Consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors and parties where minors consume alcoholic beverages present a myriad of problems for the minor, the community and law enforcement.

Alcohol is the drug of choice for youth and the leading cause of death among teenagers. It’s involved in the deaths of more teens than all other illicit drugs combined – by a four-to-one ratio. Underage drinking is a factor in nearly half of all teen automobile crashes and 50 to 60 percent of youth suicides. Alcohol abuse is linked to as many as two-thirds of all sexual assaults and date rapes of teens and college students, and it contributes substantially to homicides, suicides and fatal injuries.

While many believe that underage drinking is an inevitable “rite of passage” that adolescents can easily recover from because their bodies are more resilient, exactly the opposite is true. The brain changes dramatically during adolescence and this growth can be seriously inhibited by alcohol consumption.

The damage alcohol can cause to the adolescent brain is often long-term and irreversible. Even short-term or moderate drinking impairs learning and memory far more among youth than adults. Adolescents need to drink only half as much as adults to suffer the same negative effects.

Youth who begin drinking alcohol before age 15 are four times more likely to become dependent on alcohol than those who wait to begin drinking until age 21. In 2006, of the 797 clients enrolled in outpatient treatment services at Alcohol and Other Drug Services, 24 percent of the clients were under the age of 18. Of these, 38 percent reported beginning to drink before the age of 12, which is twice the rate for the state.

Because of the negative consequences of underage drinking – coupled with the fact that, on average, young people begin drinking at 13.1 years of age – it is critical to address youth access to alcohol proactively through all sources, including social sources.

In addition, home parties have repeatedly been identified as the primary source by which youth obtain alcohol. Studies indicate that most underage drinking “occurs primarily outside commercial establishments and most often in residences and open areas like beaches and parks.”

National research shows that 57 percent of minors reported drinking at friends’ homes and that one third of sixth and ninth graders obtain alcohol from their own homes.

If you are a parent interested in preventing the use of alcohol or drug in your home or if you are a youth that is interested in making changes in your community please call Carrie White, prevention specialist for the Lake County Alcohol and Other Drug Services, at 263-8162 ext 228.

Team DUI is a group of individuals and local agencies who are seeking to reduce underage drinking and drinking and driving in our community.

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