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Nadine Wimmer ReportingCommunities all across the country and in Utah tonight are holding town meetings to address the problem of underage drinking. We found a 17-year old who knows firsthand why this campaign is important.
Chad, 17: "I was to that point. My family thought I was to that point, they thought, ‘We've lost him.'"
About the time many boys are in little league, Chad started experimenting with alcohol and marijuana. By the time he was 15, he drank almost constantly. He had heard the warnings about the dangerous consequences, but he thought he'd be the exception.
Chad: "That's exactly what I thought, it will not happen to me, and it did. And it happens to most people that I know. It's a fast spiral. It's a slippery slope and before you know it, you're stealing from your own family, breaking into houses, stealing cars, anything just to get an hour and a half high."
Nationwide, nearly one-third of young people reported drinking alcohol in the past month. In Utah, recent surveys indicate 86,000 teens have tried alcohol. Educators hope a series of town meetings will address the long list of consequences that include drunk driving, date rape and possibly other crimes.
Chad has completed drug treatment, graduated from high school and now sees a future for himself. He says this focus on prevention is much easier than the alternative.
Chad: "It gets to that point when you're using drugs and alcohol that you leave your friends, you abandon your family, you don't care what happens to you, don't care what happens to your family, you don't even care about the consequences."
These town meetings will continue throughout the next month.
