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Clinton to take on underage drinking

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By Steven Martens | Saturday, March 22, 2008 |

CLINTON, Iowa — The Clinton Substance Abuse Council and New Directions are teaming up for a series of town hall meetings to address the problems of underage drinking and prescription drug abuse.

Three meetings have been scheduled to address underage drinking, beginning with one Monday night in Wheatland. The others will follow March 31 in Clinton and April 1 in Camanche. Also, U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley will participate in a discussion about prescription drug abuse Thursday night in Clinton.

Parents, teachers, retailers, law enforcement officials and the public have been invited to participate in the meetings, said Kristin Huisenga of the Clinton Substance Abuse Council.

In 2007, about 73 percent of Clinton County 11th-graders reported that they had tried alcohol, and 49 percent reported that they had consumed alcohol within the past 30 days, according to the Iowa Youth Survey conducted by The Iowa Department of Public Health’s Division of Behavioral Health, the Iowa Department of Education, the Office of Drug Control Policy, the Iowa Department of Human Rights, the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning and Statistical Analysis Center and the Iowa Department of Human Services.

Huisenga said having the discussion in three different communities will allow residents to talk about how the problem specifically affects their town.

“We by no means want to come in and say, ‘This is your problem,’ ” she added.

Huisenga said underage drinking can lead to other substance abuse problems, such as prescription medication abuse, which includes taking prescription drugs that are prescribed for someone else or misusing over-the-counter drugs.

If you go

Town hall meetings about underage drinking have been scheduled for Monday, March 24, at the Curtis Memorial Library, 116 S. Main St., Wheatland, Iowa; March 31 at the Clinton Community College Graphic Arts and Technology Center, 1951 Manufacturing Drive, Clinton, Iowa, and April 1 at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1519 S. Washington Blvd., Camanche, Iowa.

A meeting about prescription drug abuse has been scheduled for Thursday, March 27, at the Clinton Community College Graphic Arts and Technology Center, 1951 Manufacturing Drive, Clinton.

All of the meetings will start at 6:30 p.m. and last about 90 minutes.

Steven Martens can be contacted at (563) 659-2595 or smartens@qctimes.com.