Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

April 26, 2007 issue


Goss Introduces Legislation to Combat
Underage Drinking

Story by Ron Fitzwater

On March 21, Senator Steve Goss introduced Senate Bill (SB) 1393 titled Reduce and Prevent Underage Drinking. The bill, currently with the Committee on Finance, addresses the problem of underage drinking and works in conjunction with SB 125 that outlaws the sale of alcohol inhalers.

Goss explained his reasons for introducing the legislation. SB 1393 “came about from discussions with Kendal McDevitt at Appalachian State University who is working with others statewide in the ‘NC Initiative to Prevent Underage Drinking,’” Goss wrote. In researching SB 125, that recently passed with a vote of 46-0 Goss discovered “several articles about the growing problem of underage drinking as well as college student binge drinking.” After reading the articles and meeting with McDevitt, Goss felt it was necessary to introduce the additional legislation.

“Leading experts agree that underage drinking results in high social, health and economic costs,” he said. “Additional research has indicated that excessive drinking during adolescence can cause damage to development of the portions of the brain governing reason and logic leading to lifelong consequences.” Goss additionally found that in North Carolina, approximately 42 percent of young people are drinking alcohol, often with disastrous results. Youth drinkers are involved in physical violence, car crashes, high-risk sexual behavior and a host of other problems. “Teenage drinking is not a phase or some sort of time period that they grow out of in a couple of years. Nationally, we are told, almost 97 percent of heavy drinkers started drinking before age 21,” Goss said.

“The US Surgeon General issued a ‘National Call to Action’ to all Americans, on March 6, to reduce and prevent our 11 million current underage drinkers from using alcohol,” and to prevent others from starting, according to Goss. The senator is strongly in favor of the call to action and the recent legislation he sponsored works to that end. “I believe it is a step in the right direction. This problem will not be solved overnight, but I believe as a senator in North Carolina I must take the lead in bringing the subject to a public forum and discussion. Awareness is the key to fighting the problem, and I simply believe too many of us are not aware of how great this problem has become in America and North Carolina. This is a good starting point for us to begin the fight,” Goss concluded.  

To read the bills, click to www.ncleg.net/ and enter the bill number into the search box.