Marshall to host underage drinking prevention forum

PRESS RELEASE - Marshall Michigan is one of hundreds of communities nationwide that will hold an Underage

Drinking Prevention Town Hall Meeting on March 24th, 7 p.m. at the Marshall United

Methodist Church, 14711 US 27 North, to discuss and raise awareness about the

issue of underage drinking. Marshall Citizens and the Substance Abuse Council, in

collaboration with the Federal Governments Interagency Coordinating Committee for the

Prevention of Underage Drinking, are sponsoring the event. Parents, teachers, officials, youth

and other community members will be educated about the impact that underage drinking has on

the community and they will develop possible ways to address this issue.


Among eighth graders, about 1 in 20 (5.5 percent) reported being drunk at least once in the past

month. Nearly 1 out of every 5 10th graders (18.1 percent) and about 3 out of every 10 12th

graders (28.7 percent) reported being drunk at least once in the last month according to the

2007 Monitoring the Future Report of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.


Alcohol is the most widely used substance of abuse among our youth. The Surgeon General’s

Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking states that for the most part,

parents and other adults underestimate the number of adolescents who use alcohol. They

underestimate how early the drinking begins, the amount of alcohol adolescents consume, the

many risks that alcohol consumption creates for adolescents, and the nature and extent of the

consequences to both drinkers and nondrinkers.


Although drug use among youth is declining, alcohol continues to kill more kids in the U.S. than

all illegal drugs combined.


After the meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Marshall Public Schools Dr. Brian Metcalf,

Prosecutor John Hallacy, Calhoun County Sheriff Al Byam, Town Hall Meeting moderator

Rebecca Rocho and SAC Executive Director Suzanne Horsfall will be available for comment.


For more information call the Substance Abuse Council, 269-968-4699.