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Police Sting Busts 17 of 102 Bay City Stores for Underage Alcohol Sales

Midland Reports 50 Percent Higher Illegal Prescription Use Than Average

October 24, 2009       2 Comments
By: Dave Rogers

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Bay City Police in cooperation with the Bay County Prevention Network recently ran a decoy sting operation for alcohol abuse.
 

Officials in the Tri-City area are concerned about increased alcohol and illegal prescription drug use among youngsters.

Bay City Police in cooperation with the Bay County Prevention Network recently ran a decoy operation that found 17 of 102 stores checked illegally selling alcohol to minors.

"Alcohol use remains extremely widespread among today's teenagers," reported the National Institute on Drug Abuse in its "Monitoring the Future: National Results on Adolescent Drug Use."

"Responsible alcohol sales are essential in preventing and reducing alcohol use among young adolescents," said Police Chief Mike Cecchini in a report to city commissioners.

"The Bay City Police and the Bay County Prevention Network commends the businesses and their employees who demonstrated responsible alcohol sales," he added.

Nearly three quarters of students (72 percent) have consumed more than a few sips of alcohol by the end of their high school days and about two-fifths (39 percent) have done so by 8th grade, the report said. "In fact, more than half (55 percent) of 12th graders and nearly a fifth (18 percent) of 8th graders in 2008 report having been drunk at least once in their life.

Trends in alcohol use have tended to parallel illicit drug use trends, according to the report. These include a modest increase in binge drinking (defined as having five or more drinks in a row at least once in the past two weeks.)

However, longer term data for 12th graders shows that alcohol usage rates and binge drinking in particular are now substantially below peak levels in the early 1980s.

Results from the Western Michigan University Alcohol and Other Drug Survey conducted in April 2007 shows 15.1 percent of Midland County high school students have used illicit drugs other than marijuana to get high, compared to 10.8 percent nationally.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 70 percent of the prescription drugs teens use come from friends and relatives.

Midland County Circuit Judge Jonathon E. Lauderbach estimates that at least one third to as many as one half of crimes that come through the circuit court are related to prescription drugs, including break-ins and theft of family heirlooms, check forging, thefts from parents and grandparents, and workplace embezzlement -- all for money to buy drugs.

Statistics released by Midland County Prosecutor Mike Carpenter's 2007 annual report show 90 percent of teens and 94 per cent of all adults convicted of felonies in Midland County reported substance abuse in pre-sentence interviews with parole agents.

Nationally, 2,500 kids ages 12-17 try a prescription painkiller for the first time each day.

The Midland Circle of Health Partnership Executive Director Gaye Terwilligar says the group is focusing efforts on raising awareness about misuse of prescription drugs.

Saginaw dentist Alan Mead said the Michigan Automated Prescription System has been in place since the early 1990s. It collects information on people and their prescriptions for controlled substances. ###

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"The BUZZ" - Read Feedback From Readers!

mosher Says:       On October 26, 2009 at 01:51 PM
Dave, I clicked on this story in order to read the names of the stores. It's like a news flash "somebody famous was busted" w/out the names.
l.conley52 Says:       On October 29, 2009 at 08:37 AM
I agree with her comment, I also wanted to know the names of who servered minors, I would not shop at their store.
Agree? or Disagree?


Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

More from Dave Rogers

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