ALCOHOL, DRUG SUMMIT PLANNED

MONTPELIER - Vermont's high national ranking for alcohol-related teen
deaths has prompted a statewide summit on alcohol and drug abuse to be
held later this month in the capital city.

Fifty student delegates, two from each senatorial district in Vermont,
will converge on Vermont College March 25 to 28 for the Vermont Youth
Summit to Prevent Underage Drinking.

Vermont ranked first in the nation for per capita alcohol-related
deaths on highways involving teens ages 15 to 20 in 1996 and 1997. The
state is currently ranked ninth with 20 highway teen deaths in 1998,
nine of which were alcohol-related, said Carol Rose, co-organizer for
the summit.

"We're consistently in the top 10 with our teens who are involved in
alcohol-related deaths," Rose said.

Massachusetts was the number one state with 77 teen deaths on roads in
1998, nearly half of which were alcohol-related.

The summit will focus on specific alcohol-related topics as well as
small discussion groups, and will include legislation, alcohol
accessibility, alcohol use and impaired driving, peer pressure and
parental roles, and other topics.

Gaynell Colburn, a Baltimore woman who was a percussionist for Stevie
Wonder before she was crippled in an alcohol-related car crash, will
also address the summit.

"This will pull kids together from all over the state to work on the
problem," said Rose. "The summit will show not only students, but
adults, too, that there are teens who care about this issue and that
not all kids drink."

The 1999 Vermont Risk Behavior Survey by the state Department of
Education shows that underage drinking decreased slightly to 46
percent of all students compared with 50 percent of students in 1997.

The study found that riding with drivers who had been drinking
declined slightly to 26 percent compared with 31 percent in 1997, but
almost one-third of students have been passengers in a car driven by
someone who has smoked marijuana.

"Before they come, the delegates will have completed a community
audit, a fairly extensive survey on how their communities deal with
underage drinking," said Matt Myers, who is helping with the summit.

Citing studies, organizers said more than half of all high school
juniors and seniors drink at least once a month, even though the
minimum legal drinking age is 21 in every state.

At the end of two-and-a-half days of debate, organizers will hold a
press conference to announce recommendations to reduce underage
drinking to be forwarded to the Legislature for consideration.

"At the legislative level, it will also show the policy makers that
not only do students care, but they have gone through a process to
come up with recommendations," Rose added.