Essex DA holds event on effects of underage drinking

PEABODY – Underage drinking was the topic of concern at Monday?s “A Parent?s Leadership Event” held at the Peabody Marriott Hotel. The event was planned by Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett to keep parents informed.?It is an important issue. Not just for me but for parents as well,” Blodgett said. “Why do we do this? We do this because we have had so many tragedies in this county. We have had so many deaths. I say deaths, plural.”Dr. Aaron White, Program Director of Underage and College Drinking Prevention Research at the National Institute of Alcohol, spoke to a crowed room of concerned parents at the Marriott about the trends and findings he has found when it comes to underage drinking. The doctor is also the author of “Keeping Adolescence Healthy.”?I am not going to tell you how to raise your kids,” White told the audience. “I am just going to share with you what we know.”Studies have shown the younger kids start to drink the more they are prone to drink in higher levels. A study conducted from 1999 to 2008 in young adults ages 18 to 24 years old shows that hospitalizations have risen significantly. Drug overdoses resulting in hospitalization have gone up 56 percent, alcohol-related hospitalizations have gone up 25 percent and combined alcohol and drugs hospitalizations have gone up in 76 percent.Also, where kids are drinking was another staggering statistic. More than half of kids from the ages of 12 to 20 years old were either drinking at their house or the house of a friend. “The primary responsibility of a parent is to protect our kids,” White said. “They are drinking in a house where presumably parents are. They are doing it right under our noses.”While some parents feel if they allow their child to drink in their home under their supervision it will teach their child how to drink responsibility, studies indicate that is not true. “Our studies have shown that kids that are allowed to drink in their home, drink heavily outside of their home,” White said. “They are not getting the message to drink in moderation. They are getting the message that it is OK to drink.”Boston Attorney Richard Campbell also spoke to the audience about the social host liability law. The social liability law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts states that whomever “furnishes” alcohol to a minor can face up to a $2,000 fine and a year in jail. “Furnishing” alcohol is stated as knowing and intentionally supplying alcohol, providing and allowing youths to possess alcohol.?Over 21 it is OK but under 21 it is illegal,” Campbell said. “20 years, 11 months and a couple of days is still illegal. It?s not like calculus. In calculus, it is OK to be close. It is not OK to be close here.”The District Attorney said he holds events like these for “educational purposes.”?These tragedies are so preventable,” Blodgett said. “That is why I like to get this kind of information out as much as I can.”