Question of the Day: War on Drugs Impact on Long Beach Kids?

It’s a big night for soon-to-be graduates as Long Beach High School hosts its Senior Prom at Chateau Briand in Carle Place, followed by the 20th annual drug and alcohol-free Morning Madness post-prom party from 12 to 6 a.m. at neighboring Dave & Busters.

The after-prom party is one of various efforts in Long Beach, past and present, to discourage underage drinking and drug use.

Educational programs about drug abuse, such as D.A.R.E., have come and gone or returned in different forms. The high school last year had law enforcement officials hold forms on heroin in the wake of Long Beach youths who overdosed on the narcotic.

There is also Social Host Law, which makes it a violation for a person “having control of any residence” to allow a party where the host “knows or has reason to know that any alcoholic beverage or drug is being unlawfully possessed, served to or consumed by a minor ...” In August 2006, Long Beach became the first municipality in New York state, and one of only a handful nationwide, to make it possible to summons and prosecute adults who knowingly host parties at which minors use alcohol or drugs.

Of course, these programs and laws are part of the wider “war on drugs” and campaigns to prevent underage drinking, all of which have raised questions, at least in some minds, about the effectiveness of these measures, both nationwide and locally.

Answer this question in the comments: What impact has the Long Beach community’s efforts had in preventing underage drinking and drug use amoung the city's youth?