Wichita Mountains Prevention Network- Regional Prevention Coordinators (WMPN- RPC), The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS), and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) are bringing awareness on May 21, 2012, as prevention of underage drinking day. According to the 2010 Oklahoma Prevention Needs Assessment (OPNA) Survey, 21% of Jackson County 6th graders have drank alcohol. This number increases to 75% by the time these students reach 10th grade. The Jackson County Community Health Action Team (JCCHAT) has formed a Substance Abuse Awareness sub-committee that is working on this priority in our community. Alcohol Compliance Checks are one strategy used to address underage drinking. Alcohol compliance checks are a tool to identify alcohol establishments that sell alcohol to underage youth. WMPN partners with the local police departments to take undercover youth out and attempt to make an alcohol purchase. These youth use their real underage ID and do not “trick” any server into selling. In Jackson County, the compliance rate has increased from 65% to 96% within the last nine months.

Additionally, according to the 2010 OPNA data, Jackson County youth reported higher percentages than the state for obtaining alcohol from home with their parent’s permission. Increasing awareness of the social host law is another strategy of the subcommittee. The social host ordinance states that “no person shall knowingly and willfully permit any individual under twenty-one (21) years of age who is an invitee to the person’s residence, any building, structure, or room owned, occupied, leased or otherwise procured by the person or on any land owned, occupied, leased or otherwise procured by the person, to possess or consume any alcoholic beverage or any controlled dangerous substance in such place.” Another strategy that WMPN offers is Responsible Beverage Sales and Service Training (RBSST) to any event vendors or establishments that serve alcohol in the county. One goal for the RBSST is to help clerks and servers know how to properly ID individuals that are attempting to purchase alcohol. Through this training and policies, the hope is to reduce opportunities for access to alcohol by underage minors at events. The identified strategies are only a few of the plans discussed by the committee. Through the combined efforts of the Substance Abuse Awareness Committee and WMPN our goal is to bring awareness to this important issue. Illegal alcohol use by underage minors contributes to various crimes, car crashes, injuries, and even deaths across the state of Oklahoma. We have learned that the community and our youth are safer and healthier when they don’t start using alcohol until after they are 21 years of age.