Underage Drinking Prevention Initiative
As the county’s Local Coordinating Council, Drug Free Marion County has identified the need to reduce youth substance and alcohol use to increase parental awareness and prevention skills. The process of gathering and reviewing local data on the specific topics of underage and binge drinking have lead to real concern about the impact of drinking on Marion County youth. It has also led to a better understanding of the need to make changes in our local communities.
“This State Report is required by the Sober Truth on Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking Act (Pub. L. 109-422), which was enacted by Congress in 2006 and reauthorized in December 2016 as part of the 21st Century Cures Act (Pub. L. 114-255). The STOP Act requires an annual report “on each state’s performance in enacting, enforcing, and creating laws, regulations, and programs to prevent or reduce underage drinking.” As directed by the STOP Act, the State Reports were prepared by the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Preventing Underage Drinking (ICCPUD), which is chaired by the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Time period covered by this State Report: The 2018 State Report primarily includes data from calendar year 2017. The state legal data reflects the status of the law as of January 1, 2017. The state survey data was collected in 2017 and was drawn from the most recent 12-month period in which the states maintained the data.
Because of the facts of this report, Drug Free Marion County (DFMC) created a Local Advisory Council (LAC) to direct this project and used the strategic prevention framework to guide and organize its efforts. This fact sheet is a summary of key data points illuminating the issue of underage and binge drinking in Marion County.
The Local Advisory Council is implementing the following action plan:
- Increase public awareness, by sharing data and information on prevention strategies
- Reduce social availability by increasing knowledge of legal penalties, party patrols, reduce third party sales, stop loss measures
- Increase perception of risk or harm through prevention education programs
Did you know?? Alcohol consumption begins earlier than you think.
In this Indiana 2018 State Report it reveals updated information concerning
- Alcohol use among 12 to 20 year olds
- Laws Addressing Minors in Possession of Alcohol
- Laws Targeting Underage Drinking and Driving
- Laws Targeting Alcohol Suppliers
- Plus a State Survey Responses
Indiana State Report Underage Drinking Prevention and Enforcement 2018
Fact Sheet – Marion County Data on Underage Alcohol Use
Prevalence of Use Among Marion County Youth: (1)
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48% of 8th grade students report having drank alcohol
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On average 8% of 6th grade students report having used alcohol in the last 30 days. (Actual range 3.9%-13.7%)
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Current use of alcohol (last 30 days) increases rapidly between 6th and 8th grade going from 8% to 21.5%, a change of 62%
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18% of 11 to 18 year olds report binge* drinking in the last two weeks
Availability: (2)
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71.7% of area teens report getting alcohol from friends or relatives over the age of 21
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52.8% of teens report that they know of parents who allow teens to drink in their home
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Marion County has 1,576 licensed liquor establishments
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75% of Marion County middle and high school lie within a half mile radius of a licensed liquor establishment
Impact of Use: (3)
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A person who begins drinking as a young teen is four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than someone who starts in adulthood (21)
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During adolescence significant changes occur in the body, including the formation of new networks in the brain. Alcohol use during this time may affect brain development.
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Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among youth ages 15-20 and the rate of fatal crashes among alcohol-involved drivers between 16 and 20 years old is more than twice the rate for alcohol-involved drivers 21 and older. Alcohol use is also linked with youth fatalities by drowning, suicide and homicide.
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Alcohol use is associated with many adolescent risk behaviors, including other drug use and delinquency, weapon carrying and fighting, and perpetrating or being the victim of date rape.
*Binge drinking is defined as having four or more drinks for women and five or more for men during one occasion.
Date Sources
1) Alcohol Tobacco and other Drug Use by Indiana Children and Adolescents Survey, 2007 Indiana Prevention Resource Center (http://www.drugs.indiana.edu/)
2) Drug Free Marion County’s Youth Advisory Council, Teen Alcohol Survey April 2008
State Excise Police registry of Marion County liquor license establishments
SAVI data mapping, Polis Center
3) NIAAA The Facts About Youth and Alcohol. http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/PSA/factsheet/pdf
Why is public policy important for preventing harmful drinking?
Prevention experts have started to focus on the significance of addressing social and environmental conditions which may give rise to substance use and abuse. For the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), Gardner and Brounstein identified principles that constitute effective substance abuse prevention. From these principles CSAP has specified seven effective prevention approaches, public policy being one of them. Policies that pertain to alcohol impose real penalties for drunk driving or make alcohol hard for young people to access. Some policy changes that could be used to achieve these goals are: limiting the number of alcohol outlets, targeting prices or taxes of alcohol and tobacco, restrict public marketing of alcohol and tobacco, or limiting alcohol, tobacco, or other drug use in public places.
Drug Free Marion County is working on the issue of underage and binge drinking. The data for Marion County shows that our young people are using alcohol at a young age and our Teen Alcohol Survey revealed that our adolescents begin drinking on average at age 12. 48% of 8th graders report consuming alcohol and 71.7% of area teens report getting alcohol from friends or relatives who are of legal drinking age. We are concerned with the number of alcohol outlets in Marion County, as well as local and state-wide legislation of alcohol. We encourage you to be involved with these issues and to express your concerns and opinions to state and local elected officials!
Alcohol Permitting
State Excise Alcohol Permit Violations for Marion County
A new database recently compiled by the state of Indiana can provide you with information about which businesses in your neighborhood have been cited for alcohol-related violations by the Indiana State Excise Police in the last ten years. Please note the date provided by the state refers to the date the fine was paid not the date of the incident.
Drug Free Marion County can help you find out about alcohol violations in your neighborhood, click here.
Information on how to remonstrate against Alcohol Beverage Permit requests
The Alcohol Tobacco Commission Local Board Handbook identifies the legal reason an alcohol beverage permit can be denied. Those Reasons are:
(1) The applicant does not maintain a high and fine reputation in the community;
(2) There is no need for the services of the applicant at the proposed location;
(3) The neighborhood and/or community do not desire the services;
(4) The services at the proposed location would have a negative impact on other businesses in the neighborhood as well as a negative impact on the neighborhood in general;
(5) The permit premises is within 200 feet of a church or school; or
(6) The permit premises is in a residential area as referred to in IC 7.1-1- 3-38 and 905 IAC 1-18-1.
Members of the community who wish to speak or offer evidence against the applicant are known as “remonstrators.” Under the Commission’s rules, remonstrator means a person who appears, personally or by counsel, at the Local Board hearing to speak against a permit and identifies himself by stating his name and address or telephone number to the Local Board. The Local Board may limit the testimony of remonstrators, particularly if the testimony is repetitive or is not relevant to the application at issue.
The Local Board may utilize any and all information presented at the hearing; however, it may not consider information obtained outside the hearing process.
Following the presentation of evidence by the applicant and the remonstrators, the Local Board votes on the application.
Download our Remonstration Manual for information about the process, petition forms, and sample letters.
The Marion County Alcohol Control Board meets the First and third Monday of the month 9:30 am
Some exceptions occur: The meeting is moved to Tuesday if there is a holiday that falls on the typical meeting day. All meetings are held at the City County Building. To be recognized as a remonstrator you must be there at 9:30 to let the Board know of your intentions to remonstrate and which business you will be discussing.
Room 260
City-County Building
200 East Washington Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46203