Letter to the Editor: Underage drinking can pose many dangers

For quite some time now, underage drinking has been the prime downfall for teenagers. Whether it’s to fit in, feel better, or to just try and have a good time, drinking under the legal age of 21 is a national concern.

Because of this, motor vehicle crashes, homicides, alcohol poisoning, burns, falls, drowning and suicide are all popular cases of death among teens who drink underage.

Lifelong decisions can be made especially when it comes to unprotected sex, which leads to teen pregnancy.

Involvement in these risky behaviors can turn a night of fun into a life of many struggles.

Alcohol also provokes violence and can turn good friends into harmful enemies in only a matter of minutes. Unfortunately, the mix of these impulsive and harmful actions can lead to physical and sexual assault with teens playing both roles of victims and criminals.

However, there are ways to decrease the amount of underage drinking.

There are environmental, individual, school-based, and family based interventions that help students overcome their alcohol abuse.

Environmentally: by enforcing a minimum drinking age of 21 and by enacting a zero tolerance act on teens the environment maintains somewhat control over the issue.

Individual-level based interventions try to alter teens’ views on alcohol in order to help them resist peer pressure.

Interventions that are school based provide students with fundamental knowledge and skills to avoid alcohol and peer pressure.

Families that enforce rules against drinking underage and maintain communication between child and parent are family based interventions.

There are multiple ways to reach teens and children and warn them about underage drinking.

In order to better our communities and country, actions to preserve the minds of youth to abstain from underage drinking need to be taken.

Christopher Arellano

Tucumcari