In The NewsChanging Attitudes About Underage Drinking
Originally printed in The Westerly Sun
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Westerly Sun CommentaryChanging Attitudes About Underage Drinking
The news was disturbing to say the least. But we cannot say we're surprised. That's why the Westerly Substance Abuse Task Force is here, why we exist. And while there are no simple solutions or quick fixes, we know that as a community working together, we can turn this disturbing trend around.
According to an '06-'07 state-bystate examination of substance abuse by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) - the headlines we all read recently - Rhode Island had the highest rate of illegal drug use in the country. There is also the very upsetting news out of the study that 22 percent of RI kids ages 12, yes 12, to age 17 - all far below the legal drinking age - said they had a drink of alcohol in the previous month. The national average is 16 percent. And if this wasn't enough, the Ocean State ranked sixth in the nation for binge drinking, which is defined as having five or more drinks during one period of time, say at a party.
Here's some encouraging news.
The Westerly Substance Abuse Task Force is working harder, now more than ever, to address the issue, educate the community and hopefully, curb or, ideally, prevent substance abuse, particularly underage drinking. To that end, we are working diligently with the Town of Westerly to adopt an ordinance that seeks to deter people from allowing underage drinking on private property by making it against town law and instituting fines for violators. We hope the community will support that proposition.
And the WSATF is going into its third year of a SAMHSA grant to help prevent underage drinking. Our efforts include a large media campaign - we've had billboards around town, ran a public service announcement over the past several months on Cox cable, and we will premiere a new PSA next week on dozens of Cox channels. We also currently have a prevention education program under way at the Westerly Middle School. We also support the Westerly Police Department in its compliance check and party patrol program.
As part of a state grant, we also have an ongoing program at Westerly High School called Social Norms Marketing. That initiative, with students themselves working the program, has kids working to spread the word, through multimedia images, that not everyone is drinking and drugging.
To back up that assertion, in a high school-wide WSATF health and wellness survey (with support from WHS principal Paula Fusco), 71 percent of students reported that they are not drinking alcohol, and 74 percent of high school students are not smoking marijuana. The hope is that the "good news" might help to sway the perception that "everyone's doing it so maybe I should."
The news that RI is first in illicit substance use is not a first place anyone would aspire to or work toward. It's a shame. We may be on the verge of losing a generation of young people to alcohol and drug addiction. And this we cannot tolerate. We need the whole community to get on board. Attend a parent forum or workshop, watch our TV commercials and spread the word.
People are invited to visit our Web site at www.westerlysatf.org, e-mail us at that site, send us a letter to WSATF, P.O. Box 1261, Westerly, RI 02891 or drop by a meeting - every second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall. Get involved and help us work to make a difference. Let's work to be first in changing attitudes in our state toward drug, and especially alcohol, use and abuse by our young people.
Mary Lou Serra coordinator, WSATF Westerly