The Challenges of Decriminalizing Underage Alcohol Consumption

by Tom Rose

As we have been exploring together in recent weeks, the proposed decriminalization of status offenses in Wyoming will be positive change for our juvenile justice system. This needed change will also leave several problem behaviors in justice limbo.

From truancy to tobacco and alcohol consumption the status offense behaviors are dangerous and destructive to our youth, their families and our communities. Our challenge as a community is to come up with non-criminal alternatives which effectively deter the behavior. This way we can encourage our legislators to continue the decriminalization of status offenses secure in the knowledge that there are more appropriate deterrents in place.

When I first started talking to juvenile justice advocates and legislators three years ago I was told by a thirty-year veteran advocate and adolescent psychologist that most of the reform efforts attempted in Wyoming failed due to the oversight of not having effective non-criminal solutions to the most troublesome of youth problems which many perceive to be underage drinking.

I will freely admit that when I began as a juvenile justice advocate in 2012 I was of the opinion that underage drinking was no big deal. I thought that the appropriate remedy was the old-school approach of breaking up underage gatherings, confiscating unauthorized beverages and calling parents. I remember this technique from my youth and it did not require law enforcement, many parents had this level of involvement at one time.

Through my study of the issue I discovered compelling scientific data that indicates that the damage caused by alcohol to the developing adolescent brain is permanent and irreversible. More shocking to me was the finding that this vulnerability in neurological function may not pass until mid-twenties.

National Public Radio (NPR) aired a story in 2010 featuring a study out of the University of California, San Diego led by neuroscientist Susan Tapert. The study compared brain scans of teens who drink alcohol with teens who don't.

A recent study led by neuroscientist Susan Tapert of the University of California, San Diego compared the brain scans of teens who drink heavily with the scans of teens who don't. Male teens and female teens were affected diferently but documented brain changes indicated a decrease of attention span and memory in boys and decreased spatial reasoning (aka: math, science, driving a car) in girls. The whole study can be found online.

So if we are agreed that we don't want our teens criminalized for the poor choice of underage drinking but we want to discourage the behavior for their own good, what can we do?

As it turns out, there are several established underage drinking deterrence programs.Too Smart To Start "is a public education initiative sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Through this initiative, SAMHSA provides research-based strategies and materials to professionals and volunteers at the community level to help them conduct an underage alcohol use prevention program. The materials are designed to educate youth about the harms of alcohol use and to support parents and caregivers as they participate in their children's activities." The Too Smart to Start site has extensive resources for the intellectual approach to educating teens and families about the neurological and other dangers of teen alcohol use.

In my opinion, the Too Smart to Start objectives seem very compatible with Wyoming philosophy and lifestyle. The list of communities using this approach also provides specific information on implementation and efficacy.

Another non-criminal deterrent program is epitomized by Washington, D.C.s Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP). According to their annual report:

Founded in 1982, the nonprofit [501(c)(3)] Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) is an award-winning public-private partnership working to prevent drunk driving and underage drinking in the Washington-metropolitan area. Through public education, innovative health education programs and advocacy, WRAP is credited with keeping the metro-Washington area's alcohol-related traffic deaths consistently lower than the national average. WRAP, however, may best be known to area residents via the organization's popular free cab ride service for would-be drunk drivers, SoberRide®.

The WRAP Program was also the inspiration for a recent National Highway Safety Evaluation Of Community Programs To Deter Underage Drinking And Driving study which looked at programs in Utah, Nebraska, Virginia and Texas. We will look at this study more closely in another blog. In the meantime perhaps it's time for some of us old cowboys to re-examine our positions on underage drinking. I still don't think a young man or woman should be criminalized for tipping a beer but it sure would be better if they'd wait until they're older.