Prevention Council

Providing Substance Abuse Education, Information and Referral Services

Editorial: Arrest a reminder of dangers of underage drinking

Seen in: The Daily Gazette
Link to full article: https://dailygazette.com/article/2019/01/13/editorial-arrest-a-reminder-of-dangers-of-underage-drinking

For many kids, exposure to alcohol at a young age can be a harbinger of other problems

What’s the big deal?

The kids were all in the house. They were safe. They weren’t out running the streets causing trouble. They weren’t doing hard drugs.

So what’s the problem when adults condone underage drinking in their home?

That’s the question a lot of people might be asking following the arrest of a Wilton couple and their 20-year-old son for hosting an underage drinking party on New Year’s Eve.

In all, about a dozen kids age 17-20 were at the party, where the adults supplied the alcohol, the venue and the alibi.

In the wake of the opioid epidemic, bullying, distracted driving, the dangers associated with social media, and other issues facing teenagers these days, it would be easy to push underage drinking to the bottom of the worry pile.

But underage drinking is now, just as it was a decade ago and decades before that, a pervasive problem in our society that we can’t afford to stop taking seriously.

According to the Prevention Council — a Saratoga Springs-based nonprofit organization that works to prevent alcohol, drug and other substance abuse — alcohol remains the most commonly used and abused drug among youth in the United States.

Each year in the U.S., more than 4,300 people die as a result of underage drinking — either through motor vehicle accidents, suicide and homicide, and accidental overdose.

When parents condone or — in the Wilton case — encourage and support underage drinking, they’re contributing to the damaging effects that alcohol has both immediately and in the long-term on children who are too young to handle it.

According to the Prevention Council, 11 percent of all the alcohol consumed in the United States is by underage drinkers, age 12-20.

Within any 30-day period, more than a quarter of kids will consume alcohol and more than 17 percent of that group will binge drink, which can lead to alcohol poisoning and other issues.

Drinking, especially by youth, can contribute to a whole host of health and social issues, including poor attendance and performance in school; dangerous and inappropriate decisions due to behavioral issues; problems with memory and thinking; depression; low-self esteem and in some cases suicide.

Young women and girls in particular can often find themselves in dangerous situations due to alcohol use that can lead to rape and sexual assault, sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy.

While kids today seem to be more cognizant of the dangers of drunk driving and have more means than older generations to get home safely, such as ride-sharing and cabs, many kids still make the bad judgment of drinking and driving. And when kids do it, they’re often distracted by friends in the car and their phones, which can make their adventures on the road even more dangerous to themselves, their passengers and other motorists.

For many kids, exposure to alcohol at a young age can be a harbinger of other problems, including abuse of tobacco and drugs and alcohol-dependency as adults.

When parents support their children’s drinking by hosting parties for them and their friends, it sends the message that there’s no harm in what they’re doing.

That potential harm is the precise reason why we place age limits on alcohol and tobacco consumption in the first place.

But if parents and other adults — the people who have direct contact and influence with children — don’t understand or respect the problems that alcohol use among young people can cause, then the threat to our children’s health and well-being will continue and get worse.

Underage drinking was and is still a serious problem.

We need to continue to take it seriously and to do what we can, starting in our own households, to stop it.

Lock It Up! The Prevention Council advises to lock up all your alcohol so that it cannot be accessed by your children or their friends

Nearly half of kids between the ages of 12 and 14 who drink get their alcohol from their family or at home, according to a new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA). To ensure Saratoga communities are educated and empowered to address underage drinking in a critical way-removing access to alcohol, the Prevention Council launched a billboard campaign advising parents to lock up their alcohol.  The billboard’s message raises awareness that a teen’s #1 source of alcohol is in the home, and is a call to action to lock up alcohol in the home. Jennifer Wood, Prevention Council Outreach Director said “family members play an important role in reducing kids’ access to alcohol, which could prevent underage drinking and the dangers that come with it.”

The billboard’s release was timed to coincide with the prom and graduation season, the most dangerous time of year for teens, especially when it comes to drinking and driving. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) one in three children under age 21 who died in alcohol-related accidents died during prom and graduation season. And for the past several years during prom weekend, approximately 300 teens have died in alcohol-related car accidents.

STOP DWI of Saratoga County is supporting this campaign which will utilize billboards in 4 Saratoga County locations:

  • Kinns Road near the Northway Overpass (Clifton Park)
  • Route 9 in Wilton near Smith Bridge Road
  • Route 50 in Ballston Spa near Mourningkill Creek
  • Route 4 & 32 in Mechanicville

 

Saratoga Springs Students Learn About Social Media Safety

March 17, 2016

Featured on TWC News

Links to video can be found here: http://www.twcnews.com/nys/capital-region/news/2016/03/17/saratoga-springs-new-york-students-learn-about-social-media-safety.html?cid=facebook_YNN-Albany

Saratoga Springs students took the day off to learn how to use social media safely and wisely. More than 250 students attended the Safe Spring Student Leadership Conference at Skidmore College Thursday.

Organized by the Saratoga County Prevention Council, the conference allowed students to discuss healthy online habits and behaviors. Students attended workshops about social media safety, media literacy and drug and alcohol prevention methods. Many of the workshops highlighted social media’s ability to skew perceptions of alcohol and drug use.

The Youth Specialist for the Saratoga Prevention Council, Kait Downey, says it is essential to teach students how to use social media appropriately.

“Social media can be a really great tool if it’s used responsibly,” Downey said, “and it’s up to parents and educators to try and help promote the safe and responsible use of it. Just remember to be light, bright and polite.”

Following the workshops, students spent the rest of the day dancing, chatting and snacking.

Conference educates students of important prevention techniques

March 18, 2016

Seen in: The Saratogian

Story by: Jennie Grey

Link to full article found here: http://www.saratogian.com/social-affairs/20160318/conference-educates-students-of-important-prevention-techniques

March 17 heralded the Prevention Council’s 34th annual Safe Spring Student Leadership Conference, held at Skidmore College for high-school students. The goal of the conference, sponsored by Saratoga County Stop DWI, was to motivate and prepare student leaders to actively engage their peers in effective local prevention initiatives centered around prom, graduation and other spring social events. More than 270 Saratoga County high school students from all 12 districts and BOCES learned from local prevention specialists and engaged in local awareness efforts.

Sophomore Meaghan Whalen from Galway Central School District said the conference was “really informative, fun and inspiring.”

“I met a lot of cool people and learned a lot,” she said.

Mayor Joanne Yepsen met with students at the conference.“As mayor of Saratoga Springs, sometimes I feel like the mother of 28,000 people,” she said. “The city and groups like the Prevention Council do a great deal to keep people safe here.“I know you’re taking the day off from school, and that’s a hardship,” she continued, smiling. “But this is really important because you’re going to learn a lot and save a lot of lives. Please make good decisions.”

This year, the Safe Spring conference focused on local awareness efforts and showcased hometown prevention heroes, said LeeAnn Mandrillo, communications specialist for the Prevention Council. The goal was for students to know what resources were available in their own communities, to learn from local leaders and to build partnerships enhancing what the students brought to their high school Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) clubs.

SADD is a peer-to-peer education, prevention and activism organization dedicated to stopping destructive decisions, particularly underage drinking, other drug use, risky and impaired driving, teen violence and teen suicide. SADD is considered the nation’s dominant peer-to-peer youth education and prevention organization, with thousands of chapters in middle schools, high schools and colleges. Local students learn to be safe and sober leaders in their own communities, and to address substance-abuse issues in their own schools.

“Some of the high school clubs now have other names than SADD,” said Pat Marin, outreach and director of education services at the Prevention Council. “The students want to focus on more positive names like the Wellness Club.”

The South Glens Falls Central School District prevention club is called Sources of Strength. Senior Brittany Kenny said she joined because she wanted to help people who were struggling with addictive issues.“I wanted them to know they don’t have to go and abuse alcohol and drugs,” she said. “They can have the support of family and friends.”

According to the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, more than 1.9 million New Yorkers have a substance abuse problem: 1.77 million adults and 156,000 youths ages 12-17. The teen years are the likeliest time for someone to start taking drugs. And starting drug use as a teen can lead to drug problems when young people grow up. Extensive research has shown definitely that teen peer programs can have statistically significant effects on attitudes, norms, knowledge, behaviors, and health and achievement outcomes of teens. This is especially true with alcohol and drug use.

So the students attended program sessions and discussed such issues as: Should the legal drinking age be raised to 25, when the brain is fully developed? What are the consequences of drinking during other activities than driving? Why is it dangerous to mix alcohol and marijuana? What are the effects of marijuana and prescription drugs on driving? What challenges are the SADD clubs facing? And what were the most positive things learned at the conference to bring back to their clubs?

“The speakers were really informative, and it was good to hear all the different points of view,” said sophomore Ben Lafreniere from Galway.His classmate, freshman Lindsey Gileski, said, “I loved how all the sessions brought things into real life.”

Local police and former police officers held sessions on social media awareness and driving safety. Saratoga Springs prevention educator Brian Farr spoke about how advertising and marketing lure young people to try alcohol.

Junior Morghan Fisk from South Glens Falls attended Farr’s session and said she found it eye-opening.“Things aren’t always what they seem,” she said.

Prevention Council staff held SADD club advisor training and also banner-making sessions for the students.Kenny and Fisk helped make a banner for their club, Sources of Strength.“We wrote on it, ‘Positive Minds, Positive Vibes, Positive Lives,’” Kenny said.

Yepsen said to the students, “Your commitment to getting that message out gives me great hope and great confidence.”

How do you measure alcohol use among teenagers? The New York State Office on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) goes right to the source, asking the teens themselves.

Featured in:The Saratogian

Story By: Jennie Grey

Link to article can be found here: http://www.saratogian.com/general-news/20151214/survey-breaks-down-alcohol-marijuana-usage-among-students

SARATOGA SPRINGS >> How do you measure alcohol use among teenagers? The New York State Office on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) goes right to the source, asking the teens themselves.

The Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Council of Saratoga County administers OASAS’s anonymous Youth Development Survey to participating Saratoga Springs City School District students in grades 7-12 every two years. The October 2014 survey results revealed key facts about increased drinking in older students and correspondingly low rates of use in younger teens.

Prevention Council Coalition Development Director Robin Lyle presented the 2014 results to the Saratoga Springs Board of Education at the board’s Dec. 8 meeting.

The Prevention Council is a community-based nonprofit organization. Its mission as a prevention specialist is to provide education, information and referral services on the subjects of alcohol, tobacco, other drug and violence prevention to individuals and communities throughout Saratoga County.

“While alcohol use by Saratoga Springs district ninth- and 10th-graders is at or below state levels, use by 11th- and 12th-graders exceeds state and national averages, and has increased 16 percent since the previous survey in 2012,” Lyle said. “Further, regular alcohol use by 12th graders is 9 percentage points higher than the state average and 23 percentage points higher than the national rate.”

The level of drinking among the Saratoga Springs high school upperclassmen is on a par with the national college underage drinking, Lyle said. Some 61 percent of the high-schoolers reported using alcohol in the past month.

Marijuana use among 10th-, 11th- and 12th-graders is above the state usage rates. Regular marijuana use for 12th-graders is 8 percentage points higher than the state average and 15 percentage points higher than the national average.

“There’s also an increased use of electronic cigarettes and vaping,” Lyle said.

There’s good news as well. Middle school alcohol and marijuana use is significantly below the state rates and has remained consistently low throughout the past decade. Also, binge-drinking among high-schoolers has declined 24 percent since 2012.

Saratoga County communication is open: More students report having received prevention messages and having talked to their parents about substance use than other students across the state.

District Superintendent Michael Piccirillo encouraged the use of positive messages about choosing not to use alcohol or drugs.

“For example, we have a series of posters up in the high school that help dispel the myth that everyone is doing this,” he said.

On the other hand, some families aren’t watching out for their teens, since high school students are most often consuming alcohol at private homes, getting it from friends or acquaintances who are younger than 21, interestingly. Students also reported getting alcohol at concerts and sporting events, at a higher rate than their peers across the state.

“Of the 11th- and 12th-graders who reported using alcohol, 68 percent said either they were not caught or, if caught, did not receive consequences from their parents,” Lyle said.

The Prevention Council made several recommendations for parent, student and community focus on alcohol and marijuana use.

For parents, the nonprofit suggested raising parent/community awareness of risks of use, and increasing parent/teen conversations about expectations, family policies and consequences of use.

For students, the recommendations included promoting awareness of actual norms of substance use by peers and reinforcing periodically with positive messaging, and raising awareness of the risks of substance use.

For the community, the council proposed partnering with law enforcement to address underage drinking parties and promoting an underage drinking hotline to report such parties.

The Youth Development Survey was administered in-school in October 2014. A total of 3,186 individual student responses were included in the final report. Of these, 1,084 were middle and 2,102 were high school students.

And how do you know the students were telling the truth about such a complicated and personal subject? Following receipt of the surveys, all survey forms were checked to determine the validity and reliability of the data. A small percentage of students were judged to have returned invalid survey data. For example, students who claimed to use all drugs at the highest levels of use were eliminated from the final data set. In total, five separate checks of the logical consistency and validity of the students’ responses were conducted.

‘Changing the conversation’ about alcohol, drug treatment

November 24, 2014

Story by: Meg Hagerty

 Featured in: The Post-Star

 Link to article can be found here: http://poststar.com/news/local/changing-the-conversation-about-alcohol-drug-treatment/article_1dd36736-734f-11e4-a16a-efc3581c747d.html

 

An area grass-roots effort is underway to help erase the stigma surrounding alcohol and drug addiction.

Since July, supporters of RAIS, Recovery Advocacy In Saratoga, have been meeting in hopes of becoming a community resource for individuals and families in recovery. The belief is that, by “changing the conversation” about recovery, addicts will be more likely to achieve long-term success, and others will be encouraged to pursue recovery.

Robert Lindsey, a volunteer who has spent his career in alcoholism and addiction counseling, said much of the media coverage focuses on the “drama and chaos” of the Lindsay Lohans and Philip Seymour Hoffmans of the world, and less on the 23 million people who are living life in recovery and functioning well.

“They’re doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers, pilots, pastors. The reality is alcoholism and addiction is like other chronic illnesses like cancer and diabetes. We’re talking chronic, progressive, fatal if untreated and genetically predisposed,” Lindsey said. “There is no one who set out to become addicted but, plain and simple biochemically, some people’s bodies respond differently to the effects of alcohol and other drugs, just like the diabetic.”

RAIS formed after a volunteer, who has since left to attend college, presented “The Anonymous People,” a documentary about the development of recovery community centers (RCCs) for individuals and their families that offer education, support and resources, while also helping to change the public’s perception of those in recovery.

The film discusses the fact that people who have participated in such support groups as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Alanon and Naranon have lived their lives in recovery very quietly. Consequently, friends and family didn’t know about it. Now, however, people are being encouraged to talk about their recovery and help to change the public’s understanding of the issues.

RAIS, which is sponsored by Prevention Council of Saratoga County, has consistently drawn about 15 to its monthly meetings, including people in recovery, friends and family of those in recovery and professionals in the addiction field.

Jacob Weakland, 29, has struggled with a substance abuse disorder for half his life and said it’s time to shine a positive light on people in long-term recovery.

“Right now, especially the statistics back this up, somebody would rather have a neighbor that was in prison for a violent crime than was a drug addict. You were perceived as a moral failure. It didn’t matter if you were an outstanding member of society,” Weakland said. “There are many people in long-term recovery who are living by a set of principles but they don’t come out due to this stigma. They don’t tell their stories or share them.”

 

Lindsey said a primary mission of the group is to identify the most significant needs in the community and put together a plan of action to address those issues. He anticipates there will be a need for an RCC where individuals and families in recovery can gain support and resources, as well as information on job searches and training.

Likewise, the organization also plans to advocate for expanding access to recovery and treatment support services by working with elected officials.

“The reality, regrettably, is less than 10 percent of the people who need treatment get it. In many cases, insurance doesn’t provide access to treatment. In many cases, people need sober housing and it isn’t available,” Lindsey said.

Julie Brennan of Mechanicville became involved with RAIS because she has a 23-year-old son who is in recovery from an addiction to cocaine and heroin. She recently donated lime green plastic wristbands with the slogan “‘RAIS’ Our Voices’” that she wants volunteers to distribute to help raise awareness about the group.

“One day everybody’s going to be talking about it. I just want to see the day when we have a fundraiser – golf tournaments or these huge galas – for addiction recovery. It’s so incredibly wonderful that they’re all over this country for breast cancer and diabetes and leukemia. I want it to say addiction recovery because these kids are just as important,” Brennan said.

Janine Stuchin, executive director of the Prevention Council of Saratoga County, said RAIS is progressing “tremendously” for having gone from an idea a few months ago to a group with planned sub committees and an agenda.

“What I love about this group is its rawness and authenticity. Nobody is there for a pay check, nobody is there for the glory. We’re all there to make a difference,” Stuchin said.

 

Alcohol, Drug Use in Schools Discussed at School Board

May 16, 2013
SaratogaWire.com
By Laura Rappaport

Back in 2000, preteens in Saratoga Springs were drinking alcohol at alarming rates. Twenty-five percent of 8th graders and 20 percent of 7th graders surveyed said they’d had a drink in the past month – even nine percent of sixth graders said they had.

This was clearly not healthy and the community decided to do something about it. Through outreach, education and parent involvement, things began to turn around, according to the Prevention Council, Saratoga’s non-profit substance abuse prevention umbrella organization.

Twelve years later, use by sixth graders is so low that they aren’t even surveyed any more. And middle-schoolers in general seem to be abusing drugs and alcohol less.

Now the concern is ninth grade, with that stressful transition from middle to high school setting kids up for more risky behaviors.

The number of students reporting that they have had a drink or smoked marijuana in the last 30 days doubled from eighth to ninth grade, according to the just-released results of a bi-annual survey conducted in the fall by the Council’s Partnership for Prevention.

“That difference between middle school and high school is a big issue,” says Robin Ambrosino, the Prevention Council’s marketing and communications manager.

The Partnership’s Youth Survey asks kids in 7th through 12th grades a battery of questions about their drinking and drug habits, and – almost more revealing—what they think their peers are doing. They also surveyed parents about their attitudes toward substance use and what they think their kids are up to.

On Tuesday, Ambrosino presented the results of the 2012 Youth Survey to the Saratoga Springs City School District Board of Education. It was designed to assess substance abuse; anti-social behavior; and risk and protective factors that predict problem behaviors.

The transition from 8th grade to the high school “brings with it a significant increase in substance abuse,” says Ambrosino. It’s not known exactly why, but, she says, the move to the big school is stressful. Saratoga Springs kids also have a perception that high-schoolers are drinking and doing drugs, even if it’s not actually the norm.

“They sense a culture of use when they get to high school… Their sense that it’s here drives that behavior.”

For example, she says, 53 percent of this year’s ninth-graders believed that classmates drink, while just 22 percent of them actually reported drinking in the past 30 days.

Even seniors’ perception is skewed: about 75 percent think their peers drink, while 52 percent reported they do.  Still, that number is some 12 points above the national average, and is troubling to prevention workers.

Indeed, Saratoga Springs 10th and 12th graders reported drinking, binge drinking and smoking pot at 10 points above the national average for their age groups.

“The community needs to band together to provide positive outlets for that angst and craving for excitement that kids this age feel,” Ambrosino says.

Across the board, cigarettes are the only substance with a continually declining use rate.

Marijuana use reflects the slow steady rise nationally, she says. This could be partly due to efforts to legalize the drug in some states.

“The numbers get quite big in 10th grade and 9th is trending up,” Ambrosino says.

Prescription drug use is still low in Saratoga Springs. “This has been a tricky category for us,” says Ambrosino, noting that although kids are talking about it, “the numbers are not bearing it out right now.” They might have experimented, but aren’t using regularly.

Overall, she says, “the perception is that there is much more drug use here than there actually is.”

A funny thing about perception is that parents often put on rose-colored glasses when discussing their own children.

In last fall’s parent survey, 86 percent said their children never use alcohol, but a large number of high school students report not only drinking, but binge drinking – consuming five or more drinks in a row. Binge rates were: 14 percent of freshmen; 25 percent of sophomores; 26 percent of juniors; and 32 percent of seniors.

The parent survey was available on SurveyMonkey.com in January and February. Of the thousands of parents in the target group, 387 responded.

After all its work on teen health over the past dozen years, the Partnership for Prevention’s federal grant ends in September, and the organization will undergo severe cutbacks.

Ambrosino says that parents, teachers and community leaders all play key roles in curbing adolescent substance abuse. The Partnership recommends that collaboration continue among organizations that work with youth. The school district should enforce policies regarding substance use, and make clear, strong positive messages about staying sober. The district can also continue the youth survey in a less expensive online format.

“We want prevention to be part of what they hear about in school and at home,” she says.  “After 12 years, we feel very glad that we’ve established these relationships and that prevention is on the agenda of the community.”

– See more at: http://saratogawire.com/article/1173/130516-school-board-hears-about-drug-use/#sthash.X9qyfS7f.dpuf

Survey Aims to Assess Parent Awareness of Kids’ Drug and Alcohol Use

January 28, 2013

POSTED BY Laura Rappaport
Saratoga Wire

What do parents know about their kids’ drug and alcohol habits? That’s a question the Saratoga Partnership for Prevention asks every two years.

The Partnership is asking parents of kids in grades 7-12 in the Saratoga Springs City School District to take a brief online survey about adolescent alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use by going to Survey Monkey. The process is completely anonymous and takes less than 15 minutes.

The parent questionnaire is the companion survey to the Youth Prevention Needs Assessment given every other fall to all Saratoga Springs 7th – 12th graders. It’s designed to track the attitudes and perceptions of a random sample of Saratoga Springs parents, says Robin Ambrosino, marketing and communications manager for the Prevention Council, which houses the partnership.

It’s also a way to gauge the similarities and differences between parents’ perceptions of teen behavior and the behavior teens actually report. Results of both surveys will be publicized in April.

“We want to find out if parents think their kids are engaging in the behaviors that kids say they are,” Ambrosino says. “What we’ve found over the years is that parents underestimated by a pretty large margin the behaviors kids are participating in,” she says. What it comes down to is that many parents think their high school kids are not drinking beer or smoking pot, but kids report they are doing those risky – and illegal – things.

The good news, however, is that drinking is down at Saratoga Springs High School. Ambrosino says that in 2008, drinking by SSHS seniors was well above the national average, but it’s been coming down over the past few years.

Sixth graders are no longer surveyed because in the past their answers showed such a low rate of drug and alcohol use.

She notes that while there is a big spike in drinking and drug use when kids enter ninth grade, that jump isn’t actually as big as it’s reputed to be.

Thus, she says, one goal of the Partnership for Prevention is to help the community change perceptions and the culture at the high school. So, while kids think it’s cool to drink in high school, the community needs to show them it’s not – and kids need to be aware that just because they’ve started high school doesn’t mean that everyone’s experimenting with alcohol.

“Fewer kids drink than they think,” Ambrosino says.

She said while some kids inflate their usages rates, the surveys have built-in checks and balances that help weed out questionnaires that have inconsistent responses.

In order to have a representative adult sample, 350 parents need to complete the 23 questions on the online form. Parents’ answers will be used to help the Partnership plan parenting programs, community events that send consistent messages about underage substance use, and ways to support families as their children progress through the teen years, Ambrosino says.

The Saratoga Partnership for Prevention is a program of the Prevention Council. It is made up of youth, parents, and individuals representing key sectors and organizations concerned about youth in the Saratoga Springs school district.

The survey continues through mid-February.

Editorial Perils of alcohol and inaction

 

April 20, 2012
Reader’s View Editorial
By Brian Farr

Fourteen young people and one parent were recently arrested in an international identification fraud ring, and all to acquire alcohol. Once again I feel a responsibility to remind people about the dangers of this drug, even in our picturesque city.

I would like to shake the hand of the woman who spotted the underage purchaser and spoke up. Very courageous, and she may have saved a life with her actions by preventing an alcohol- fueled tragedy. I have a hard time fathoming what the father who assisted in these crimes was thinking.

As a substance abuse counselor for over a decade in our fair city, I have continually run into similar parents and adults whose heads are buried deep in the sands of denial as they tell themselves “it’s only alcohol,” or “if I allow them to drink at my house they will be safe,” or, like the ignorant adult who assisted these teenagers in acquiring the fake IDs: “Even if it might get someone seriously injured, raped or killed, at least my kids and their friends will think I’m cool.”

It remains at the top of the list as the leading cause of preventable accidents, sexual abuse crimes, and death among teenagers. And that even applies in Saratoga.Young people get a mixed message here. Saratoga tends to encourage addiction, even if Todd Garafano would rather that we did not talk about that because it may affect revenue. I get it. It’s his job to sell our addictions to people.I wonder if he has taken the time, like Christian Mathiesen, whose job it is to try to keep us all safe, to go down to Caroline Street in the wee, violent hours of the morning to face the truth — it is toxic down there.

Toxic is the perfect word. A powder keg of bad potential. The death of a young man a few years ago was not enough to change things. Nor was the preventable, drunken riot during the last year.

But Saratoga and many Saratogians do not want to hear or think about that. We like the money from alcoholism and gambling addiction. It keeps the flower beds watered and helps with all the construction of any free space left. Keep that money coming!

There is more to Saratoga than addiction and greed. In fact, there was a conference in town last weekend that proves it.

Many of you may not have heard about it because the 1,000 or so young people that attended did not wreck Caroline Street, or riot, or contribute to the available toxicity. These young people had all made a choice to live their lives abstinent from alcohol or drugs.I hope they had a great time here. I also hope that our local youth and parents will learn from their example that not everyone needs to use drugs to have “fun.”

Brian Farr is a substance abuse counselor who lives in Wilton.

Survey Shows Drug, Alcohol Use Down

April 29, 2011
By LUCIAN McCARTY
The Saratogian

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Students in the graduating class of Saratoga Springs High School are generally using less drugs, alcohol and tobacco than their year-2000 counterparts according to the results of a November 2010 survey the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Council presented to the Board of Education on Thursday night.

“Overall, the trends are starting to go down,” said Maureen Cary, coordinator of the Saratoga Partnership for Prevention with the Prevention Council.

Fifty percent of high school students and eighth graders were surveyed randomly in their gym classes. According to Cary, the results are also cross-checked by a computer to ensure consistency in the answers of individual surveys — the ones with “goofy answers” are tossed.

Though Saratoga Springs High Schoolers have been on a steady decline in most categories since 2000, they remain above the national average for every category save two: cigarette and heroin usage.

“In a resort community — like Saratoga Springs — or any resort community you are going to see higher use rates,” Cary said. She explained in many ways it is due to the density of alcohol concentration and the culture.

Students were asked about whether they had used various substances within the past 30 days. Almost half of juniors and seniors (47.6 percent and 49.4 percent) said they had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days and just over 30 percent in each class admitted to binge drinking — that is, imbibing more than five drinks in succession.

“A large percentage of those who report drinking are binge drinking,” Cary said.

Cigarette use dropped to less than half what it was in 2000 — from 35.5 percent to 14.1 percent.

Marijuana use was also in decline, going from a recorded high of 35.9 percent in 2008 to 22.8 percent in November.

But Cary said the current senior class is somewhat of an “unusual group” that has generally lower numbers than most others. “They are very low risk.”

Robin Ambrosino, also with the Prevention Council, said the perception of drug and alcohol use among teens is much higher than the actual usage. While almost 50 percent of students admitted to having imbibed liquor within 30 days of the survey and about 23 percent of students admitted to having smoked marijuana, when students were asked how much of the student body smoked marijuana or drank, the results were around 70 percent for both.

“In our focus groups, we heard from kids who have no trouble telling you everybody smokes pot and everybody drinks,” Cary said, but she said her organization is actively trying to promote the facts by working with students to incorporate the facts into artwork.

“The fact is, 78 percent said ‘no,’” school board member Charles Phillips said. “I’d like to see that in six-foot high letters somewhere. That goes against the ‘cool’ message.”

Phillips was referring to another aspect of the study that indicated as some students entered the high school, they saw things such as alcohol, tobacco and other drug usage as “cool,” something Cary said was a problem area.

In fact, as students made the transition between eighth grade and high school, the number of students who had tried alcohol, binge drinking and marijuana more than quadrupled in all areas. In eighth grade, they were 6, 1 and 2 percent, respectively. In ninth grade, they were 23, 8, and 11 percent respectively.

“The transitions are challenging for kids,” Cary said.