Underage drinking a growing concern

By Zsombor Peter
Staff Writer

GALLUP — There's a good reason the U.S. Surgeon General has made it top priority to stem underage drinking: it kills six times more youth than the use of all other drugs combined and it's on the rise.

And according to Paul Campos, the DWI coordinator for McKinley County, the problem is even worse locally.

"We tend to have a bigger problem than most other communities," he said.

Not only does Gallup have the only juvenile detoxification facility in the state treating more than 300 patients a year but its patient list is growing.

"And that's our concern," said Campos. "It's getting worse."

It's all part of why he'll be helping McKinley County and the National Indian Youth Leadership Program host a town hall meeting on underage drinking at El Morro Theater Tuesday evening. Organized by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and being duplicated in over 1,100 communities across the country the town hall is designed to present the public with the latest research and data on underage drinking and gather input on ways to reduce demand, availability and access.

According to the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 10.8 million youth between the ages of 12 and 20 more than 28 percent reported current alcohol use. More than 11 percent of 12-year-olds reported using alcohol at least once in their lives. The figure doubles for 13-year-olds, and reaches 50 percent by the time they're 15.

The risks go beyond intoxication. According to the Health Service Administration, a strong correlation exists between alcohol use among youth and violence, unprotected sex, bad grades, drunk driving accidents and other harmful behavior.

Campos said he's often asked about the rising use of methamphetamines. By keeping the user awake longer than normal, he or she is likely to consume that much more alcohol increasing the chances of alcohol poisoning.

"That's a pretty lethal combination," he said.

Another troubling trend is the rise of alcohol consumption among underage girls, who are quickly catching up to their male counterparts. And of the 15-to-18-year-old girls who drink, said Myra Gould of the Coalition for Healthy and Resilient Youth, another local group participating in the Gallup town hall, 67 percent become teen mothers.

Campos hopes to get a lot of feedback from Tuesday's crowd, not least of all because of some propitious timing.

"We're hoping that people will tell us that 'You need to change the laws,' " he said. "And elected officials will listen to their constituents, especially now in an election season."

Coincidentally, the town hall will take place on the same day as the city's "not before noon" liquor referendum, which will give voters the chance to decide whether to ban all alcohol sales within city limits before noon (that's assuming McKinley County District Court Judge Joseph Rich does not cancel the election during a show cause hearing Monday morning).

"It's proven that use is directly associated with availability," said Campos, who supports the ban, but harbors concerns that it could drive more people to substances like hair spray and mouth wash for their alcohol.

Though it's targeted at the area's most alcohol dependent usually adults a pre-noon ban might also help cut down on drinking among the youth, Campos said, who usually get their alcohol from older family members and friends.

Those are the sort of policy suggestions they'll be looking for Tuesday, Campos said, ideas that can change the "environment" in which the youth live, and make it one less conducive to drinking.

The town hall also fits nicely into the third, "planning" phase of a state grant the county has received to address DWI crashes among the 15-to-24 age group. Campos said the county can use the public input to come up with its strategies, which it will then implement and evaluate. Staff have already assessed the community's needs, and are currently evaluating its "capacity," the services that do and do not exist right now to address the problem.

The town hall will start at 7 p.m. and is scheduled to last until 8:30. All are welcome to attend.