Tougher laws curtail underage drinking
Being alcohol-and-drug free is more than passing up a glass of wine at family dinners. It’s more than just saying no to beer at parties. I stand for youth across Pennsylvania who choose an alcohol-and-drug free lifestyle. Teen-agers are forced to face the realities of underage drinking multiple times each and every day. If it’s not hearing the horrific stories of drunk driving crashes stealing life from many in our generation, it’s being presented with the details of Friday nights parties and what kinds of alcohol are going to be brainwashing our friends.
And we, those who have made the conscious decision to stay substance free, still fall under the stereotypes that society has filtered us into. I’m writing to set the record straight. To obliterate the idea that all high school students spend their free time in search of that alcohol-induced high.
It was a personal decision for me and those of us who are alcohol- and drug-free to become and stay alcohol-and-drug free. I, like many of those I represent, have watched alcohol take hold of my friends and peers. Turning away and ignoring them when beer and liquor took a stronger hold on their lives than they could have ever expected was simply not an option.
Observing these happenings from afar does not lead to the solution. Making changes in policies are going to save our generation. Passing the bills concerning keg registration and compliance checks will do far more than keep a six-pack out of minors’ hands. These bills would save the lives of my peers and future teens.
Keg registration will help us, as youth, hold the adults who supply alcohol to our peers responsible for their actions. This would act as a deterrent to those of legal age who are considering holding “key parties” and deem them unacceptable and unsafe. Key parties are parties where adults or others take car keys away from minors who are drinking and say that makes it OK to give kids alcohol.
Compliance checks are not only beneficial to those who are trying to put an end to underage drinking, but also to the alcohol industry. They would serve as a way for store owners to weed out employees who have decided not to play by the law.
There is no silver bullet to rid our country of its underage drinking problems. But it is time for Pennsylvania to do its share and start proceeding towards our goal by taking the positive steps against underage drinking of passing both keg registration and compliance checks.
We’ve seen the number of alcohol-related accidents amongst our youth. We’ve seen the statistics offering information of just how many minors are able to obtain alcohol.
Now is the time to see our problems decrease and our youth prosper. All of this is possible through keg registration and compliance checks.
Please join us in supporting the ideas that will save our friends, our peers, and all of our futures. Nothing but good can possible come out of their installment as laws in Pennsylvania.
Jacqueline Hackett is a junior 1at Souderton High School, Montgomery County, and a youth delegate for Pennsylvanians Against Underage Drinking.