www.alkoholpolitik.ch

If actress/starlet/addict Lindsay Lohan accomplishes nothing else in this life — and this seems increasingly probable — we’ll at least be able to say that she has sparked a conversation about the relative merits of drug treatment versus incarceration.
As you may know, Lohan used up even the long rope afforded repeat offenders in Hollywood and was sent to jail in July for violating the terms of her probation stemming from a drunk-driving conviction. Lohan’s teary courtroom appearances have elicited some sympathy. …(Source: Join Together, 8/16/10)

Illinois residents under age 21 who are caught drinking alcohol can lose their driver’s licenses even if they weren’t drinking and driving, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled.
The Belleville News-Democrat reported June 25 that the high court dismissed the arguments of a pair of 20-year-olds, who contended that the law allowing the courts to suspend or revoke their driver’s licenses because of an underage-drinking offense violated their right to due process and equal protection under the law. The Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s ruling that the law was unconstitutional, ruling in essence that the law was not fundamentally a punishment but rather intended to “provide for safe highways.” (Source: Join Together, 7/1/10)

Saying that “guns and alcohol don’t mix,” Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen has vetoed a measure that would have allowed individuals with concealed-carry permits to bring their weapons into bars and restaurants that serve alcohol. The state legislature is expected to override the veto, however.
Bredesen vetoed a similar measure last year and was overridden by lawmakers, but state courts struck the measure down, saying its language was too vague. A redrafted bill was introduced this year. (Source: Join Together, 5/20/10)

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) sometimes manifests itself as an inability to understand the consequences of one’s actions, a fact that has U.S. courts struggling to reconcile the medical science with justice in a number of criminal cases, the Chicago Tribune reported May 9.
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University recently reported that 60 percent of Americans with FASD have had involvement with the criminal-justice system, and that the diagnosis is common among prison inmates.
However, judges, prosecutors and corrections officials know little about the disease. Few states screen offenders for FASD, and those who break the law or rules are typically seen as intransigent, not victims of their disease. People with FASD can have normal intelligence but are immature and highly open to suggestion, experts say — a mix that may make them seem more responsible for their actions than they really are. (Source: Join Together, 5/17/10)

The state of Virginia’s alcohol regulatory board was within its rights to ban college newspapers from running alcohol-related advertising, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled.
Inside Higher Ed reported April 12 that the court ruled 2-1 to reverse a lower-court decision that had favored the student newspapers at Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia. The newspapers, The Collegiate Times and the Cavalier Daily, had sued the state over the ban, which they said violated the First Amendment and would cost them $30,000 in ad revenues annually. (Source: Join Together, 4/14/10)

Mothers who enforce discipline over their young teens can prevent their kids from drinking, according to a new Australian study.
Reuters reported March 19 that study author Rosa Alati of the University of Queensland and colleagues looked at the degree of maternal parental control and relationship changes as related to teen alcohol use. They found that problem drinking risk was doubled among teens whose mothers exerted low control and changed relationship partners twice or more. (Source: Join Together, 3/24/10)

Manchester is set to become the worldwide centre for excellence in hair testing for alcohol and drug abuse with the launch of a new laboratory at the Hexagon Tower science park in Blackley.
The state-of-the-art facility, being opened this week (w/c 22.3.10) by London-based Trimega Laboratories, will test hair samples from around the world to provide accurate historical records of someone’s intake of drink or drugs up to 12 months prior. The technique is already widely used throughout the UK to help Local Authorities and family lawyers diagnose forms of dependency among adults involved in child care orders. The number of these applications has leapt 46%* nationwide in the wake of the Baby P case with hair test requests in the North West and Wales, for example, increasing from an average of 40 to 70 a month in the past year (out of around 800 a month nationwide). (Source: Medical News Today, 3/23/10)

Liquor stores are suing and neighbors are complaining as the Walgreens pharmacy chain seeks permits to sell alcohol at its stores in Indiana, the Indianapolis Star reported Feb. 27. Walgreens stopped selling alcohol about a decade ago but wants to resume such sales in central Indiana. Opponents in Indianapolis and other areas say that the area already is oversaturated with alcohol outlets, and the state’s beverage retailers have filed suit over the issue. (Source: Join Together, 3/3/10)

Youths who call for help when underage drinkers get sick from drinking will get leniency — but not a free pass — from the courts under legislation approved by a Utah Senate panel. (Source: Join Together, 2/24/10)

A Massachusetts woman whose 17-year-old daughter died after a night of drinking has sued seven people in connection with the death, including five of her friends under the age of 18. Taylor Meyer went out drinking after a high-school football game in October 2008, attending hourse parties and ending up at an abandoned airport. Sometime during the night, Meyer wandered off into a nearby swamp; her body was found in the water three days later. (Source: Join Together, 1/29/10)