Fast Times at Lanigan High

No more sneaking beers from your parents fridge or paying lots of dough to get an elusive fake ID in order to buy a case of beer or coolers if you're under the age of nineteen in Lanigan Saskatchewan.
The Star Phoenix reported that parents in Lanigan Saskatchewan are organizing a
"Safe Grad" party in which Lanigan Central high school students who have reached the age of fifteen (Grade Ten) and have a signed consent form from their parents or guardian may attend a party at a private residence to celebrate the end of the school year. The Star Phoenix reports,"The graduates planning to attend the Saturday night drinking party had to submit a form signed by their parents in advance of the party. The graduates had to pre-order and pre-pay for the alcohol they'll drink during the 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. party. Graduates and their guests, who have to be in Grade 10 or higher, will be allowed up to 10 drinks, including beer, vodka, rum and rye".

Is this a story from an alternate universe where parents encourage binge drinking or
a new phenomena of parenting from the generation of people who made "My Super Sweet Sixteen" a hit TV show ?
Why are thirty and forty something adults blatantly breaking the law and enabling their children to drink underage ?
Is this binge drinking culture so entrenched in our rural society that our law enforcement turn a blind eye when it comes to enforcing liquor and control laws regarding minors ?
Safe Grad parties started in the United States in the late 1980's as an initiative to reduce impaired driving accidents and excessive drinking on Grad night.High school committees and parent volunteers create all night parental supervised and school sanctioned dry events focused on celebrating without alcohol.Some school grad committee's hold carnivals,camping trips,dances all of which are alcohol free but are often held before the "real thing" or skipped for the usual pissup at a bush party or at a classmates home.
Even though "Safe Grad" protocol is followed by American and Canadian prom and graduation party organizers,statistics show it hasn't had an effect on underage binge drinking and the resulting havoc.The impact of alcohol in
Saskatchewan, in terms of death,illness and economic costs, adds up
to 508.7 million dollars annually.This is a cost of 503 dollars for each
person in the province. Binge drinking was promoted as a cultural rite of passage through popular 80's movies such as Animal House and Can't Stop The Feeling .Bush parties and underage drinking has been part of the culture of rural Canada for generations and is entrenched in our culture as hockey.
A resident of Estevan,Saskatchewan states," It's definitely a culture of alcohol here, no question of that. If you go to some gathering, the expectation is that there will be alcohol served. If you offered something else to drink, your guests would think you quite strange. When they are told that you don't drink alcohol, people think there must be some health issue that prevents you from doing so, and they feel sorry for you because you can't get hammered like all the normal people.
The thing that really gets me is how proud they are of their drunken silliness. "Oh man, I was so drunk I can't even remember getting arrested. That was such an awesome party!" And everything is a reason for a drink. It's Wing Wednesday. It`s Thirsty Thursday. It`s F*****-Up Friday. It`s Christmas. It`s Canada Day. It`s Remembrance Day".

The parents of today binge drank from time to time so find it difficult to outright ban their children from underage drinking.It's easier to supervise the party and prevent impaired driving than to turn a blind eye to your teens activities or risk your teen defying you.
Saskboy,a popular Saskatchewan author who writes at www.abandonedstuff.com observes," there has been a generational shift to one where the older generations are afraid to punish the younger, perhaps because they know that the younger will rebel at least as hard as they experienced during the 1960s. As more old guard die off, we're on the crux of a sweeping generational change in a lot of norms if my generation starts making laws.Parent sanctioned drinking is the norm in Saskatchewan, but interestingly I think if they caught their kids with marijuana there would be hell to pay. "Safe Grads" are about as dangerous as uncontrolled ones, because you have parents acting as chaperone's for 18 year olds who should know better by that point. It doesn't bode well for those children in their coming years if they can't drink safely without Mommy there with them. Hopefully they are fast learners and don't meet the nose end of a vehicle with an intoxicated driver in charge, or the wrong end of a knife in a drunk fight". He further adds,"Some people opposed to Safe Grads (not to be confused with Dry Grads) may be prohibitionists, but I know prohibition won't work. What might work is a fun dry party that isn't set up as a token to fail. People have fun without alcohol in all sorts of situations, so dry parties shouldn't be set up like booze parties minus the booze. Any recipe missing the main ingredient will be bland, so make a different fun time".

However a Lanigan resident supporting their initiative states,"In my town there were often many grad parties, which would usually get out of control and end up with some kid in the hospital because of drunk driving or alcohol poisoning. So the parents of my town came up with a safe graduation party. The whole point of the safe grad is to make sure that the teens at the party do not exceed their limit and have a safe ride home, as parents volunteer to drive kids back and forth from their homes to the party and to supervise the kids at the party.
There is a form that is given out to students wishing to attend the grad party, this form must be signed by the student's parent. On the form the parents and student decide how much alcohol to buy, which will be given to them drink by drink by parent supervisors at the party. The supervisors cut off the students from alcohol when they think that the said student has drank enough.
Now this is being criticized in the local paper and while I know,and all of the parents and students know, this is supplying alcohol to minors, without a safe, supervised grad though, there would be many accidents. I was at an unsupervised grad party last weekend and there were three car accidents and a rape. These events would have been prevented if the party had been supervised".

Before parents agree to supervise underage drinkers or agree with the line, kids will be kids,we need to be be aware of the danger of binge drinking.
Kirk Sinclair, Author of Know when to draw the line: A guide to lower risk drinking states, " binge drinking is what happens when someone drinks a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time through:
- Binge drinking (having more than 5 drinks during a drinking episode)
- Drinking games
- Funneling
- Chugging
If someone drinks too much too fast, the amount of alcohol in a person's blood - called Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) - rises to a high level really quickly
A BAC of 200-300mg% would likely cause alcohol poisoning
Alcohol poisoning can cause brain damage or death
Someone who blacks out, passes out, or throws up is on her or his way to alcohol poisoning

Here's an example:
If a 110-pound female had 6 drinks in 4 hours, she would have a BAC of 225 mg%. She would be putting herself in danger of getting alcohol poisoning.
What about the "one drink an hour" rule?
This is misleading. Science has shown that the old "one drink an hour" rule is NOT TRUE for all people.
For example: If that same 110-pound female drank 7 drinks in 7 hours, she would still be at real risk for alcohol poisoning - she would have a BAC of 225 mg%.
If she was driving she would be more than 4 times the legal limit of alcohol for driving" !

In Ontario under aged impaired teens who are hospitalized and treated for alcohol poisoning face criminal charges,sentencing may include psychological treatment,detention in a juvenile facility,probation and an indefinite ban on securing a drivers license .
Can today's parents create an open environment where children form a healthy attitude to alcohol. Is outright prohibition on teen alcohol use archaic and ineffective ?

Maria Christenson,a Seattle Author and Mom states," It seems to me the most important things to teach teens about alcohol are moderation and responsibility. When my 16 year old son expressed an interest in drinking beer I made him research types of beer, how they're made and then tell me specifically why he wanted to try it. "Just to know what it tastes like," he answered. We decided on a local microbrewery ale and we split a bottle and talked about the taste and what types of food it might enhance, things like that. That was a couple of months ago and he hasn't had any since. He knows he just has to ask me if he wants a half glass of beer with dinner, but knowing that, it's no big deal to him. My kids can have a small glass of wine with dinner on special occasions or when they ask, but they rarely ever do. I want them to think of alcohol as something to drink because of taste rather than as a means to get drunk and so far that works.Lastly, I help my kids navigate their way through the issue of alcohol use, but I would never feel comfortable giving alcohol to other kids.Her response to the Lanigan parental permission requirement was "Written permission?... I recall being a pretty decent forger of adult signatures as a teenager".
Anna Burwell Gohm,an Ontario Mom says,"When we were kids ,Dad let us drink in front of him or away . None of us grew irresponsible or were big time drinkers. I have always allowed my children to drink with us within reason but we (John and I)don't drink ourselves sick either . I feel we are teaching our kids responsible drinking early.Our oldest boy is turning 16 this fall and he has gone to and had bush parties where drinking is involved . They are somewhat monitored by adults but what is the point of saying no ... they'll just get it someway and drink it anyway.I for one,would rather know where my child is and what he's doing than be naive and say ..my child wouldn't do that.To them its no big deal ,if they want to party ,what ever, and we have an open honesty policy ....you break it PARTY OVER !!Honest about everything ALWAYS ! They won't be busting out of their parents rules at nineteen going yay I'm free, I can drink , by that time it will be no big deal. I trust my kids and if they want to have a couple of drinks with in reason and not get stupid I don't have a problem with that. Life's about lessons and parents need to be open minded .If there are no rules ... whats the fun in breaking them .... and I must say I have 3 amazing kids who I trust completely .They tell me everything cause they know I won't freak out".
Parents seem to be split on the this issue, but all agree that ignoring underage binge drinking hasn't worked in the past either.
Will "Safe Grad" parties where alcohol is consumed by minors stop binge drinking and encourage moderation or is it just a token gesture by parents who don't want little Justin getting killed on grad night because he had one too many ? Are we just concerned with the outcome of underage drinking and ambivalent or dismissive of the danger of binge drinking because we did it and survived?

Recent research shows that there are long term effects of teen alcohol consumption.

Binge drinking is more harmful to brain cells than any other pattern of
drinking.A person’s brain does not stop developing until his or her early to mid-20s and adding alcohol to the mix is a recipe for disaster.
The brain goes through dynamic change during adolescence, and alcohol can seriously damage long- and short-term growth processes. Frontal lobe development and the refinement of pathways and connections continue into the mid-20’s.Damage from alcohol at this time can be long-term and irreversible. In addition, short-term or moderate drinking can impair learning and memory far more in youth than in adults. Adolescents need only drink half as much as adults to suffer the same negative effects.
In 2008, a survey of first year Canadian college students showed 38% of students admitted to binge drinking and impaired driving causing accidents among those 16-25 is on the rise in Canada.Teaching children about alcohol moderation and keeping the lines of communication open are important yet it's evident there is a gaping lack of intelligence in condoning or validating underage drinking through supervising safe grads or buying alcohol for minors... and it's illegal.
The age of majority in Saskatchewan is nineteen and it's illegal to purchase alcohol for a minor. The act states in section 110(1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4), no person shall sell or give beverage of
alcohol to a minor and nothing in this Act is to be construed as authorizing the sale
of alcohol to minors.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a parent, guardian or spouse who gives
beverage alcohol in a private place to a minor who is his or her child, ward or
spouse, as the case may be. I'm sure the intent of the legislation was to avoid the criminalization of parents who serve their offspring a mimosa at new years brunch but not foreseeing parents setting up a private bar where up to ten drinks can be bought. Police are aware that "safe grad" parties happen in communities throughout Saskatchewan but are turning a blind eye to underage drinking on private property.
"The model that I'm referring to talks about where there is a parent or guardian on-site and they are making a decision, as the parent or guardian, for their child, in terms of whether or not they are going to provide them alcoholic beverages at that specific time, in that specific location, at a private place," explained RCMP Sgt. Brian Jones in a Star Phoenix news article.
"It is an arrangement between private property owners and parents and guardians of those people in attendance. It's a private function on private land. Whether it's a good idea or not is not for us to decide," he said.
I guess the police decipher the law to believe the signed contract by the parent bestows an authority to serve and control alcohol to another child or that every parent will accompany their child to the party. I'm highly doubtful of the validity of that interpretation or if there will be equal amounts of teens and parents at the Lanigan event.
It seems the police decision to turn a blind eye to enforcing the law creates an urgent need for new dialogue and clear legislation regarding underage alcohol use which our police feel is enforceable. Or is it merely police negligence ?
If the majority of adults believe it's okay to accommodate underage drinking why isn't there a clamor to lower the age of majority and liberalize the law ?
Finally ,why do parents choose to break the law and buy or allow alcohol to be served in our homes to our children and their friends ?
Parents such as Tony Slattery, father of six was not surprised by the Lanigan Safe Grad plan and commented," I do not condone it. I think this is totally irresponsible on behalf of the "caring" parents that participate in this. If we look at this as a way to help keep things safe for our kids...why have a drinking age at all? Should we lower it? Maybe we could have a contract on the limit of how many joints,lines of coke,ecstasy... or any other drug can be allowed. I mean..they are just going to do it anyway so lets help them in a safe monitored environment... This behaviour will cause long term issues with alcohol for some of these kids. We should be taking the higher road as parents.I think its about responsibility and a 10 drink limit for a child ( that's the legal definition of anyone under 19) is totally irresponsible. It is one thing to allow your own child to drink in your home under your supervision...but to allow them (which to a child is a encouragement) or anyone to drink excessively is not right.That is not being responsible as an adult".
The Lanigan "Safe Grad" has raised more questions than answers and it's past the time where we can ignore how society handles this issue. It's clear that authoritarian parental handling of the issue didn't work for our generation yet this new method of supervised drinking isn't creating a moderate responsible attitude towards alcohol either.
Too many young people binge drink,drive impaired,have unprotected sex while under the influence and pose a risk themselves and others. The answer is transparently clear,as parents we need to protect our children from predators,unsafe situations and unfortunately sometimes from themselves. We need to have clear and open dialogue on this issue and put a stop to teen alcohol abuse and senseless loss of life. For our kids sakes...