The St. Mary’s County Alliance for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention presented a Community Forum on underage drinking March 28, at the College of Southern Maryland’s Leonardtown Campus. The forum open to the public featured a panel of community experts to discuss the problem of underage drinking.
The panel featured St. Mary’s County Sheriff Timothy Cameron; Maryland State Police Lieutenant Brian Cedar; St. Mary’s County States Attorney Richard Fritz; St Mary’s Count Health Department Health Officer Dr. William B. Icenhower, M.D., M.P.H.; St. Mary’s County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Martriano; Walden/Sierra Inc. Executive Director Kathleen O’Brien; and College of Southern Maryland Leonardtown Campus Dean. Other notable attendees included Mr. Walter Biscoe, St. Mary’s County Commissioner Thomas Mattingly, Suzette Tucker from the State Highway Administration, and Richard Meyers from the Office of Senator Barbara Mikulski.
The focus of the event was to serve as a “Coalition of Concerned Citizens” to provide awareness about the problem of underage drinking. The audience was comprised of concerned students, parents, grandparents, and representatives from various support agencies in the Southern Maryland area. Mr. Walter Briscoe, St. Mary’s County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Coordinator presented statistics on the growing problem of underage alcohol use in our country, the State of Maryland and in St. Mary’s County.
The facts presented showed that children are taking their first drink at an age as young as 8 years old. Surveys indicated that as many as 27.2% 10th graders in St. Mary’s County reported that they binge drink compared to 17.4% for the State of Maryland. It was stated that 22 people were injured by underage drinkers in St. Mary’s County in 2004. Even more staggering were the numbers that represented persons who were passengers in a car driven by someone who had been drinking.
A brief movie called “This Place” brought attention to the underage drinking problem that is partially the fault of a society where alcohol is part of extensive advertising. Additionally the film called attention to the influence of this advertising on children to drink and illustrated the places where children obtain alcohol. The primary sources presented were from parents’ homes without their knowledge. The film depicted gatherings where alcohol was being served and dramatizations of binge drinking that has been a growing problem at colleges and universities around the country.
The members of the panel were then offered a few minutes each to speak their thoughts on the problems illustrated by Mr. Briscoe and by the film. Sheriff Cameron said that he found the facts “sobering.” Lieutenant Cedar backed up Sheriff Cameron’s comments from his agency’s perspective. Mr. Fritz stated that the problems children are facing “starts with the parents” while he also indicated that the parents need to be educated. Dr Icenhower stated that “this is a public health problem that we need to solve.” Dr. Martriano said that this is a “bittersweet time of year” and encouraged us to talk to our children noting that most trouble with students happens between the hours of 3 and 7 p.m.. Dr. O’Brien noted that parents need to stay involved in their children’s lives and “Create, Connect and Communicate.” Dr. Talley spoke about his years on a previous campus and urged that students can help other students to implement change.