Stories this week:

After one month on the books, community leaders believe the early returns on Iowa City’s 21-only bar ordinance “look promising,” according to Lee Hermiston’s report for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Simple assault arrests, drunk driving charges, and cases of disorderly conduct are all down, but Police Sgt. Denise Brotherton cautioned residents not to put too much stock in these early numbers: “Just a month of stats is often too early to make a permanent decision about the effectiveness (of the ordinance).”

On Monday, the editors of the Washington Post criticized the Maryland state government for so far refusing to implement a dime-a-drink tax on alcohol to prevent looming deficits in the state’s budget. Some Post readers, including industry representatives, responded by making a case against such tax hikes. Maryland residents: where do you stand on this issue?

Sticking with DC-area items, WUSA-TV warned viewers about the binge drinking crisis among teens and college students by interviewing Ryan Smith of Virginia Tech’s Center for Applied Behavior Systems. Smith, who studies alcohol consumption among young adults, told WUSA about the hundreds of breathalyzer tests, instances of property damage, and cases of public intoxication that occur in Blacksburg every weekend. The Fairfax County Police Department will soon host their second community forum on binge drinking.

In other news…

Stephen Dubner of the New York Times “Freaknonomics” blog flagged a National Bureau of Economic Research study on rates of binge drinking and sexual activity among high school students. The study’s author, Jeffrey DeSimone, wrote, “binge drinking significantly increases participation in sex, promiscuity, and the failure to use birth control, albeit by amounts considerably smaller than implied by merely conditioning on exogenous factors.”

After hearing about New York’s tough new ignition interlock law that takes effect August 15, Jerry DeMarco of the Cliffview Pilot asked readers, “Should N.J. have ignition locks for DWI convicts?”

Send us a news tip if we overlooked something in this week’s update.

The final provision of the Child Passenger Protection Act, also known as Leandra’s Law, will take effect on August 15: courts will order convicted drunk drivers to install ignition interlocks in their cars, regardless of whether a child under 16 was in the vehicle at the time. New York will join a group of 9 other states which require mandatory interlocks for all first-time offenders.

Check out the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services’ press release for more information.

Stories this week:

Make sure you read Michael Waxman’s “Maine Voices” commentary for the Portland Press Herald on the challenges posed by Legal Age 21, which was published on Monday.

Guam raised its drinking age to 21 this month, and we’ve already started to see some familiar headlines, including this one from the Pacific Daily News: “Enforcing New Law a Challenge.”

Toben Nelson of the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health surveyed 351 colleges across the country and concluded that these schools are not doing enough to prevent binge drinking among students. Check out Tim Post’s report for Minnesota Public Radio to find out why.

In other news…

A new study on alcohol consumption trends across all age groups from 1992-2002 reveals that the percentage of people who drink is trending upward. Although the average number of drinks consumed per month remained steady over that period, the study did highlight a jump in the number of people who engaged in binge drinking at least once per month. Check out Denise Mann’s breakdown of the statistics for Health.com here. The study will be published in an upcoming edition of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

The Board of Trustees at Clemson University has asked the school to develop a more comprehensive plan to reduce toxic drinking among students, including the possibility of moving the Greek rush period to the spring term. Trustee Bill Amick told the Anderson Independent Mail, “The status quo will not be accepted. We can’t get a life back.”

Anita Kumar penned an in-depth report on Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s effort to privatize liquor sales in his state. McDonnell plans to roll out his plan for privatization in early August. Get the full story in last Sunday’s edition of the Washington Post.

Please visit the Express-Times‘ Lehigh Valley Live site to join in the debate -  submit your comments and let the other readers know what you think.

“If we can’t do better by our kids than to put our heads in the sand and forget about and deny our own adolescent experiences when it comes to alcohol, then we are dropping the ball in a big way and accepting avoidable and tragic alcohol related deaths of our loved ones.”

Check out the rest of his commentary at the Press Herald site and leave your feedback in the comments.

Stories this week:

Philip Cook, ITT/Sanford Professor of Public Policy at Duke University, recently gave a presentation on the pros and cons of Legal Age 21 at the University’s College Student Drinking and Drug Use conference. Watch it here.

KTVB-TV and the University of Idaho Argonaut both have follow-up stories on the alcohol poisoning death of UI Senior Benjamin Harris earlier this week. When asked if the University could be doing more to prevent these types of incidents, Bruce Pitman, UI’s Dean of Students, said, “Certainly there may be another thing or two that we might be able to do, but I think we need to step back from this a bit and try to understand how we might be able to impact behavior that takes place off campus.”

Law enforcement officials are often forced to stretch their thin resources to contain the consequences of toxic drinking by young adults, and this week, one police official implored local residents to stop engaging in such behavior. After five separate incidents involving dangerously intoxicated young men who required medical attention, La Crosse, Wisconsin Police Chief Ed Kondracki said, “I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that serious injuries and death can result when binge drinking reaches the irresponsible and dangerous levels reached this past weekend. The police department does not have the resources to find and rescue drunks in such large numbers as was experienced this weekend.”

In other news…

Researchers at Loyola University Health System in Chicago have found that young adults who engage in binge drinking could be at much greater risk for developing osteoporosis and bone fractures later in life. Lead researcher John Callaci wrote, “Lifestyle-related damage done to the skeleton during young adulthood may have repercussions lasting decades.” The new study is published in the July-August issue of the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism.

Penn State University President Graham Spanier has recommended to the school’s Board of Trustees that senior week, the typical celebration period between the conclusion of final exams and commencement ceremonies, be eliminated starting in 2012. Spanier made the recommendation in an attempt to cut down on the dangerous drinking that occurs when students have “nothing productive to do except frequent bars.” Megan Rogers, a staff writer for the PSU Collegian, noted that students don’t think the elimination of senior week will have an impact on heavy drinking and celebrations.

David DeWitte of KCRG-TV in Iowa filed a report on the economic impact of Iowa City’s 21-only bar ordinance, which some residents say is hurting local businesses. What do you think?

Send us a news tip in the comments if we missed something in this week’s update.

The University of Idado has experienced a string of alcohol-related injuries and deaths recently, and Harris’ death is the latest incident. In April of 2009, 23 year-old Daniel Miller passed away after a night of heavy drinking, and in January of this year, a 27 year-old UI student and a 21 year-old former student died after combining large amounts of alcohol with prescription drugs.

“Binge drinking, we all know the dangers involved with this, but it seems to be something that people strive for and celebrate. Celebrating a birthday shouldn’t have a result like this,” said David Duke, the Assistant Police Chief in Moscow.

KLEW has a video report on the story here.

“The alcoholic energy drinks have twice the amount of alcohol of beers, at 12 percent by volume, something they proudly proclaim at the top of the can. The cans are brightly colored and come in flavors like fruit punch, and that’s why many want them marketed better – or taken off the market completely.”

Last year, the FDA commissioned studies to determine the safety of these beverages, but the agency has yet to reach any conclusions.

What do you think? Are these drinks too easily marketed to underage drinkers? Let us know in the comments.

Stories this week:

The Gordie Foundation announced today that it will partner with the Center for Alcohol and Substance Education at the University of Virginia to create the Gordie Center for Alcohol and Substance Education (Gordie CASE).  UVA will become the new home of the foundation’s education programs. Check out the full announcement for more details.

Every five years, the USDA and the Health and Human Services Administration review their dietary guidelines for Americans, and this year’s Advisory Committee report contains a section on revising the guidelines for alcohol consumption, including new weekly rather than daily consumption guidelines. Join Together has more details on these proposed changes. You can submit comments to the USDA to send them your feedback – the deadline for public comment is July 15.

Administrators at Stanford University are so pleased with the results of the school’s implementation of AlcoholEdu that they will continue funding the program for another four years. Survey results showed that “49 percent of respondents said the material better prepared them to deal with alcohol at Stanford.” However, binge drinking is still a major concern on campus – Ralph Castro, the manager of the University’s substance abuse prevention program, said that 56% of students choose hard liquor when drinking. Castro suggested that these numbers indicate that pre-gaming is a common problem, and he also noted that “all of Stanford’s emergency room trips for alcohol poisoning involve hard liquor.”

In other news…

After a unanimous vote last week, acting Gov. Mike Cruz signed Bill 389 into law, which raises Guam’s drinking age to 21.  In response to the new law, Andersen Air Force base followed suit and raised its drinking age to 21 as well. The change comes without any additional licensing or education provisions, so we’ll be watching closely to see if problems of secretive binge drinking develop as they have among 18-20 year-olds here.

Earlier this week, Adam Marszal and Russell Taylor were sentenced to 30 days in jail after pleading no contest to hazing charges related to the alcohol poisoning death of Cal Poly first-year Carson Starkey in December 2008. The San Luis Obispo Tribune profiled the incident and noted that after Starkey’s death, Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed the Carson Starkey Alcohol Awareness and Education Act into law, which added curricula on alcohol poisoning and binge drinking to Texas public schools.

Leave us a tip in the comments if we missed something in this week’s update.

Stories this week:

The Gordie Foundation announced today that it will partner with the Center for Alcohol and Substance Education at the University of Virginia to create the Gordie Center for Alcohol and Substance Education (Gordie CASE).  UVA will become the new home of the foundation’s education programs. Check out the full announcement for more details.

Every five years, the USDA and the Health and Human Services Administration review their dietary guidelines for Americans, and this year’s Advisory Committee report contains a section on revising the guidelines for alcohol consumption, including new weekly rather than daily consumption guidelines. Join Together has more details on these proposed changes. You can submit comments to the USDA to send them your feedback – the deadline for public comment is July 15.

Administrators at Stanford University are so pleased with the results of the school’s implementation of AlcoholEdu that they will continue funding the program for another four years. Survey results showed that “49 percent of respondents said the material better prepared them to deal with alcohol at Stanford.” However, binge drinking is still a major concern on campus – Ralph Castro, the manager of the University’s substance abuse prevention program, said that 56% of students choose hard liquor when drinking. Castro suggested that these numbers indicate that pre-gaming is a common problem, and he also noted that “all of Stanford’s emergency room trips for alcohol poisoning involve hard liquor.”

In other news…

After a unanimous vote last week, acting Gov. Mike Cruz signed Bill 389 into law, which raises Guam’s drinking age to 21.  In response to the new law, Andersen Air Force base followed suit and raised its drinking age to 21 as well. The change comes without any additional licensing or education provisions, so we’ll be watching closely to see if problems of secretive binge drinking develop as they have among 18-20 year-olds here.

Earlier this week, Adam Marszal and Russell Taylor were sentenced to 30 days in jail after pleading no contest to hazing charges related to the alcohol poisoning death of Cal Poly first-year Carson Starkey in December 2008. The San Luis Obispo Tribune profiled the incident and noted that after Starkey’s death, Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed the Carson Starkey Alcohol Awareness and Education Act into law, which added curricula on alcohol poisoning and binge drinking to Texas public schools.

Leave us a tip in the comments if we missed something in this week’s update.