East Valley Tribune 4.20 Event
Click here to load reader
-
Upload
community-bridges-inc-cbi -
Category
Documents
-
view
217 -
download
1
description
Transcript of East Valley Tribune 4.20 Event
Mesa Prevention Alliance event offers youth ideas to live 'above the influence'
Posted: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 6:00 am | Updated: 7:37 pm, Wed Apr 17, 2013.
Mesa Prevention Alliance event offers youth ideas to live 'above the influence' By Michelle Reese,
Tribune| 0 comments
With as many as 35 percent of Mesa eighth graders
admitting to at least trying alcohol, the Mesa Prevention
Alliance is planning an event this weekend to show them
there’s another lifestyle to choose.
“Live Above the Influence” is a nationwide drug- and alcohol-
use prevention theme that the alliance has also adopted for
its 4/20 event Saturday at Mesa’s Amazing Jake’s. The first
300 visitors ages 13 to 18 will receive an all-day pass for
free. Anyone that age who arrives after the tickets are given
away will be offered a discounted $17.99 daylong pass.
This marks the fourth year the Mesa Prevention Alliance has
put on a April 20 event to take the day away from the
unofficial “holiday” often claimed by marijuana users, the
alliance states.
“We don’t want it to look like we’re celebrating 4/20. We want
to offer an alternative for that day. How can we get them
involved in something that is positive?” said alliance
executive director Karen Frias-Long. To that effort, the
alliance also invites groups like the Walk a Mile in My Shoes,
Safe Home Place and various recreation centers who give
youth ideas about where they can get involved.
The problem, she said, is that youth are “inundated” with
mixed messages.
“If you have one of hour of education with them, the rest of
the day they’re inundated with social media, the news,
music, mixed messaging,” she said. “Our youth are starting
to take their first sip of alcohol at just under 12 years of age.
What we want to do, what we’re trying to do, a lot of it is to
educate adults about what’s going on. I think a lot of parents
Mesa Prevention Alliance event
Youth share what keeps them "above the influence" and away
from drugs and alcohol during last year's 4/20 event hosted by
the Mesa Prevention Alliance. This year, the alliance is hosting
its event at Mesa's Amazing Jakes.
don’t realize how young they’re starting to drink. We look
at alcohol as the gateway drug that opens the door to
marijuana and the synthetic drugs. We’re just trying to
say, 'This is what’s going on; this is what we’re seeing.'"
Every two years, students in eighth, 10th and 12th
grades are asked about substance use in the Arizona
Youth Survey. According to the most recent one – 2012 –
there was a 5 percent drop in the number of eighth
graders who said they have used or tried alcohol, from
40 percent to 35 percent.
In fact, across the board, many of the statistics dipped,
even a bit, Frias-Long said. But one statistic went up that
alarmed her.
More high school seniors said they receive alcohol from
the adults they know, she said.
“That went up almost 5 percent from 2010 to 2012. This
is what the youth are telling us. That increase is with
adults, family members, giving them alcohol,” she said.
She believes there is a belief by parents that “kids are
going to drink anyway” and they fear drinking and driving
so they think, “I’d rather them drink at home as opposed
to being out drinking. Of course our biggest fear is for
them to be in an accident or hurt someone else.”
“The problem is you’re giving them the green light to
drink and they’re doing it elsewhere. … There you go
again with the mixed messaging. You tell them not to do
it, but then it’s OK to do it in the home,” she said.
Saturday's event will be held 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at
Amazing Jakes, 1830 E. Baseline Road, Mesa. The first
300 youth ages 13 to 18 will be admitted free; a
discounted full-day pass will be available the rest of the
day to youth that age for $17.99.
Parents with questions or concerns can reach the
alliance at (480) 768-6036 or
mesapreventionalliance.org.
Contact writer: (480) 898-6549 or
Arizona Youth Survey
Percent of eighth graders who said they have
used alcohol
2010 40%
2012 35%
Percent of youth in 2012 who have said they
have used alcohol in the last 30 days
Eighth graders 15.6%
12th graders 36.5%
Percent of youth in 2012 who said they have
used marijuana in the last 30 days
Eighth graders 8.3%
12th graders 18.8%
Percent of youth in 2012 who said they have
tried synthetic drugs
Eighth graders 4.5%
12th graders 4.6%
Source: Mesa Prevention Alliance
Above the Influence event
When: 10 a.m. Saturday
Where: Amazing Jakes, 1830 E. Baseline Road,
Mesa
Who: The first 300 youth ages 13 to 18 will be
given free all-day passes. A discounted rate of
$17.99 will be available to youth ages 13 to 18
after all the free passes have been distributed.