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| New Mexico receives $2.3 million to fight underage drinking |
August 16, 2001 |
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| Albuquerque, New Mexico —Congresswoman Heather Wilson is pleased to announce that the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department has received a $2.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to combat underage drinking. The funding is the result of legislation supported by Congresswoman Wilson and enacted into law last year that provided $25 million nationally to support and enhance state and local efforts to enforce laws that prohibit the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages to and by minors.
“According to recent surveys, approximately 2/3 of teenagers who drink report that they can buy their own alcohol,” said Wilson. “As a community, we must work together to more vigorously enforce our state’s underage drinking laws. Since 1975, Minimum Drinking Age Laws have reduced traffic fatalities involving drivers 18 to 20 years old by 13%, saving an estimated 18,220 lives.
“Underage drinking is a serious problem for our children and our community. According to the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, kids who drink alcohol are 7.5 times more likely to use an illicit drug, and 50 times more likely to use cocaine than young people who never drink alcohol,” Wilson said.
“I’ve worked with Rep. Wilson throughout the years on issues dealing with our children, and I’m very grateful for her leadership, especially when it comes to fighting for our kids,” said Terry Huertaz, the Executive Director of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving state office. “Drinking and driving, especially by young drivers, is deadly. I’m glad to see New Mexico receive significant federal funding that will help us save lives.”
Under the guidelines of the grant program, CYFD may use the funds for:
* Statewide task forces of state and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies to target establishments suspected of a pattern of violating laws prohibiting the sale and consumption of alcohol by minors;
* Public advertising programs to educate establishments about the consequences of selling alcohol to minors; and
* Innovative programs to prevent and combat underage drinking.
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