age that they now have a problem. According to the National Institute on Aging, “some research has shown that as people age they become more sensitive to alcohol’s effects.” While we have to raise awareness of addiction among the elderly, we also have to raise awareness among their spouses, children, grandchildren, and caregivers. Society has accepted the role reversal that children take care of their parents after a certain age. But elderly parents, maybe having experienced loss, or able to give good excuses as to why and how they fell, are often able to tug at their children’s emotions. Adult children may not want to intervene in what seems like a few harmless drinks, or they honestly don’t see the problem—which is the sole reason why I am blogging. Just as you would pay attention to signs of addiction in your teenage children, pay attention to the possible signs coming from your spouse, your parent, or your grandparent. Anyone, at any age, can become an addict.

If you or someone you know has a problem with addiction, please seek help.

Drugs With New Flavors

The creativity of drug traffickers and manufacturers never ceases to amaze me.  It seems that every time demand for one illegal drug wanes, a “new” drug is suddenly introduced to the market.  Often, these “new” drugs are simply combinations of other existing drugs, spruced up with a little color or flavoring.  They’re usually given hip, appetizing names in order to sound harmless or appear new and different.  But most of us recognize these tactics as pathetic attempts to hook new users, most often youth, on yet another toxic substance.

Well, America, get ready for the new drug cocktail, coming soon to an emergency room near you: Methamphetamine laced Ecstasy.  According to a recent article by the New York Times, this harmful hybrid has been making its way across the Canadian border into the United States in large quantities over the past couple of years.  And unfortunately, while there have not been any reported casualties or overdoses yet, many experts believe there is a significant lag time between when drugs cross the border and when they actually affect communities.  So this will certainly be one to keep an eye on.

The good news is that it may indicate desperation on the side of drug traffickers.  Scott Burns, a deputy director at the drug control policy office, was quoted in the Times article as saying, “Drug traffickers often have to reinvent or come up with new products when what we’re doing is working.”  But the bad news may be that, according to the Times article, less of the youth today recognize how harmful Ecstasy really is (not to mention the addition of methamphetamine to Ecstasy).  So perhaps the most important work we have left to do is continuing to educate our youth.  When presented with the facts, they tend to make good decisions.  But we can’t allow drug traffickers to convince them otherwise.

Mending the Cracks in Policy

As of yesterday, the federal sentencing guidelines regarding crack cocaine charges have been changed. Now, after much debate and deliberation among lawyers, policymakers, and the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the guidelines are more lenient, a welcome change since the old sentencing guidelines treated crack cocaine violations much more severely than powder cocaine violations. Critics of the judicial system have pointed out that since crack is cheaper than powder cocaine, the more severe penalties for crack resulted in discrimination against poor users and that this discrimination often took on a racial dimension.  According to an article published in the New York Times, the new sentencing guidelines will reduce the average crack cocaine sentence from 10 years and one month to 8 years and ten months, a fairly small but significant difference that the Sentencing Commission predicts will help alleviate overcrowding in our prisons. Now, the Sentencing Commission will decide whether these new guidelines can apply retroactively or not.

In the Times article, the Department of Justice says that it is opposed to applying the new guidelines retroactively.  But the American Bar Association is in obvious favor of doing so. If the guidelines are made retroactive, crack cocaine offenders could apply to the courts that sentenced them to have their sentences reduced. Regardless of the final decision, the Sentencing Commission has moved forward and effectively advanced our country’s sentencing guidelines into the 21st century.

And On the Other Side of the World...

Finally, since it’s Friday, I wanted to share another story that I saw in the news recently.  Check out this New York Times article about a quirky new crime prevention strategy that is emerging in Japan.  I don’t really think it would take off here in the States.  What do you think?

Putting Cities to the Test

Oregon State University researchers have figured out how to test entire communities for drugs using just a teaspoon of wastewater, according to an article published by the Associated Press on August 21. 

For obvious reasons, the test couldn’t be a tool for identifying specific users.  But it could serve as a tool for officials to map the spread of illegal drugs across the United States.

Researches tested ten American cities ranging in population from 17,000 to 600,000 for both legal and illegal drugs.  They have decided not to release the names of these cities at this time.  The researchers found that the ingredient Americans consume and excrete the most is caffeine. 

In early results the study showed huge gaps in the use of methamphetamine from city to city.  They found that one city located in an urban area with a gambling industry had five times higher levels than other cities.  In some cities they noticed a peak in activity of cocaine and ecstasy use on the weekends but in others a steady level of methamphetamine use throughout the week.

Federal agencies have become interested in the testing idea and have begun taken samples from U.S waterways to evaluate the idea of drug testing whole cities.

Caleb Banta-Green, a university of Washington drug abuse researcher referred to the idea as a “community urinalysis.” 

This seems to be a way for law enforcement officials to begin locating where the illegal drug use is happening and when it is most likely to occur.  I think it can serve as a great tool for evaluating drug use and give us a better idea of who’s using, even without pin-pointing individual users.  It can pinpoint communities and we can work from there.

Lose Your "Cool," Keep Your Kids

I can’t imagine that it is easy raising a child. Even more daunting might be the prospect of raising a teenager. Almost every time a discussion of parenting emerges within a group of my peers, I hear each one of them swear that they will be a “cool parent.” Since we are all 20-somethings, obviously we are already experts on the topic. What we don’t realize is that being a cool parent might not be the best thing for our theoretical children, or even for us.

What exactly is a cool parent? I think in most cases it would be one who doesn’t care what time you get home, thinks that homework is unimportant, and is willing to let the rules be more like guidelines.  Sometimes it is easy to forget that these rules apply to parents too, not just the kids. As much as we like to think parents are the end alls of authority, they aren’t. When it comes to federal and state laws, even parents are not exempt. 

When in high school, it was not uncommon for there to be parties with a fair supply of alcohol. In most cases, this alcohol was purchased by a “cool dad” or older sibling. With alcohol so readily available to minors, it is easy for parents to think that they are looking out for their kids’ best interest by providing a safe venue for these activities. Many parents think that if kids are going to drink anyway, it is better for them to drink in the house. To a certain extent, this may be true. It probably is safer for minors to drink in the safety of the home than out in an empty parking lot. However, making the situation safer does not make it more legal.

In June, Elisa Kelly, a mother of two, was sentenced to two years in jail after hosting a party for her sons and their underaged friends. They had asked her to buy them beer, and she agreed on the condition that they would drink in the house after everyone surrendered their car keys and promised to stay the night.  While she might have had the best of intentions, she was still breaking the law. Distributing to your high school offspring is still distributing, especially when it involves 20 of their buddies.  There are exceptions in some states that allow parents to provide alcohol to their own children, but they do not allow for providing alcohol to other people’s children.

Each state differs when it comes to conditions of parental consent and alcohol use, so it is best to look up your state to be sure. Specifics on each state can be found at the Alcohol Policy Information’s website. The emerging trend is to make adults responsible for any consumption of alcohol on their property, whether or not they are aware of it. This law applies not only to parents, but to any host. That means college kids hosting parties can be held responsible for any of their underage keg-standing friends.

Allowing alcohol to be consumed by minors on your watch could cost you even more than your “cool mom” label. Heavy fines and imprisonment are serious consequences for serious crimes. So when in doubt, check IDs at the door.

Breaking the Habit

A report released by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) earlier this month reveals that those with alcohol use disorder (AUD) aren’t actually getting treatment for it until around a decade after the onset of the problem. In the study, researchers found that only 24.1 percent of alcohol-dependent people said that they had sought any sort of treatment, which is a small percentage considering how broadly “treatment” was defined: seeing a physician or a therapist, going through a 12-step program, or going to an assistance center. How do you account for this so-called “lost decade” where AUD was left ignored and untreated?

Dr. Bridget Grant, principal investigator of an earlier study, the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, says, “An important first step toward closing the treatment-need gap would be an intensive program ... to educate the public and professionals about the signs and risks of alcohol dependence, to destigmatize the illness, and to promote understanding of the benefits of intervention.” That sounds sensible enough. It also seems to be good timing. Another highly publicized study found that around 10.1 million workers (8.8 percent of full-time U.S. workers are heavy alcohol drinkers. Are you a heavy alcohol drinker? If you find yourself drinking five or more drinks on one occasion, five or more times over 30 days, the answer is yes, according to the study’s definition of heavy drinking.

Alcohol abuse is all the more worrisome in this country because of underage drinking. Take for example, a recent University of Minnesota study, which found that about twice as many young men were likely to buy alcohol for underage youth when “shoulder-tapped” outside a liquor store. The NIAAA study found that the average age of onset of alcohol abuse was 21.9 years. Are people abusing alcohol the same year that they turn legal? That would be the sympathetic view. I find it hard to believe that an average of nine months after the big 2-1, people would all of a sudden turn into dangerous drinkers. More likely, they had already developed their habit as underage drinkers. They clearly got plenty of help along the way, too.

Deadly "Cheese"

In certain areas of the country, the press has been reporting a surge in fatalities linked to a dangerous concoction of cold medicine and heroin.  This cheap drug cocktail has been dubbed “cheese,” and it has been particularly popular among young males, primarily in the Dallas area, where it has claimed an estimated 21 lives since 2005.  But newspapers as far away as Baltimore have also reported the local occurrence of this deadly new phenomenon. 

So, once again, drug dealers greedy for profit have created a powerful combination of narcotic substances, given it a catchy name, and made it so cheap to manufacture and purchase (about $2 a hit) that the only possible target audience could be children and teenagers.  In fact, police in Dallas have arrested children as young as 11 and 12 for possessing the potent chemical cocktail. 

It’s the funny name and ridiculously cheap price that leads children to underestimate the dangerous and addictive qualities of cheese.  Our society also seems to have the unfortunate misconception that prescription medicines are somehow safer to abuse than illegal drugs.  So the fact that, in cheese, heroin is mixed with legal medication also makes it appear safer to young people. 

But the truth is that selling cheese is simply another way to market heroin to a younger, more naïve clientele.  Just like the flavored methamphetamine that was highlighted on our blog recently, cheese remains an extremely addictive and dangerous substance that has been given a makeover so that it will appeal to a younger generation.  The effects of the cocktail can be devastating, and more lives will probably be destroyed before kids recognize cheese for what it actually is: a very bad idea.

Here at NCPC, we encourage every parent to talk seriously with their kids about drugs at an early age.  Warn them of the consequences of using illegal drugs, but also the harm that can come from abusing legal, prescription medicines as well.  Every child will learn about drugs eventually, one way or another.  But as an active and engaged parent, you have the unique opportunity to reach them first.