Kadeem McCarthy moderates a youth-led discussion on underage drinking on Nantucket.
This week the Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention held a town hall meeting to discuss a strategic plan to curb substance abuse among Nantucket’s youth.
Perhaps the pressures normally felt by youth in a small town are magnified by Nantucket's natural barriers. A poll conducted in February 2007 showed that kids on Nantucket were above the state and national averages for all the key indicators of underage alcohol
use. Karyn Lindsay, the President of ASAP, targets a few key factors.
"Because we are a vacation destination, we have a lot of community events and traditions that support usage year round. It becomes an acceptable norm for adults and kids kind of follow their model. The access to alcohol is really the issue."
Lindsay continued. "There is a culture of use on Nantucket. There is really a pervasive right of passage norm that isn't totally unique to Nantucket, but is very prevalent here. In some ways parents think that it's inevitable that their kids will drink and not necessarily undestand the dangers."
Visit ASAP's website for more information on how you can get involved.
Add your comments...