Dangers of Underage Drinking
Brought to Light

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga County District Attorney Jim Murphy shared a story at the underage drinking prevention meeting at the Saratoga Springs Public Library on Friday about a father in Wilton who held a party for his son.

The celebration with a dozen kids quickly turned into a bedlam with more than 50 teenagers bingeing on alcohol.

The father took the kids’ keys at first, but as other teenagers started text messaging their friends, more people showed up. Kids started grabbing keys and running out the door.

Others were engaging in sexual activities in the backyard, and not all parties were necessarily consenting, Murphy said.

Murphy urged parents not to send a mixed message to kids by allowing drinking at home.

“They take that message right out the door,” Murphy said.

The Saratoga Partnership for Prevention, the Ballston Spa Youth Awareness Task Force, and the Shenendehowa Community Coalition sponsored the town hall meeting to raise awareness of underage drinking.

Murphy, recovering alcoholic Will Lanier, social worker Jean Devlin, Executive Director of the Prevention Council Judy Eckman, Mayor Scott Johnson, and a panel of students discussed the dangers associated with alcohol abuse.

Burnt Hills students Lauren Foley and Mary-Beth Lucier said they hadn’t heard of some of the methods used to get alcohol, such as a “Hey, buddy.”

A “Hey, buddy” is the slang term for a teenager roaming the parking lot outside of supermarkets and asking people in parked cars to buy them beer.

“Our school is not one where everyone goes out and drinks and then talks about it,” Lucier said, adding that sports are more likely to elevate one to a higher social status at Burnt Hills High School than partying.

Lanier attended a high school in Toledo, Ohio, where social status was determined by drinking rather than sports.

“People were much more interested in how much you can party,” Lanier said.

Lanier had several fake IDs he used to buy alcohol, a class-E felony in New York state.

“I had friends who had three DUIs before they were 21,” Lanier said. “I didn’t know anybody who drank a little bit. Maybe they were there.”

Lanier attended Grinnell College in Iowa, where he failed out because of his obsessive drinking.

“I could not picture living without it until I realized there was a problem,” Lanier said.

Lanier’s parents dropped him off at the Gatehouse Academy in Arizona, which offers a year-long program in alcohol recovery and rehabilitation. Lanier now works at the academy, which also has a treatment center in Saratoga Springs.

Panelist and high school student Jordan Stern asked parents to be patient with their kids and prevent alcohol use, and said that their kids would thank them when they were older.

“Don’t always be a friend, and later they’ll realize it’s in their best interest,” Stern said.

“Some kids do want their parents to be parents rather than friends,” Devlin said.

Murphy told parents to be aware that children will rarely come to them to admit alcohol use.

“I just hope parents understand that sending a message is important,” Murphy said.

Murphy’s sister once took up running after her husband took her keys away to prevent her from drinking and driving.

She ran six miles to the liquor store and drank the alcohol in the parking lot, Murphy said.

Some time later, Murphy’s sister woke up in the gutter at 49th street in Manhattan and couldn’t remember how she’d gotten there. After the incident, she was finally convinced to seek treatment, and has now been sober for 22 months.

Devlin, who works with the county’s Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Council, said, “I’ve seen the gamut of kids who use a little bit to kids who have functional problems.” Devlin said she had heard of area kids who had used heroin as well.

“It’s important to work preventively,” Devlin said.

Devlin noted that research indicates that the brain isn’t fully developed until one reaches 25 years of age.

“Research shows that kids feel their emotions two to four times more than an adult,” Devlin said. “Parents need to give kids that line in the sand.”

Donna Hays hosts an anonymous meeting with the prevention council for the rehabilitation of alcohol abusers.

The meetings are 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays on the second floor of 36 Phila St. For more information, contact Hays at 587-1933.

“Kids come to the meeting feeling like they belong,” Hays said.

Hays also mentioned the possibility of providing transportation for anyone unable to find a ride.

The prevention council is a non-profit, community-based organization that provides information and referral services for alcohol and substance abuse.