As Super Bowl LIV Season Begins, Spread the Word: Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk

Super Bowl LIV is right around the corner. This year, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is teaming up with the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office and SAFE Coalition to remind football fans and Super Bowl partygoers that designated drivers are the best defense against the dangers of drunk driving. Super Bowl LIV falls on Sunday, February 2, 2020. If your Super Bowl celebration involves alcohol, plan for a ride home with a sober driver. If you’re hosting the party, take care of the designated drivers. We want to remind everyone that Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk.

Everyone wants to have a good time on Super Bowl night, so we want our community folks to plan safe rides home if they plan to be out at a party. Even one drink can impair judgment. You should never put yourself, or others, at risk because you made the choice to drink and drive. Even one drink can be one too many.

Whether you’re attending a party, hosting a party, or going out to a bar, keep safety at the forefront of your night. When it’s time to leave, make sure your designated driver is actually sober. If they decided to drink, call someone else who you know hasn’t been drinking to get you home safely. Remember that walking impaired can also be dangerous, so designate a sober friend to walk home with you. If you are driving, remember that sober driving isn’t the only law that should be followed: Make sure you — and your driver — wear your seat belts.

If you’re planning to be a designated driver, know that you’re the night’s MVP. No matter what, do not drink any alcohol — people are relying on you. While at the party, enjoy the food, the company, and the non-alcoholic drinks. Encourage other designated drivers on social media using the hashtag #DesignatedDriver. Your positive influence could help keep other designated drivers on the right track. If someone you know has been drinking and tries to drive, take their keys and help them get home safely. Even if they make a fuss at the moment, they’ll thank you later. 

If you’re hosting this year’s Super Bowl party, prepare plenty of snacks and non-alcoholic beverages for your guests and the designated drivers. Get creative and try out some Super Bowl-themed snacks and beverages. Support your designated drivers by tweeting their names to @NHTSAgov to add their name to the Wall of Fame, and use the hashtag #DesignatedDriver. They are doing everyone a favor by keeping drunk drivers off the roads. Ask your guests to designate their sober drivers in advance, or help them coordinate with other partygoers’ designated drivers. Remind your drinking guests that they have a long evening ahead of them, and encourage them to pace themselves, to eat food, and to drink plenty of water. Another important reminder: Do not serve alcohol to minors. If an underage person drinks and drives, the person who provided the alcohol can be held liable for any damage, injury, or death caused by the underage driver. In fact, you can face jail time if you host a party where alcohol is served to people under the age of 21.

Drunk driving isn’t the only risk on the road: Drug-impaired driving is also an increasing problem, for men and for women alike. If drivers are impaired by any substance — alcohol or drugs — they should not get behind the wheel of a vehicle. It is illegal in all states to drive impaired by alcohol or drugs. Remember: Driving while impaired is illegal, period. The bottom line is this: If You Feel Different, You Drive Different. It’s that simple.

If you’re heading out for a night of Super Bowl fun, make a game plan and follow these simple tips for a safe and happy evening:

·         Remember that it is never okay to drive drunk. Designate a sober driver or a ride to get home safely if you plan to drink.

·         If you see a a drunk driver on the road, contact the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office.

·         Have a a friend who is about to drink and drive? Take the keys away and make arrangements to get your friend home safely.

Remember: If you drive drunk, you may lose money, your reputation, your car, and even your life. Everyone should know by now that it is illegal to drive impaired. Even still, thousands die each year in drunk-driving-related crashes. In 2018, there were 10,511 people killed in drunk-driving crashes. The costs can be financial, too: If you’re caught drinking and driving, you can face jail time, lose your driver’s license and your vehicle, and pay up to $10,000 in attorney’s fees, fines, car towing, higher insurance rates, and lost wages.

For more information on the dangers of drunk driving, visit https://www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/get-materials/drunk-driving/buzzed-driving-drunk-driving/super-bowl.

Van Buren County IPFS Project Update

The Van Buren County SAFE Coalition was awarded the Iowa Partnership for Success (IPFS) Grant in February 2015 to address underage drinking and underage binge drinking in Van Buren County.  The coalition completed the fifth year of this five year grant on September 29, 2019.  The Van Buren County SAFE Coalition’s IPFS project was funded by the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The coalition has received a nine-month extension (September 30, 2019—June 30, 2020) from IDPH funded through the State of Iowa beer and liquor permit revenue to continue to address two of the IPFS strategies and two new strategies.  The coalition members chose to continue to address Alcohol Restrictions at Community Events at Privately Owned Facilities and Alcohol Restrictions in Public Places.  The two new strategies are a Media Campaign produced by IDPH “As You Age, THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK” to address the increase in deaths from alcohol use by people over 45, and to promote suicide prevention work in the county. 

During the nine-month extension of the IPFS Project the coalition will be implementing the four strategies it has been funded to work on as follows: 
1) Alcohol Restrictions at Community Events at Privately Owned Facilities: The coalition is working with privately owned facilities to help them write, adopt, and implement newly written alcohol policies focused on the Best Practices for Alcohol Service at their location.  During the next six months, the coalition members will continue to work with three of the ten facilities that have not implemented policies in Van Buren County to encourage the implementation of written alcohol restrictions policies.  The coalition would recommend that all facilities in the county put into place a written alcohol restriction policy. 

2) Alcohol Restrictions in Public Places: The coalition is working with city councils to help them write, adopt, and implement newly written alcohol policies focused on the Best Practices for Alcohol Service at their local parks and ball fields. The coalition will be working with at least two city councils in the next six months to help them to implement these policies.  The coalition would recommend that all towns in the county put into place a written alcohol restriction policy for their community parks and ball fields. 

3) Older Adult Drinking Prevention Media Campaign: The coalition will be working with local media outlets to implement IDPH’s “As You Age, THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK” older adult drinking prevention media campaign.  The plan is to utilize posters at the hospital and clinics, a billboard ad, newspaper ads, and radio ads to promote the campaign in the next six months.  The coalition will be working with local media outlets to ensure older adults are exposed to the media campaign. 

4) Adult Suicide Prevention: The coalition will be working to increase the capacity of the county to address Adult Suicide Prevention.  The coalition will be working to educate community members on the risk and signs of potential suicide in family members and friends.  The coalition will host an ASIST Training in the next six months to train local community members and stakeholders in how to help prevent suicides in the county.  The coalition members will also be working to promote IDPH’s Your Life Iowa website (yourlifeiowa.org) and related resources.  This will include the distribution of resources as well as articles and ads in the newspaper.   

For more information on the Van Buren County Partnership for Success work or the SAFE Coalition please contact the coalition at 319-293-3334 ext. 1017 or safe.coalition@van-burencsd.org.

Working Together to Make Van Buren County SAFE

The Van Buren County SAFE Coalition, through funding from the Iowa Partnerships for Success
Grant, is working to combat underage drinking. Residents may not realize that preventing alcohol abuse begins with effective policies and procedures. It is common to think of law enforcement as the primary way to stop teen drinking through arrests and citations.  It is clear that law enforcement is a vital part of the network that is working to prevent and stop underage drinking and youth binge drinking; however, actions taken at the city and private facility level are also key to creating a healthy and safe environment for teens and adults.

A good example of this is Keosauqua’s Band Shell Rental Policy that requires adult supervision of events with participants under 21 years of age, that no alcohol be provided to anyone under the age of 21 at an event, a higher deposit for events with alcohol being served or sold at them, that alcohol be consumed in a fenced portion of the property where participants under the age of 21 are not allowed, and if cash bars are used, they must provide proof of dram shop insurance and have a valid liquor sales license. 

The SAFE Coalition is available to work with residents, organizations and community leaders to prevent underage drinking and to help develop appropriate policies for their location. The coalition has worked with the Douds Community Center, the Douds Community Club Grounds, the Lodge at Windy Ridge, and the Keosauqua Senior Center to develop new written policies for their private facilities.  They have all now implemented new written alcohol restriction policies for their facilities.  The coalition has worked with the City of Birmingham and the City of Farmington to develop alcohol restriction policies for their Public Places.  Birmingham implemented a no alcohol allowed policy for their Baseball Field and Farmington hung signs at Indian Lake reminding people staying there to not provide alcohol to underage people at the park.  The coalition will continue to work with local private facilities and city councils to implement new policies to help prevent underage drinking.  Residents are encouraged to learn about and advocate for strong alcohol-related policies for their communities.

The SAFE Coalition and Sieda Community Action offer free Merchant Alcohol Training where servers are trained in the best practices of alcohol service to keep alcohol out of the hands of the youth in the county.  The SAFE Coalition also has ID Scanners that can be utilized during any event in the Van Buren County area. 

The SAFE Coalition received the Iowa Partnerships for Success Grant in February 2015 to address underage drinking and underage binge drinking in Van Buren County.  The Van Buren County SAFE Coalition’s Partnership for Success project is funded by the Iowa Department of Public Health, through Sunday Sales Tax.

For more information on underage drinking, visit http://www.whatdoyouthrowaway.org/ or contact the SAFE Coalition at 319-293-3334 ext. 1017 or safe.coalition@van-burencsd.org. 

Marijuana in Iowa: What You Should Know About Marijuana Concentrates (THC Extracts)

Highly potent THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) products are obtained by extracting THC out of the marijuana plant.  THC is the chemical in marijuana that produces a “high”.

Typical marijuana seized by law enforcement contains an average of about 12% THC.  Concentrates contain very high levels of THC, ranging from 40% to 80%.  Concentrates often appear similar to honey or butter.  Street names for these extracted concentrates include Budder, Honey Oil, Wax, Ear Wax, Shatter, Black Glass, Dabs (dabbing), Butane Hash Oil, Butane Honey Oil (BHO), Errl and 710 (the word OIL flipped and spelled backward). 

Hash oils and marijuana waxes are often produced in what are called Butane Hash Oil labs.  Butane gas is a highly flammable component used in the process of making concentrates from the marijuana plant.  An increasing number of BHO labs are being reported in the western United States, as are BHO lab fires, explosions, and injuries.  In Iowa, law enforcement is reporting BHO lab activity in some communities. 

While marijuana concentrates are relatively new, one recent study of high-potency marijuana (16% THC) showed a psychotic disorder was five times more likely among regular daily users, and three-time more likely among weekend users. (Kings College, London, 2015)  The effects of using marijuana containing lower THC levels have become well documented by research.  (“Adverse Effects of Marijuana,” New England Journal of Medicine, June 2014)  Some of these are Short Term – impaired short-term memory, impaired motor coordination, altered judgment, paranoia and psychosis (in large doses); Long Term – addiction: 9% for all users (17% of teens), altered brain development, cognitive impairment (lower IQ) among frequent users during adolescence and symptoms of chronic bronchitis. 

THC extracts smuggled from other states and BHO lab remnants are being found with increasing frequency in Iowa.  The Iowa Crime Lab reports an upsurge in the number of marijuana submissions involving concentrates in the form of marijuana oils, waxes, vaping cartridges, candies and other food items (some labeled for sale and some home-made).  (Iowa Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Investigation, May 2015)

This information has been gathered and supplied by the Alliance of Coalitions for Change (AC4C).  For more information on the dangers of marijuana use in Iowa please contact the SAFE Coalition at 319-293-6412 or at info@vbsafecoalition.com.  You can also find more information at www.vbsafecoalition.com, https://sites.google.com/site/iaac4c/topics-of-interest or https://www.facebook.com/Iowa-Voices-Of-Reason-778768612266782/photos_stream?tab=photos. 

WARNING…. EXPIRED EMPLOYEES!

The Van Buren County SAFE Coalition will be completing an audit of all Van Buren County Licensees. When it has been completed the coalition staff will send you a copy of who is or is not trained at your business.  Coalition members are available to meet with business owners/managers to help you with your business and any questions you may have concerning licensing rules and training your staff.  For a local business to be eligible to eliminate administrative sanctions on a local compliance check the employees must have a current certification with the coalition from the free Merchant Alcohol Training. To eliminate administrative sanctions on a state patrol compliance check your employees must be trained through I-PACT the ABD online training system.

The 3 Step Employee Training Process that the coalition encourages merchants to follow for training is as follows:

1. Orientation DVD: Checking ID’s– Easy as 1-2-3

2. SAFE Merchant Alcohol Training Program

3. I-PACT Online Training Program– Iowa ABD

The SAFE Coalition will be holding merchant alcohol training during the month of January on the 14^th at 6:00 pm and the 15^th at 9:00 am at the Van Buren Community Services Center Conference Room (ER entrance of the Hospital – Building is on the Left) in Keosauqua. The training in 2020 will be held every other month unless a business requires personal training and those can be set up through the coalition by calling 319-293-3334 ext. 1017.

If you have employees who need to be re-trained or who have never been trained plan to get them to training as soon as possible. If you are unsure of the status of your employees you may contact the coalition office. If you would like to set up a private training for your business please contact Kris at 319-293-3334 ext. 1017. If you have other questions or concerns the coalition can be reached via email at info@vbsafecoalition.com or by phone at 319-293-3334 ext. 1017. RSVP is required for all training.