“Live Above the Influence” Iowa AC4C goes to Iowa Capitol for Substance Abuse Prevention Day on the Hill

On Thursday, February 28^th, the Alliance of Coalitions for Change (AC4C), a state-wide collaboration to affect positive change in substance abuse, will be meeting with state legislators to discuss their concerns about youth marijuana use and substance use in Iowa along with education on increasing the beer excise tax in Iowa, increasing the tobacco age of purchase, and implementing a user fee on electronic nicotine delivery systems.

Seven of the Van Buren County High School Youth Leadership Council (YLC) members will be among the many community coalitions, representing a mixture of Iowa’s rural and urban populations at this event.

Iowa has a low rate of marijuana use when compared to the national average.  However, the perception of harm among youth is declining.  A lower perception of harm historically shows us that there will be a rise in use.

The 2016 Iowa Youth Survey showed 10% of 11th graders in Iowa (8% in Van Buren County) reporting marijuana use in the past 30 days.  41% of 11^th graders in Iowa (39% in Van Buren County) believe there is a slight risk or no risk in harming themselves if they use marijuana once a week.  In states with policy expansion of marijuana, youth use rose as perception of risk decreased. 

For 32 years, Iowa’s beer tax has remained at LESS THAN $.02 per drink. In Iowa, excessive alcohol use including binge drinking cost $1.9 billion or $1.59 per drink in problems associated with binge drinking in 2010 (CDC, 2016). Alcohol is the most commonly used substance in Iowa and binge drinking is a common form of alcohol consumption. It is a serious public health concern!

Young adults aged 25-34 years of age are most likely to binge drink, followed by those aged 18-24 and 35-44 years old (IDPH). In 2015, 20% of adult Iowans (over 400,000 people) engaged in binge drinking (BRFSS). In 2015, Iowa ranked 5^th in th nation for percentage of adults who binge drink (CDC, 2016). According to the 2016 Iowa Youth Survey, 13% of Iowa 11^th graders in Iowa (17% in Van Buren County) have binge drank in the last 30 days.

The AC4C press conference will be held in the East Hall of the 1^st floor rotunda 12:30 to 1:00 PM. Media, legislators and the public are encouraged to attend.

For further information, please contact the Van Buren County SAFE Coalition at 319-293-3334 ext. 1017 or safe.coalition@van-burencsd.org or Jennifer Husmann, AC4C Day on the Hill Coordinator, at                             319-721-4463 or jhusmann@asac.us

What is this Social Host All About – Part 2

Why is This Important?

·         We want our youth to grow up to be strong, healthy and drug-free.

·         Even when the property owner did not supply the alcohol, it is still illegal for underage youth to consume alcohol. Adults, including parents, who knowingly permit youth to consume alcohol at their home, are sending the wrong message to our youth.

·         Currently, only the person who actually physically sells or gives the alcohol to the person under legal age can be prosecuted.

·         Underage drinkers may obtain the alcohol from one person, and then go somewhere else to drink it.  Common examples are parties that take place in rural areas, or at the home of one of the underage drinkers.  Adults have told police they knew about the party and it was okay with them, “because the kids weren’t driving and I knew where they were.”  This is still condoning illegal behavior.  Currently, there is no charge that applies to these situations.

Did you know…

·         It costs Iowans $582 million a year as a result of underage drinking.

·         82% of athlete’s parents surveyed believe their son or daughter does not drink. 52% of their underage student athletes admitted to drinking.

·         Youth who drink before 15 are 4 times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who began drinking at age 21.

Enacting a local social host ordinance would give law enforcement the ability to address and manage the issue of individuals hosting underage drinking in a way that fits our local community, rather than being bound by the state vision for this issue.  The neighboring community of Jefferson County has adopted a local social host ordinance which could be used as a possible guide for drafting one for Van Buren County. 

Local changes recommended for the local social host ordinance include: Designating a violation as a municipal infraction with a civil penalty rather than the state code’s criminal misdemeanor penalty; Imposing fines in the amount of $750 for first offense and $1,000 for second offense, which is more meaningful than $500 for second and subsequent offenses as provided for in state code; Including individuals in the 18-20 year old age group as 21 is the legal drinking age in the state of Iowa.

Read more about Social Host in next week’s paper.  For more information please contact the SAFE Coalition at 319-293-3334 ext. 1017 or safe.coalition@van-burencsd.org or attend the coalition’s next Community Conversation on August 8^th at 6:00 pm at the Great Day Café (free meal provided) to learn more about the topic.

Through With Chew Week Gets Boost from Local Health Officials

By Rose Rankin

Nationally dentists, otolaryngologists—physicians concerned with the ears, nose, and throat—have proclaimed the week of February 18-22, 2019, as "Through with Chew Week" in an effort to call attention to the use of smokeless tobacco.

In 2014, more than 5 of every 100 high school students (5.5%) in the United States used smokeless tobacco. Locally, in 2016 on the Iowa Youth Survey 8% of 11^th grade students (5 out of 65 students) reported having used smokeless tobacco at least once in the past 30 days.  The public awareness campaign is designed to reduce the use of smokeless tobacco among young people. 

Smokeless tobacco is not a safe alternative to cigarettes, as some young people believe, and it is even more habit forming because it contains a higher concentration of nicotine than cigarettes.  Smokeless tobacco can cause oral cancer, especially in the cheeks, gums, and throat. In addition, smokeless tobacco is addicting.  The use of smokeless tobacco can also lead to other oral problems, such as mouth sores, gum recession, tooth decay, bad breath, and permanent discoloration of teeth.

The Youth Leadership Council will be doing the following activities that week: Posters in the Van Buren Community High Middle/High School, a Lunch and Learn, and distributing Gum with Facts on it during a Basketball Game. 

Through With Chew Week is sponsored by the Van Buren County Hospital, the Van Buren County SAFE Coalition, and the Van Buren County Youth Leadership Council. For more information or for materials, please contact the SAFE Coalition at 319-293-3334 ext. 1017 or safe.coalition@van-burencsd.org.

What is this Social Host All About – Part 1

Who is a Social Host? 

A social host is someone who knowingly allows an underage person to consume alcohol illegally on the host’s property. 

What is Social Host Liability? 

Social Host Liability is the legal term for the criminal responsibility of a person who allows such illegal activity.

What would this ordinance/law aim to do?

·         This ordinance is part of the effort to stop underage drinking.

·         The Social Host Ordinance is aimed at those who allow persons under legal age to consume alcoholic beverages in or on property they own or control.

·         This ordinance would address enforcement and prosecution problems where persons knowingly permit or allow underage drinkers to have a party on their property, even when the owner didn’t supply the alcohol, and persons, including parents, who knowingly permit or allow their children’s friends to consume alcohol at their home, even where the parents didn’t supply the alcohol.  Currently, only the person who actually physically sells or gives the alcohol to the person under legal age can be prosecuted.

·         The ordinance will address adults who know that underage drinking is occurring on their property and either allow it to go on or does nothing to stop it.  Underage drinkers may obtain the alcohol from one person, and then go somewhere else to drink it.  Common examples are parties that take place in rural areas, or the basement of a home of one of the underage drinkers.  Parents have told police that they knew about the party and it was okay with the parents, because the kids weren’t driving and they knew where they were. 

·         The charge and penalty will be punishable by a fine.

·         The ordinance only applies to those who know that underage drinking is going on and do not stop it, or who gave permission for it to occur in the first place.  It would not apply to persons who did not know that underage drinking was occurring on their property.  For example, if the parents were away, and their child had a party at their home and the parents were unaware of it, those parents would not be charged.  Other examples would be a land owner who does not live on the property and teens hold a party on it without the owners knowledge or a property owner who rents a cabin or room to someone who allows underage drinking while renting the property – the owner would not be held accountable for this, the renter would be the one held accountable. 

·         The ordinance/law would not give law enforcement permission to enter private property without cause. 

Read more about Social Host in coming articles in this newspaper.  For more information please contact the SAFE Coalition at 319-293-3334 ext. 1017 or safe.coalition@van-burencsd.org or attend the coalition’s next coalition meeting on February 19^th at 4:30 pm at the VBCH Community Services Center Conference Room to learn more about the topic.