Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center Home Page

April 2009

April is Alcohol Awareness Month!
To recognize the serious problem of alcohol abuse, April has been designated as "Alcohol Awareness Month" and April 10, 2009, as "National Alcohol Screening Day". The purpose of Alcohol Awareness Month is to draw attention to the problems related to alcohol abuse and to get people in touch with resources that can help. For more information and resources on this most important event from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, please click here.

New Study Shows That College Freshmen Drink More Than They Study
According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, the number of college students who drink has remained about the same, around 3.8 million or 49 percent of full-time students. However, that same study found that the frequency and intensity of drinking has increased. In recent years, the proportion of students who binge drink three or more times over a 2-week period has increased 16 percent.
A press release by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment claimed that "more than 10 million current drinkers are age 12 to 20." Further, a recent survey conducted by NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education) has found that nearly half of all college freshmen who drink spend more time drinking than they do studying. About 25 percent of all college students report academic consequences of drinking, including missing classes, falling behind, doing poorly on assignments, and receiving overall lower grades.

Quick Fact
According to researchers from Iowa State University, substance abuse prevention programs are economically beneficial, with a nearly $10 return for every $1 invested in prevention!

UDETC Publications
See our 'Publications' page on the left for a list of publications available to download. Some of them are also available from us in hardcopy (ones with the asterisk) at no charge.

Marin Institute Debuts Online Tool for Alcopops
Several State legislative bodies and governors are considering bills or budget proposals regarding alcohol advertising, alcopops, and/or alcohol taxes. Now the Marin Institute offers information on State government activity and resources for advocacy. To view this resource, click here.

April - Adolescent Development and Alcohol: Brain, Body, Behavior and Cultural Context
Date: Thursday, April 23, 2009
Time: 3:00-4:15 p.m. eastern
Speakers: Dr. Ken Winters, Professor, Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research, University of Minnesota-Fairview; and Robin Erz, Assistant Director, South Dakota Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse
In part two of our look at the interaction between alcohol and the developing adolescent brain, we will discuss not only the latest research on the pre-adolescent and adolescent brain, but also other aspects of adolescent physiology and psychosocial development and how they interact in response to alcohol exposure. This information can help enhance work with law enforcement, parents, communities and decision makers. Given developmental determinants, the question of how teens would be expected to interpret conflicting environmental messages underscores the need to be even more focused on environmental strategies. Join us on the cutting edge of research as it applies to your prevention and enforcement efforts.

To register for this audio conference or see a calendar of upcoming audio conferences click on 'National Electronic Seminars' on the left side of this page.

Did you know?
That an estimated 7.1 million current alcohol users reported using illicit drugs (primarily marijuana) at the same time they last used alcohol? According to an analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), youths aged 12 to 17 and young adults aged 18 to 25 were most likely to report concurrent alcohol and illicit drug use (14.2 percent and 13.5 percent, respectively).

April 2009 Resource Alert Legal Case - The Maine Supreme Court Upholds Warrantless Search by Police in Underage Drinking Case
In December 2008, the Maine Supreme Court handed down an opinion in the case of State v. Blackburn; 2008 ME 178, 2008-ME-1208.392. Pursuant to a conditional plea agreement, Tyler P. Blackburn pleaded guilty to a charge of allowing a minor to possess or consume liquor in a place under his control. Blackburn appealed from the District Court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained by police when they entered his family's home to investigate underage drinking. Blackburn contended the search was not supported by probable cause or any of the exigent circumstances justifying a warrantless search of a residence.
To read more about this case, click here.

If you would like to receive the Resource Alert Summary by email each month send us an email udetc@udetc.org.

To print a hard-copy of this month’s Resource Alert visit: ResourceAlert0409.pdf

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the Office of Juvenile Justice for Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) or the Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center (UDETC) and are solely of the author/source.

The 2009 National Leadership Conference, although still in the early planning stages, is tentatively set to be held, the week of August 9th, 2009, in Dallas, Texas. We will continue to keep you informed on details as they become available!

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