MANDEVILLE,

L.A.- Law prohibiting teens from consuming alcohol raises issues for local community and state legislature. Connor Guinn was an average 17- year-old teenager. He enjoyed playing video games, hanging out with friends, creating art, and playing with his dog. On January 16, 2013, Guinn had a small gathering at his home. The next day, the Mandeville Police Department was notified that a friend of Guinn went to check on him and found him unresponsive. Police arrived at the scene to discover an empty alcohol container and the teen dead. A local state representative believes the laws regarding underage drinking are not effective and changes need to be made in order to protect the youth. According to state Rep. Steve Pugh, law 23 CFR 1208.3 states that minors cannot consume alcohol in any public place or in any place open to the public. The term does not apply to minors consuming alcohol on private property, for religious purposes, with a parent or legal guardian over the age of 21, and for medical purposes. According to Pugh, the law needs to be modified to hold parents and teens more accountable for underage drinking. The Center for Disease Control states that approximately 4,700 young adults die every year due to alcohol abuse. Captain Ron Ruple, operations commander for the Mandeville Police Department, said that since the beginning of this year already there has been one death and seven incidences involving teens and alcohol consumption. According to Ruple, there is either too much or too little parental involvement.

I have seen this too many times when we show up to a home where there are minors drinking and the parents are supervising, Ruple said. Ruple stated in his 20 years of working for the Mandeville Police Department, the biggest problem has been parental involvement. The laws are obviously not working, Ruple said. D.A.R.E. officer James Kindler, has been working in St. Tammany Parish for the past 23 years. Kindler believes that while education is fundamental in preventing underage drinking, parental involvement is also essential to get this message across. We live in a society where we celebrate everything with alcohol. For example, look at Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl, said Kindler. Parents need to teach children at an early age the dangers of alcohol. A childs body cannot metabolize alcohol the way an adults body can, said Kindler. Heidi Gilbreath, a social worker for Renew Family Resource Project, teaches a parenting class regarding alcohol. According to Gilbreath, teens begin drinking at a young age due to peer pressure, hormones, and sexuality. Another factor, which contributes to teens and underage drinking, is a personal family history. Gilbreath said children mimic the behavior that is displayed in their household and if they see their parents constantly drinking, then they will mimic what they see. Our children have more stress due to the internet, peer pressure, society, and the need to fit in, said Gilbreath.

Monitoring the Future conducted a survey with 8th and 9th graders in 2012. The survey showed that in 30 days prior to the survey, 27 percent of American students consumed alcohol. This survey was conducted last year and studies show the percentage is only increasing. We are doing all we can to ensure the safety of the children in this community, said Ruple In the past three years, 75 percent of the outlets in St. Tammany Parish were cited for selling alcohol to minors. Now, only 1 percent of the outlets are cited yearly. Releasing citations to outlets is one way the Mandeville Police Department ensures the safety of teens in St. Tammany Parish. Gilbreath stated her company attempts to help the community by offering courses to educate parents on the importance of substance abuse and how they can prevent their children from abusing alcohol. Stipulations can be placed in communities, but the law still remains unchanged affecting teens and alcohol related consequences. Lawmakers need to create stricter laws because these teens are uneducated on the consequences and alcohol is so readily accessible to them. According to Representative Pugh, this law needs to be modified to hold teens and parents more accountable for underage drinking. Maybe if there was a law for parents that held them accountable for allowing their children to drink, the number of incidents would decrease in regards to

underage drinking, stated Ruple. Representative Pugh hopes that this law will be reviewed because the safety of our children is an ongoing issue when it comes to underage drinking. The consequences created by these loose laws far exceed the health and safety of underage teens in Louisiana and across the United States.