What is the Municipal Alliance Against Substance Abuse?

• Community volunteer coalition

• Our mission is to provide consultation, programs, training, and resources to members of the Bernards Township community with the goal of preventing and reducing the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

Prior 30 Day Use: 2011 ADAS

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Alcohol Marijuana Tobacco (Cigarettes)

Prescription Drugs

12th Grade National Average

12th Graders in Bernards Township

10th Graders in Bernards Township

8th Graders in Bernards Township

6th Graders in Bernards Township

Delayed First Use

* The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism’s (NIAAA)

National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey, 2006

No Alcohol

Problems 90%

Experience Alcohol

Problems 10%

Age of First Drink = 21

No Alcohol

Problems 55%

Experience Alcohol

Problems 45%

Age of First Drink = 14

Chronic Problems: Alcoholism, liver damage, brain damage Immediate Dangers: Drunk driving deaths, DUI, binge drinking & alcohol poisoning injuries, sexual assault, academic decline & failure

Delayed Legal Drinking Age

Since the drinking age in New

Jersey was raised to 21 in 1983,

the number of young people

killed in drunk-driving accidents

has dropped nearly 78%*

*Partnership for a Drug Free New Jersey

BELIEF #1: • “It will teach responsible drinking before college”

BELIEF #2: • “If I take away the keys, they won’t drink and

drive so they’ll be safe” BELIEF #3:

• “Teens are young; their bodies can handle it”

Common Parental Beliefs About

Under-Aged Drinking:

BELIEF # 1: Teach Responsible Drinking

Alcohol use prior to college correlates to heavy drinking

during college*

• Alcoholism • Drunk driving, DUI • Riding with an intoxicated

driver • Injuries • Sexual Assault • Drop in school performance

* From the Harvard School of Public Health

“College Alcohol Study” - Henry Wechsler, Ph.D.

BELIEF # 2: Taking Away the Keys

Drinking in high school, especially in males, is a strong predictor of binge drinking in college*

Binge drinking causes:

• 1,400 deaths

• 500,000 injuries

• 70,000 sexual assaults

• 110,000 arrests each year

*National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism,

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The brain matures through age 25.

Drinking during this time can cause long-term and irreversible damage*

Areas of the brain affected by alcohol use:

oPrefrontal cortex = Judgment, reasoning, impulse control, retaining and learning information

oHippocampus = memory, learning

* American Medical Association

BELIEF # 3: Their Bodies Can Handle It

15 YEAR-OLD MALE

NONDRINKER

15 YEAR-OLD MALE

HEAVY DRINKER

Adolescent Brain Activity

• Drinking to intoxication can negate as much as fourteen days of training

• Players that drink are twice as likely to become injured than non-drinkers

• A hangover reduces athletic performance by 11.4% and performance is effected up to four days after drinking

*American Athletic Institute

Athletes…

State Laws and

Local Ordinances

Local Ordinance

NJS 40:48-1.2 enables

municipalities to have their own

ordinances against underage

possession of alcohol on private

property

Local Ordinance

•Far Hills, Warren

Township

•Long Hill, Mendham

Township, Mendham

Borough, Morris

Township

•Seaside Heights, Point

Pleasant Beach,

Lavallette Borough, Ship

Bottom Borough

State Law •2C:33-17a A disorderly persons offense for an adult to serve or allow an unrelated minor to consume alcohol on property that is within their control. An adult who has been convicted of such an offense may be fined up to $1,000 and imprisoned for a time not to exceed six months.

State Law

•2C:33-17b A disorderly persons offense to make your property available, or leave that property in the care of, another person with the purpose for the consumption of alcoholic beverages by those under the legal drinking age.

State Law •2C:24-4 Endangering the Welfare

of Children

•If serving an underage person

alcohol results in injury, the adult

may be charged and may be subject

to a fine of up to $15,000 and five

years in state prison.

Underage Possession

or Consumption of Alcohol

•If you are under 21 and possess or consume an alcoholic beverage in any public place you may be fined $500 and

•In addition to the fine, if in a motor vehicle, you may lose your driver’s license for six months. If you do not have your license, the suspension starts when you are first eligible to receive a license.

Lifeline Legislation

Immunity to Prosecution

Call 911 and report that another

underage person was in need of

medical assistance due to alcohol

consumption. The underage caller

remains on scene with victim, gives

their name(s) to 9-1-1 operator, and

cooperates with EMS and police.

Driving While Intoxicated

39:4-50 •In New Jersey, a person is guilty of drunk

driving if he/she operates a motor vehicle with

a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.08

percent or greater. BAC refers to the amount

of alcohol in your blood. Although the law

refers to a 0.08 percent BAC, you can be

convicted of driving while under the influence

of intoxicating liquor even when your BAC is

below 0.08 percent.

•Includes impairment by drugs.

Refusal to Submit to a Breath Test

39:4-50.2

•Any person who operates a motor

vehicle in this state shall be deemed to

have given his consent to the taking of

samples of his breath for the purpose of

making chemical tests to determine the

content of alcohol in his blood.

•If hospitalized blood samples will be

drawn

The Penalties DWI

•Under New Jersey Law (P.L. 2003,

CHAPTER 314), if an offender’s BAC is

0.08 percent or higher, but less than 0.10

percent, or if an offender permits another

person with a BAC over 0.08 percent, but

less than 0.10 percent to operate a motor

vehicle, the penalties are:

A fine of $250-$400*

Imprisonment for up to 30 days*

3-month license suspension*

DWI Penalties Continued

•A minimum of six hours a day

for two consecutive days in an

Intoxicated Driver Resource

Center

•An automobile insurance

surcharge of $1,000 a year for 3

years

Possession of Marijuana

2C:35-10(a)4

• Possession of 50 grams or less of marijuana is a disorderly persons offenese

CDS in a Motor Vehicle

39:4-49.1

• No person shall operate a motor vehicle while knowingly having in his possession or in the motor vehicle any controlled dangerous substance.

• Fine of no less than $50.00 and two year license suspension.

Intoxicated Drivers

38.5% of Bernards Township 12th graders have ridden with a driver who had consumed alcohol*

* From the 2012 Student Stressors Survey

• Teens rely on the adults in their lives more than anyone else to help them make tough decisions and provide good advice¹

• Teen behavior is strongly associated with their parents’ behavior²

• Teen behavior is related to parents’ expectations: when parents expect the worst, teens will deliver²

¹ Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA).

² National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIV: Teens and Parents; Columbia University

³ 2005 Student Stressor Survey

What Parents Need to Know

• Let your children know what your expectations are

regarding drugs and alcohol

• Monitor their activities

• When setting rules, be clear, specific, consistent, and reasonable and recognize good behavior as well

• ASK ASK ASK

What Can Parents Do?

“A child who reaches age 21 without

smoking, abusing alcohol or using drugs

is virtually certain never to do so.”

- Joseph A. Califano, Jr., Chairman and President of The National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse at Columbia University

Delaying the age of first drink protects your children’s futures.

Remember…

For information about the

Municipal Alliance And delaying the age of first use, visit:

www.bernardsalliance.org

For information about

BuildingYouth And the 40 Developmental Assets, visit:

www.bernardsassets.org

Detective John Neiman 908-204-2585 ext. 202

jneiman@bernardsboe.com

Ofc. Tracy Baldassare

908-204-2610 ext 140 tbaldassare@bernardsboe.com

American Athletic Institute. Retrieved from http://www.aaisport.org/

American Medical Association. Brain Damage Risks. Retrieved from http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/physician-resources/9416.shtml

Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, Still Growing After All These Years: Youth Exposure to Alcohol Advertising on Television, 2001-2005 (Washington, D.C., 2006).

DeWitt, D.J., Adlaf, E.M., Offord, D.R., Ogborn, A.C. (2000). Age at First Alcohol Use: A Risk Factor for the Development of Alcohol Disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry 157:745-750, May American Psychiatric Association

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (1995). College Students and Drinking, Alcohol Alert No. 29, Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism’s (NIAAA) National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey

QEV Analytics, Ltd. (2009). National survey of American attitudes on Substance abuse XIV: Teens and parents. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

SAMHSA. Start talking before they start drinking: A family guide.

Wechsler, H. Findings of the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study. Retrieved from http://www.thegordiefoundation.org/getdoc/ae6cd5de-c5f3-4a7c-8745-03cff5526c6d/Wechsler_paper.aspx

References