Underage drinking is everyone’s business

There has been much discussion in this paper over the past weeks about underage drinking. Regardless of differing opinions on the issue, the fact is that we can’t afford to accept underage drinking as a given.

It is easy to talk about the problem, but much harder to talk about meaningful solutions. Those of us working to prevent underage drinking know that the solution lies in changing cultural norms. As a community we need to take a good look in the mirror and ask ourselves what factors shape the alcohol-related attitudes and drinking behaviors of our young people.

So what is making alcohol such a “coveted symbol of adulthood” and causing teens to drink? In spite of what critics like to argue about “forbidden fruit,” the minimum legal drinking age does not cause teenagers to drink and neither do police who break up underage drinking parties. Research indicates strongly that both the law and effective enforcement of the law, along with clear parental rules and expectations, reduce the likelihood that teenagers will drink.

The real problem is that we live in a culture that sends mixed messages about alcohol. The alcohol industry spends billions on advertising their products, flaunting the supposed social benefits that bless all who drink, and works constantly to make their products cheaper and more widely available. These messages are not lost on our youth.

Alcohol appeals to kids not because underage drinking is illegal but because of the way it is promoted and talked about – spend a few days watching for the messages our society communicates about alcohol and then ask yourself why young people drink. Movies, television shows and commercials glamorize drinking. Adults binge drink and brag about it or become advertisements by wearing alcohol branded clothing. Adults provide alcohol (and maybe take away the car keys) for underage drinking parties; clerks knowingly sell to underage youth. These are all practices that shape our cultural norms and attitudes around alcohol, providing the essential ingredient – temptation – that makes something “forbidden fruit.”

Law enforcement administrators are increasingly recognizing that consistent enforcement is an important element in changing community norms around underage drinking. Identifying the source of alcohol that is illegally provided to minors and holding that person(s) accountable takes time and resources, but is necessary. As a result of a community forum where the problem of underage drinking was discussed, the Bangor Police Department has committed to increasing the priority of investigations leading to the source of illegally obtained alcohol.

The Bangor Police Department also recently obtained authority to enter an establishment licensed to sell alcohol for the sole purpose of enforcing administrative violations. This move should help fill a void in enforcement that was created when the state of Maine Bureau of Liquor Enforcement fell victim to budget cuts in 2003.

Critics of enforcement often misinterpret Maine’s law and stir up resentment by painting a misleading picture of police raiding family dinners, arresting the young adult having a glass of wine and throwing the parents in jail. So we need to be very clear about a couple of things. It is legal under Maine law for minors to drink alcohol in a private home in the presence of their own parent or legal guardian. This allows parents to legally provide their own children with alcohol in a private setting as long as they are there to supervise and the amount of alcohol does not cross the line into child endangerment.

However, providing someone else’s child with alcohol without their parent present is prohibited by law, and for good reason. There is no shortage of incidents where teenagers and young adults are provided alcohol illegally in a high-risk situation, too often involving excessive alcohol use, other drugs, unwanted sex, impaired driving, violence, overdoses, injuries, and-or property damage.

Increasing our efforts to investigate and prevent these situations provides plenty of extra work for police; officers do not have time, nor would it be a good use of resources, to be out hunting down low-risk legal situations. Parents who make their expectations about delaying alcohol use clear to their children have the right to their community’s support in that effort. Other people should not be allowed to undermine good parenting and violate state law simultaneously.

Communities need to educate themselves on the data about underage drinking because law enforcement and parents can’t solve this problem alone. If you want to be part of the culture change that is rolling across Maine, here’s what you can do: Support law enforcement when they investigate underage drinking parties and illegal furnishing. Encourage schools to implement alcohol-drug policies that are consistent and fair, and that provide help for young people as well as clear expectations.

When you see a clerk card a young person, thank them. Let your legislators know how you feel about the amount of alcohol in your community. Call radio stations when you hear inappropriate ads. Attend community conversations about underage drinking.

We don’t need to accept the status quo as the best we can do; our young people deserve better.

Don Winslow is Bangor’s chief of police