Not all teens drink pilfered booze.
Underage drinking parties are on the rise countywide, and parents are hosting them at an alarming rate, said Capt. Thomas Didone of the Montgomery County Police Department.
“Studies have shown when parents host or enable drinking parties that youth tend to drink more and feel empowered to drink at other times,” Didone said.
Between Nov. 16 and Jan. 7, a joint task force of local police agencies busted 23 underage drinking parties and issued 239 alcohol citations to youth in possession of or providing alcohol, Didone said. They also arrested six underage drivers in violation of alcohol restrictions.
It is unclear how many parents have been found guilty of providing alcohol to minors or hosting drinking parties. The Montgomery County State’s Attorney did not return calls for comment and police were unable to provide the information.
Providing alcohol to a minor is a civil violation with fines up to $2,500 for a first offense and $5,000 for subsequent offenses, according to county police.
Parents who host an underage drinking party can be charged $500 per minor for a first offense and $1,000 per minor for a second offense, said Maura Lynch, a former Montgomery County assistant state’s attorney who works at Rismiller Law Group, LLC.
“There are lots of kids out there who are beginning to experiment with drugs and alcohol,” said Beth Kane-Davidson, program director at Suburban Hospital’s Addiction Treatment Center. “You can’t invite 30 kids over and expect they are going to be fine in the basement. You just can’t.”
It was not hard to find places to drink, said Veronica Ramos, 18, who graduated from Col. Zadok Magruder High School last year. She said there was an alcohol party at least once a week.
“I don’t know where they would get it, but it would be there,” Ramos said.
Students at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School agreed drinking was common among their peers, particularly after stressful weeks like mid-term exams and final exams.
“They just do it because everyone else is doing it,” said Daniel David Jr., 15, a student at Bethesda-Chevy Chase.
If parents want to keep their children from drinking, he recommended they stop drinking, hide their alcohol and tell their children the consequences of drinking. Other teens suggested curfews and parents getting more involved in their childrens’ lives.
Parents discussed ways to keep minors from drinking at a Jan. 24 panel on teen drug and alcohol abuse at B-CC.
A somber reminder of the potential consequences was provided by a fatal New Year’s Day car crash in Bethesda. At about 3 a.m., two minors were killed after the SUV they were riding in crashed into a tree. Police found open beer cans in the car.
Christopher Nardi, an assistant principal at B-CC, has two high school-age children. Although he calls other parents to make sure his children only will attend alcohol-free, supervised parties, one of his children has used “the code” after ending up at a drinking party. A code is an innocuous phrase that signals to parents that their child needs a ride home immediately.
Teens who do not drink can still be cited for possession if alcohol is within reach, Lynch said. The violation can cost up to $4,000 for fines and other charges.
Effects of citations are “arbitrary and capricious,” she said, citing students who lost scholarships or college admissions.
“The result of these citations can be far reaching,” Lynch said. “We’re asking our kids to evaluate on Saturday at 10 p.m., am I going to ruin my future by staying here.”
Parents are fighting against a culture that promotes consumption of alcohol, said Mimi Fleury, who pointed to popular clothing company Reef, which infamously made sandals with a bottle opener, and alcopops, a category including fruit flavored drinks that appeal to underage girls.
Fleury is a founder of Community of Concern, a partnership of students, parents, schools and other organizations working together to keep youth off drugs and alcohol. It started at Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda and has spread to 24 states.
“The internet is a wonderful place, but it is also a step-by-step in how to roll a joint, how to make a gravity bong,” Fleury said.
A gravity bong is a homemade implement for smoking marijuana. An online search revealed multiple sites and videos that teach how to construct a gravity bong from an empty gallon of milk or two-liter bottle of soda.
“Parents, if you’re ever concerned, drug test them,” Kane-Davidson said. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, ‘I didn’t smoke all through 10th grade because my parents said they’d test me’.”
Drug tests are available in stores or online for as little as $3.73 for a marijuana test, according to Amazon.
jablamsky@gazette.net
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