“justice community response to underage drinking” cobb alcohol taskforce kennesaw state...

“Justice Community Response

to Underage Drinking”

Cobb Alcohol TaskforceKennesaw State University

Ronald E. BogleSuperior Court Judge (Retired)

Why should you care?

“Alcohol use during adolescence is pervasive, and science makes clear that the effects on young people can be profound.”

RADM Steven K. Galson, M.D.U.S. Surgeon General

March 24, 2008

Fruits of National Complacency

About Underage Drinking53% of the nation’s

alcoholics are identified as young people, pre-teen to

age 26.National Institute On Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

(NIAAA, 2008)

National“Call to Action”

“We can no longer ignore what alcohol is doing to

our children.”RADM Kenneth Moritsugu, M.D.

U.S. Surgeon GeneralMarch 6, 2007

Alcohol and Public Health Alcohol is an addictive drug. Alcohol kills more teens than all other

drugs combined Alcohol use is the third-leading

preventable cause of death in the U.S., causing more than 100,000 deaths annually.

190,000 hospital emergency department visits by underage drinkers in 2008.

Alcohol use is directly related to more than 60 medical conditions, and associated with more than 200 others.

Alcohol and Public Health Alcohol is the most commonly

used and abused drug among youth.

For the still-developing teen body, there is no level of safe drinking.

Teen alcohol use carries long-term health risks.

Problematic teen alcohol consumption is not a benign condition that resolves with age.

“You are changing the wiring of the brain with

repeated alcohol exposure during adolescence.”

Dr. Scott SchwartzwelderDuke University Professor of Psychiatry and

Behavioral Science

“Alcohol is a very potent depressant that goes

everywhere and affects every system. It affects every

neurochemical system in the brain.”

Dr. Marc SchuckitEditor, Journal of Studies on Alcohol and

Drugs

When considering alcohol’s harm to the individual user,

along with the user’s harm to the environment around them, alcohol is the most harmful and lethal drug.

Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs (2010)

Alcohol and Collegians Alcohol-related deaths and poisoning are at record

levels. Alcohol-related ‘blackouts’ common among

collegians. 600,000 alcohol-related injuries annually. 97,000 alcohol-related sexual assaults on collegiate

women reported annually. 700,000 alcohol-related assaults reported annually. 90% of sexual assaults on collegiate women involve

alcohol as a factor. Impaired driving rates among collegians rising. 11% of collegians report they damaged property

while under the influence of alcohol. 5% are involved with police or campus security

because of drinking, and 110,000 are arrested for alcohol-related violations.

80% of collegians drink, and 45% are binge drinkers.National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

(NIAAA)

Teenage girls (7th to 12th grade) are now outpacing boys in the consumption

of alcohol.

American Medical Association

Binge Drinking90 % of alcohol

consumed by teens occurs while binge

drinking.

Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility

National Institute of Medicine (IOM)

18 to 24-year old binge drinkers average four (4) binges per month and 10

drinks per binge.

National Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

“We do not consider binge drinking at any level safe. It is a huge public health

problem.”

Thomas Frieden, MD, MPHDirector, Centers for Disease Control

Sobering Statistics

Alcohol – a frequentPartner in Crime

andHigh-Risk Behaviors

Alcohol is a leading factor 67% of domestic violence 62% of assaults 54% of murders/attempted

murder 48% of robberies 44% of burglaries 66% of child abuse 75% of date rape 90% of sexual assaults on coeds

Alcohol-related car crashes kill more people ages 16 to 20 than any other age

group.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

(NHTSA)

Underage Drinkingand the role of theJustice Community

Best PracticeAs the nation’s worst drug

problem, the criminal justice community must treat underage drinking with the seriousness it

deserves.

http://www.udetc.org/documents/judicial/compendium.pdf

Pacific Institute forResearch and Evaluation

Judicial-Probation Project11720 Beltsville Drive, Suite 900

Calverton, MD 20705-3102amoore@pire.org

603-369-1766

http://www.udetc.org/judicial/judicialproject.asp

Contact Information

Ronald E. BogleSuperior Court Judge (Retired)Community Strategies Group

154 Lake Ellen DriveChapel Hill, NC 27514

(919) 931-0164robojudge@earthlink.net