Underage alcohol & drug use

The Human Services Committee and their related website, Cheshire Cares, recently published the following story:

PARENTS OF DEAD TEEN, WANT TO HELP SAVE YOURS

The parents of Sam Spady are hoping that the death of their 19 year old daughter will not be in vain. They are hoping you will talk to your children, know their friends and, most importantly, teach them the dangers of binge drinking.

Binge drinking kills more than 1,400 college students each year. The epidemic is growing at high schools, colleges and universities across the nation. Samantha Spady, who had loving parents, adoring friends, was a homecoming queen and class president, became a victim of this alarming statistic in the summer of 2004 when she shared too many shots of vanilla flavored vodka, passed out and died alone inside a fraternity house. Her friends left her to “sleep it off”, she was NEVER checked on, and her dead body was not discovered for hours. Her parents will always wonder and remain convinced that if proper medical attention had been sought, their daughter would be alive today.

An important message that the Spadys, and the Cheshire Coalition to Stop Underage Drinking, would like to get across to parents and teens is the warning signs of alcohol poisoning. Call 911 if a person has any of the following symptoms:

1. Unconscious or semiconscious

2. Breathing less than 10 times per minute or irregular (check every two minutes)

3. Cold, clammy, pale or bluish skin

4. Can’t be awakened by pinching, prodding or shouting

5. Vomiting without waking up

Please remember to NEVER leave an intoxicated person alone and that the LEGAL drinking age is 21.

For more information on Samantha Spady, please visit www.samspadyfoundation.org

This message has been submitted by the Cheshire Coalition to Stop Underage Drinking. If you are interested in becoming a member of this community coalition focused on preventing underage drinking and its consequences in the community of Cheshire please contact Cheshire Youth & Social Services at 271-6690 or by e-mail at cheshireyouthservices@cheshirect.org. All coalition meetings are open to the public and are generally held on the second Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the Yellow House.

And in a somewhat related story, drug use by baby boomers is up, while drug use by kids is down (AP, by Kevin Freking).

Tim White
Town Council, Human Services Committee Liaison
TimWhite98@yahoo.com