Posted under Public Policy

County Social Host Liability Effective at Combating Underage Drinking

Underage drinking is extremely common among US teens and is becoming increasingly problematic because when teens drink, they tend to binge drink. Binge drinking is defined as a heavy consumption of alcohol over a relatively short period of time for the purpose of becoming intoxicated. Binge drinking is a major public health issue as it leads to automobile accidents and fatalities, rape, violence, suicide and unintentional overdose. Although binge drinking is most often associated with college age students, the number of binge drinking episodes among high school kids is on the rise.

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Posted under Addiction & Society

Obama Administration Takes Action To End Prescription Drug Epidemic

In the 1970s, it was black tar heroin. In the 1980s, it was crack cocaine. Today it is prescription drug abuse. In fact, the number of Americans who accidentally died from this category of drugs now exceeds the number who died from cocaine and heroin in those other two decades. Continue Reading

Posted under Public Policy

House Bill 1789 Passes; Prompts Felon-Status for DUI Offenders

Terms like "felon" may soon become more commonly used, as Washington lawmakers signed off on a bill in late April, 2011, that is toughening penalties for drinking and driving.

The scope of punishment for a DUI is extended by House Bill 1789, including the ability to declare any DUI as a felony, if the driver already holds a previous DUI offense at the felony-level. Stated another way, once a driver reaches felon status for DUI, he or she will remain at felon status. Continue Reading

Posted under Massachusetts

Massachusetts Alcohol Addiction: Judicial Attitudes toward Alcoholics

In Part I, Massachusetts (MA) Drug Addiction: judicial attitudes toward drug abuse offenders, I discussed how the Massachusetts judicial system handles criminal drug abusers. However, Massachusetts also has a high number of alcoholics. A recent Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) study found that Massachusetts is among the top ten states for binge alcohol drinking (five or more drinks on one day in a month). It is estimated that 25% of Massachusetts residents binge drink. Although there are no conclusive explanations as to why Massachusetts has such a high rate of alcoholism, perhaps some insight can be gained by an examination of the number of college students who reside in the state compared to states with lower rates of alcoholism. Whatever the reason, Massachusetts residents clearly have a problem controlling their alcohol intake. Continue Reading

Posted under California

Judicial Attitudes toward Drug and Alcohol Abuse in California

By Millie Anne Cavanaugh, Esq.

Approximately 36 million people live in California. It is estimated that drug and alcohol abuse costs the citizens of California approximately $44 billion per year in loss of productivity, health care, substance abuse prevention programs, substance abuse treatment programs and criminal justice programs. The cost is split between drugs and alcohol at roughly $22 billion each. The number of yearly deaths attributed to each type of abuse is also equally divided at 3,600 each.

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