Downeast communities strive to curb teenage binge drinking

Over the next two weeks 20 out of 100 Washington County teenagers will binge drink, but only 1% of the parents of those 20 teens know or understand that their child may be binge drinking, and only 5% believe that their child may have had a drink in the past 30 days. In the meantime, 35% of county teens report that they drank alcohol in the past month. Perhaps most frightening of all, 14% of teens reported that they had been in a car with someone who was drinking.
These figures, along with many others, have been collected directly from county teens through a 2011 Maine Youth and Drug Alcohol Use Survey and used by Washington County: One Community (WC:OC) to start a community‑wide discussion about underage drinking and the perceptions surrounding its use. While prescription drugs are in the headlines, alcohol is still the top substance abused.
WC:OC held three town‑hall style meetings in Machias, Lubec and Eastport during early May as the first step in forming a county group that will organize concerns and goals to address the problem over the next five years. The program is funded by a five‑year federal War on Drugs grant. Attendance varied, with Eastport having the highest number, including students, school staff, community members and a public safety representative. No parents of teens or young children attended.
WC:OC Executive Director Eleody Libby noted that the county recently had the highest rate of drinking and binge drinking among high school youth. While the teen survey showed that 46% of teens think it's likely they'll get caught by their parents if they drink, 83% thought it likely they'd get caught by the police. Libby pointed out a disconnect in the survey that reports 85% of parents stating clear rules about alcohol and drug use to their teens but only 39% of those parents discussing with their children the actual dangers associated with tobacco, alcohol and drug use.
Because the use of alcohol is seen as a gateway to other substances, the WC:OC community group will focus primarily on grades 9 through 12, when alcohol use increases from 9% to 25%. A startling statistic presented at the meeting was that 40% of youth who begin drinking at age 15 will become dependent on alcohol. "Substance abuse is really starting to affect and cripple our communities," Libby said at the meeting in Eastport.
Those at the Eastport meeting agreed that the culture of alcohol use has improved over the last few decades, but there's still a long way to go. Shead High School Guidance Counselor Leah McLean noted that teens are "modeling behavior that they see adults doing." They see adults drinking and "socializing at bars, family events, festivals."
Eastport Police Officer Rodney Merritt has been in county law enforcement for 30 years and worked in the DARE program for 10. Over that time he has seen statistics related to alcohol use decline. He said, "The good news is drinking has gone down. The bad news is that the dangers have increased significantly in terms of what's out there -- all these things in the middle that kids can get financially that, once they start, it's hard for them to get away from."
Libby noted that teens who abuse substances are risking their futures. "By the time you graduate high school it's that make or break path. If you're on pills, you aren't going to get very far."
Libby was encouraged by the Eastport attendance and interest in finding strategies to begin the change in perceptions and access to alcohol. "We need to reduce the use, but we also need to increase youth leadership and resiliency skills." The last thing she wants is for adults and parents to feel hypocritical if they have a beer on the weekend. "We're here to talk about underage use. How do you get that responsible behavior started? It takes a community to do that."
For more information about getting involved in the discussion call Libby at 255‑3741.