UMaine Greek Students Participating in Alcohol-Free Week

This week (October 19-25) University of Maine students are participating in an alcohol-free week hosted by the Greek Peer Educators Program. The point of the week—which falls during homecoming this year-- is to encourage students to spend a week alcohol-free. "This is offering you an opportunity to figure out what kind of role alcohol plays in your life," says Greek Peer Education Founder and Director Sarah Caron.

In the past, participation has been between 1,000 and 3,000 students; this year’s goal is for participation by 2,008 students.

The University of Maine student paper covers the event in depth.

While college drinking is a serious national problem, it’s good to keep in mind that many college students don’t drink at all. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly 40% of 18-24 year olds reported no alcohol use in the past month, and only 14.9% reported heavy alcohol use.

Maine’s Higher Education Alcohol Prevention Partnership has some great resources on preventing and reducing campus alcohol use available on their website.

Study Suggests "At-Risk" Teens Aren't The Only Ones At Risk for Alcohol Problems

A new study out from the University of California, Irvine suggests that substance abuse programs geared towards at-risk youth are missing almost half of their audience. Efforts to reduce or delay early substance exposure should not be restricted to at-risk adolescents, researchers say—all adolescents exposed to alcohol suffered :

“Specifically, we asked whether there is evidence that early exposure to illicit substances is a causal factor in adolescents’ future lives (“are drugs bad for kids?”), or whether adolescents with a developmental history of conduct problems are simply more likely than other adolescents to be exposed to alcohol and illicit substances and to experience poor adult outcomes (“do bad kids do drugs?”)…

“Results support the policy position that early substance exposure poses independent risks for adolescents’ future lives; these risks extend beyond the development of later substance dependence, to include risks for herpes infection, early pregnancy, and crime. With respect to prevention, it is important to note that in our study, 50% of the adolescents exposed to substances before age 15 did not have a prior history of conduct problems, yet they experienced many of the same ill consequences as their peers who are already at risk.”

Here's a link to the full study, published in the October Edition of Psychological Science.

(via The Daily Pilot)

Fall 2008 Newsletter

We're excited to announce the release of our Fall 2008 newsletter! The newsletter features City Council candidates' responses to a questionnaire on youth accesss to alcohol, as well as program updates and news.

Click here to view the newsletter; click here to subscribe to future editions.

Tip of the Month: October Mythbuster

• Did you know?
  MYTH: “It’s okay as long as they don’t drive. Most teen alcohol-related deaths are from drinking and driving.”
  REALITY: Only one-third of underage drinking deaths involve auto crashes. The remaining two-thirds involve alcohol poisoning, homicides, suicides, and unintentional injuries such as burns, drowning and falls.


• Do you have a minute this month? Thank store clerks when you see them card someone who is buying alcohol.


• Want to learn more? Visit our website at http://www.21reasons.org/

Enforcement Works!

The Portland Press Herald reports that over the weekend, the South Portland Police Department used an under-21 volunteer to try to purchase alcohol at 27 locations--and the volunteer failed at 26 of the locations.

This is in contrast to a similar operation in March, in which the under-21 volunteer was successful at 14 establishments.

Research shows teens are four times less likely to drink if they think they are going to be caught by police, making law enforcement a crucial stakeholder in preventing underage drinking in our communities. Compliance checks are just one example of the many initiatives our local police departments are taking on to address this issue--including underage drinking party patrols, with a focus on enforcing furnishing and hosting laws.

Thank you to the South Portland Police Department for taking youth access to alcohol seriously, and to the store owners for providing training and support to their staff.

The full Press Herald article is available online: "SoPo Police Hold Weekend Alcohol Operation"