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| 1 February 2002 - El Latino How the super bowl spawned kids’ plea for sobriety It took a Super Bowl game and some friendly prodding from Communities Against Substance Abuse to bring together this motley coalition against corrupting kids with booze. At their al fresco news conference on January 31st, against the backdrop of City Heights Urban Village, cops and kids and counselors all warned the adult community not to buy or serve alcohol to minors. After a formal presentation, basically for the press, the kids fanned out with pamphlets to canvass neighborhood businesses and homes with their message. “Don’t buy booze for kids. Don't sponsor drinking parties with kids in attendance, and look askance at booze ads aimed at minors.” Alcohol, after all, is the number one drug used by teens and it poses the biggest risk to their health. A recent survey of California kids, in fact, shows that 40 percent of 7th graders, 69 percent of 9th graders and 81 percent of 11th graders consider alcohol easy to get. The purpose of the media event was also to remind adults that obtaining booze for minors is a criminal offense punishable by a $1,000 fine per occurrence and 24 hours of community service. Most teenage girls, interestingly, who become pregnant report that they were alcohol-intoxicated when they had sex, which gives rise to major problems for all concerned. Among the student speakers was Melinda Mena, a student leader for CASA, Samantha Sowles, a member of the Mid-City Youth Advocates Team, and Noemi Garcia, another Y.A.T. representative. SDPD Det. Larry Darwent and Deputy DA Joan Stein also spoke in behalf of the effort. The Super Bowl was co-targeted only because Super Bowl ads feature booze and lots of kids are tuned in to the game. A spokeswomen for Communities Against Substance Abuse said that “for too many parents, alcohol consumption among teens – even their own kids – has become a ‘rite of passage,’ when, in fact, it can lead to life long addition and dangerous consequences. Among the costs of underage drinking in America…with an estimated 10 million teen drinkers…about $58 billion a year. The sobering figure includes about $36 billion in booze-related crimes, over $18 billion in traffic accidents and $1.5 in suicide attempts. |
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