Teen Drinking Problems Illicit New Laws in Orange County

Today in the Orange County Register a new law is under consideration to discourage the rampant teen drinking problem. If Mission Viejo and Laguna Hills adopt this ordinance they will be the first cities in Orange County to implement this new law.

More cities cracking down on parents allowing teen boozing
City councils in Mission Viejo and Laguna Hills might be county's first to impose new law to fight underage drinking.

"With the prom season under way and neighborhoods under siege with drunken teens, public urination and violence, city officials in two South County cities hope a new law could crash these out-of-control parties.

In Mission Viejo, the City Council voted last week to draft a new ordinance and will consider it at Monday night's meeting. Proposed by Mayor Trish Kelley, the social host underage drinking ordinance would hold adults accountable for teen drinking and could result in $1,000 fines. It could also require adults to pay for law enforcement response costs as well as costs associated with repeated calls to the same address."

The "Social Host Ordinance" is aimed at reducing the venues teens have for consuming alcohol by creating steep fees in hope of increasing adult supervision and accountability for teen drinking on personal property.

Local communities have witnessed increase in alcohol related property damage, driving related arrests, injuries and public disturbances.

"Since May 2007, Mission Viejo deputies have responded to reports of 1,325 loud parties. A good percentage of these have involved teens, said sheriff's Lt. Steve Bernardi, chief of police services for the city. In 2007 there were 18 crashes in which underage drivers were arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Ten people were injured, and in 11 cases, juveniles told deputies they had been drinking at a party, at a friend's house or at home."

How I Got Excited About Life

So I just celebrated two years of sobriety two days ago and it feels amazing. I can’t even put into words how grateful I am for my life today. Two years ago, my life revolved around getting that next high. To be quite honest, life was miserable. Today, I can honestly say that I am excited about my life.

Today, instead of being a slave to my addiction, I get to devote my life to helping other people find the happiness that I have found in recovery. I get to come to workat a teen treatment center and be a role model to teens struggling with drug and alcohol problems that are just like I was. I get to show them that it is possible to get clean at a young age and have an awesome life.

I look at life in a totally new perspective than ever before. I try to view everything as an opportunity for change rather than an obstacle or a tedious task. I get to appreciate everything in my life, even the simple things like the trees and clean water. I never even thought about those things. I took everything in life for granted. I always wanted everything handed to me on a silver platter. And, no matter what was handed to me, I was never happy. Nothing was ever enough. I now realize that everything in my life is a gift. And, without my sobriety I probably would have lost everything that I have.

Anyway, I am just so grateful for all the gifts that I have received through recovery. I am excited about life today. I have never been excited about life. I never knew a happiness like I have today. Life is truly beautiful.

Elizabeth M

I Quit Smoking Cigarettes

I quit smoking cigarettes after inhaling them for 14 years. I miss them every day and I probably think of them every other minute at the moment. It is a challenge and one that I didn’t even anticipate making. One day I basically hit my bottom with cigarettes. My body felt like it was starting to shut down. I would get headaches everyday from smoking, which then made my body tense, which then gave me no motivation or oxygen circulation, which then the list goes on and on. The bottom line is, every part of my being was starting to get affected by this disease of addiction.

Working at a teen treatment center that deals with addiction has been a blessing for me. I am aware that any addiction has an underlying psychological motivation. For me, to let go of cigarettes is painful for it feels as if I am letting go of the love of my life. I understand this sounds silly and yet this is what the young adults at teen treatment centers with drug and alcohol addiction feel as well. It is strange. It is strange to love something so harmful towards us. It’s strange to be ok with poisoning ourselves for so long and then one day decide that it’s not ok to do that anymore. The thing is I would never stop smoking if my body could handle it. And yet as a responsible adult I have to be aware of the choices I make in life. I am not even angry that I have to stop, I am only extremely sad that I can no longer continue.

Anonymous

My Life Today is Amazing

I never thought it would happen to me. I never thought that I’d become a teen addict. In fact, I never saw myself even touching drugs or alcohol. I’d watch my parents drinking and be disgusted by their behavior. I was a straight ‘A’ student, I was on the cross-country team, I played soccer, and I played the piano. In other words, I was your typical sweet and innocent “goody-two-shoes” kind of girl.
But, I grew up with the feeling that I never fit in. I always felt as if I was on the outside looking in. So, when I got to high school, I decided that I was going to become “popular” and do whatever I had to do to fit in. At the age of fifteen I was introduced to drugs for the first time. The first time I got high, I felt an utter sense of relief. I finally felt like I fit in; I felt like I was finally ‘a part of’. The drugs made me who I thought I always wanted to be. I could be loud and outgoing, I could dance, and I could be the life of the party. But, things went downhill, and they went downhill fast. By the age of sixteen I was dating a drug dealer and was in lost in this world of drugs. Soon, my life revolved around using. Everything else came second. By senior year, I was missing so much school, that I almost didn’t graduate high school.
Two months before graduation, I had gone into a drug-induced psychosis. Not knowing what was wrong with me, my parents took me to the emergency room. The next day, I began an outpatient program. It was at that treatment center where I learned about the disease of addiction, and I was able to admit that I was definitely an addict. But, at that age (I was seventeen at the time), I did not think I was ready to get clean. I had to go back out and use for another couple years before I came back and got sober. But, I am very grateful for what I learned in that teen treatment center, for had I not gone there, I don’t know if I ever would have realized the true extent of my problem.
I am twenty-two now and I’ve been sober for almost two years. Since then, my life has changed dramatically. I am able to handle my feelings without having to numb myself with drugs or alcohol. I am able to experience life the way it was meant to be experienced. I feel better about myself than I have ever felt in my entire life. Through being in recovery, I have been able to look at where my negative sense of self originated and have been able to heal from that and begin a new life. Today, I am back to being a good student. I got back into running and am working towards running a marathon. Not only have I picked up my old passions again, but I have also found new hobbies, such as painting, meditation, or hiking.
My life today is amazing, and it gets better as each day passes.