Portland Police and local bars partner up for prevention

Regarding youth and underage drinking:

As seen recently in the press, there is a new initiative launched by the Portland Police, Portland Downtown District, and the Night Life Oversight Committee. While these plans were hatched many weeks ago, the press conference in Monument Square served as an appropriate backdrop.

All of us at 21 Reasons are saddened by this recent tragedy, which is one more example of the incredible damage that can result when young people are exposed to alcohol.

The vision of 21 Reasons is to build a community where youth are alcohol-free. This is because young people’s brains are still developing; they simply aren’t wired yet with the impulse control or judgment to handle the influence of alcohol.

21 Reasons is proud to partner with the Portland Police Department and the Night Life Oversight Committee to help realize our vision—and theirs—for a safe and legal Old Port.

As part of our partnership, we offer a variety of resources and support for Portland alcohol licensees, including signage, low-cost seller-server training, and a resource guide that explains laws and best practices for liquor licensees. In addition, we host a website, MaineBAC.org, that aims to reduce high risk (binge) drinking among young adults.

We hope that this tragedy will help raise awareness that the dangers of underage and high risk drinking go far beyond drinking and driving. Two thirds of underage alcohol-related deaths have nothing to do with automobiles. It is more likely that youth who drink will die from unintentional injuries—such as drowning, falls, burns—or death from homicide or suicide.

Beyond the mortality statistics, youth who drink alcohol experience adverse effects in brain development, and are at an increased risk for developing alcohol use disorders as adults. Alcohol also plays a role in youth depression, sexual assaults, vandalism, and other violence.

This tragedy is one more sad illustration of the importance of preventing underage and high risk drinking, and how we all need to do a better job—not just alcohol establishments, but also parents and other adults—in making sure underage youth do not have access to alcohol.

Hey Portlanders

Do you ever avoid the Old Port because you're afraid for your safety? Please comment below...

Bar Dispersal Ordinance

Requiring adequate distance between bars is essential not only to protect public safety, but also to maintain a healthy economy and quality of life. A solid base of research suggests that as alcohol outlet density goes up in a community, so do crime, violence, and motor vehicle crashes.

The Portland Police Department, the Portland Downtown District, and the Night Life Oversight Committee all agree that 100 feet is the minimum space required to prevent problems with overcrowding of bars. If it were up to 21 Reasons, there would be even more breathing room between bars-–at least 200 feet.

We need to be intentional about the future development of our downtown district. We need to promote diversification, so that we have a healthy mix of retail, restaurants, bars, and residences. Just as we have set-back requirements for new construction, we need to have "set-back" requirements for new bars going into this zone. We all want our downtown entertainment district to grow as a destination that is exciting, vibrant, and safe. Please help that to happen by maintaining a 100 foot buffer zone between bars.

Furthermore, we need to respect the process and previous efforts of our civic leaders. This issue has been studied, discussed, and decided upon only one year ago. There have been no significant environmental or cultural factors which warrant a revisit to all the hard work and thoughtful consideration that went into the 100' bar dispersal ordinance. To bring this up again so soon afterwards is disrespectful to our civic leaders and the process by which they adopted the ordinance.