HB105 – Open House Party Penalties

HB105  enhances the penalties from a second to a first degree misdemeanor:

·         for a second violation of the statute when an adult who knowingly allows house parties to take place where minors possess or consume alcohol or drugs;

·         when any violation of the statute causes or contributes to causing serious bodily injury or death to the minor or anyone else which results from the minor’s use of alcohol or drugs at the open house party.

The Governor signed the bill on June 17; the effective date is July 1, 2011.

HB39 – Synthetic Marijuana

HB39 amends ss. 893.02, 893.03, and 893.13, F.S., to address the legality of synthetic cannabinoids,and adds synthetic marijuana (K2 Spice) and other hallucinogens to the list of Schedule I controlled substances.

The bill:

·         Schedules several synthetic cannabinoids or synthetic cannabinoid-mimicking compounds including K2 spice, and other hallucinogens in Schedule I of Florida’s controlled substance schedules.

·         Carries a first degree misdemeanor penalty for possession if person possesses less than 3

grams of K2 Spice that is not in a powdered form.

The Governor signed the bill on May 31; the effective date is July 1, 2011.

HB1039 – Bath Salts

HB1039 expands the definition of substances included in Schedule 1 to include the chemicals in

“bath salts”.

HB1039 amends s.893.03 and reenacts specific sections of s. 893.13 to:

·         Expand the definition of substances included in Schedule 1 to include the chemicals in
“bath salts”.

·         Penalties relating to possession, sale, etc., of Schedule I controlled substances will apply
to “bath salts”.

The Governor signed the bill on May 31; the effective date is July 1, 2011.

New Penalties 2011 is a post from: NACDAC

The figure includes the estimated economic impact of alcohol-related crime, traffic crashes, health care costs and lost productivity among drinkers under the age of 21.

Violent crime related to underage alcohol use was responsible for 49.5% of the cost to Nassau taxpayers, or $7,571,000. Motor vehicle crashes by teens – including medical and emergency services, property damage and other related costs – was next, at an annual local cost of $4,577,000.

“In addition to taking its toll on young lives, underage drinking has a significant economic impact on our entire community,” said Susan Woodford, program director of NACDAC, the Nassau Alcohol, Crime and Drug Abatement Coalition.

The Coalition coordinates countywide efforts to reduce youth substance abuse through community and school-based programs, special events, marketing and extensive collaboration with schools, law enforcement, social service agencies and parents.

Statewide, underage drinking cost Floridians roughly $3 billion in 2007, according to the recently-released Economic Costs of Underage Drinking in Florida by the State Epidemiology Workgroup (SEW). The study compares the impact and cost of underage drinking on a county-by-county basis, with Florida’s Central and Suncoast regions generating the largest share of total costs.

“The numbers show that we must continue our efforts to offer young people prevention and intervention programs that help them avoid using alcohol and other illegal drugs,” Woodford said.

Reaching young teens is especially important, because high school students who begin drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to become alcohol dependent as adults. On the other hand, people who avoid using alcohol and other drugs before the age of 21 are unlikely to become dependent later. A growing body of research also indicates that:

Underage drinking costs Nassau County millions of dollars a year is a post from: NACDAC

The Palace Saloon is dedicated to fighting underage drinking in our establishments and in our community.

The Palace Saloon will offer up to a $100 cash reward to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest or ejection by law enforcement for underage drinking.
Fernandina Beach, FL, June 21, 2010: The Palace Saloon has noticed an increase in underage persons possessing fraudulent identification for the purpose of procuring alcohol within our establishment. In an effort to deter potential underage drinkers and their accomplices, The Palace Saloon is offering a cash reward of up to $100 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest of any underage persons attempting to gain entry or those within the establishment engaging in illegal consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Cash rewards will be paid in cash at the time of the arrest. In rare cases where no arrest is made and the suspected underage drinker is ejected from the premises a lesser cash reward may still be paid dependent upon the circumstances. Arrests are at the sole discretion of the responding police officer.

There are numerous countermeasures that can be implemented to address this issue. It is our hope that this policy will deter all would-be underage drinkers. Working to restrict access to alcohol by those under the legal purchase age must be the goal of our entire community. Individuals under the legal purchase age must understand that the consequences of underage drinking could be life threatening.

This policy will extend to Sheffield’s at the Palace and Uncle Charlie’s as well as The Palace Saloon.

Message from The Palace Saloon is a post from: NACDAC

Between 2005 and 2006, data from local law enforcement showed that there had been an increasing amount of alcohol sales to youth, an increase of 165%.

But things have greatly improved. Since 2008, NACDAC has been collaborating with the Fernandina Beach Police Department and ABT to provide alcohol vendor training to outlets that serve and sell alcohol. In addition, regular compliance buys (where underage youth, working with law enforcement, attempt to purchase alcohol) have been effective in reducing the sale of alcohol to minors in our community.

Between October 2008 and December 2009, local businesses showed a success rate of 90.4% for compliance buys.  With only 22 out of 229 outlets allowing underage youth to purchase alcohol, it appears as though our efforts are making an impact.

It is our hope that this success continues and that every member of the community — from retail owners and workers to parents – takes responsibility for keeping alcohol out of the hands of our youth.

Respectfully,
Kerrie L. Albert
Project Coordinator, NACDAC

Letter to the Editor is a post from: NACDAC