I was heartened to see the outcome of several ballot measures that could have had a serious negative impact on teen substance abuse.

In Oregon, voters rejected Ballot Measure 74, which would have created a system of unlimited dispensaries for medical marijuana. Proponents said it would help patients get their marijuana.

The alcoholic energy drink Four Loko has achieved “Cul

Oregon Partnership's Youth Advisory Council was busy during the Christmas break recording a public service announcement focusing on one important way parents can prevent teen drinking: By listening to their kids.

The PSA written and recorded by teens will air throughout the state on as many as 100 radio stations thanks to a program for non-profits sponsored by the Oregon Association of Broadcasters.

The spots are being produced free of charge by Entercom Radio of Portland, a longtime supporter of Oregon Partnership and the "Face It, Parents" campaign.

The message about listening and t

 
There's a positive trend happening in Oregon involving high schoolers and middle schoolers.  And  in very large part, it has to do with parents taking a larger role in preventing underage drinking and teen drug abuse.
 
And for that, parents should be congratulated!
 
According to the Oregon Health Teens Survey, alcohol use among 11th graders and 8th graders (the classes surveyed) continues to go down.  The same is true for illegal drugs, except for marijuana and the illegal use of prescription drugs.
 
The survey reports that the percentage of 11th graders who used alcohol in the mon

Some encouraging results from the latest Oregon Healthy Teens Survey regarding underage drinking.

Among 8th graders surveyed, 23.2 percent said they had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days, down from 25.8 percent in ’07. So, good news there.

In addition, 8th-grade girls are drinking less compared with '07.

Among 11th-graders in '09, 38.4 percent said they had at least one drink of alcohol in the past 30 days.

When Oregon Partnership complained about Old Navy stores selling alcohol-related t-shirts to teen customers, the media noticed.

Four Portland TV stations, a Eugene TV station, and several Portland radio stations aired extensive coverage, and the reaction is pouring into Oregon Partnership.

Most of what we are hearing  is positive from our point of view but for those who believe parents are responsible for what their kids buy and that Old Navy shouldn't be held accountable,  remember this:

 By selling t-shirts with messages such as "Beer Pressure, Give in to it," Old Navy is telling pa

(Portland, Oregon)  Oregon Partnership, a non-profit organization dedicated to combating alcohol and drug abuse, has called for Old Navy stores to discontinue the sale of t-shirts with binge drinking messages such as “Beer Pressure – Worth Giving In To!” and “Sloshball Champions – Staggerin Falls, Hi.”

In a letter to Glenn Murphy, CEO of Gap, Inc, Old Navy’s parent company headquartered in San Francisco, Oregon Partnership said the sale of such items to a young customer base is repugnant and goes against the company’s pledge of social responsibility.

“Oregon Partnership and other anti-dr

Old Navy just doesn't seem to get it.  The stores continue to sell t-shirts promoting beer drinking with such slogans as "Beer Pressure: Worth Giving In To."

With an under-21 clientele, Old Navy is making a joke out of its pledge of social responsibility, which it talks about on its website.

Oregon Partnership just sent a letter to Gap CEO Glenn Murphy (Gap is the parent company) and Old Navy President Tom Wyatt.

We've complained to these folks before without any results, but now we're starting to get more complaints from Old Navy customers.   They know that with underage drinking pra

Take time to educate your kids about the dangers of asking adults to buy alcohol for them....

A guy in his mid-20s pulls into a convenience store parking lot and is approached by two teenage girls, who nervously ask him to buy alcoholic lemonade for them.

The following was written by Arunee SengChanh as part of an awareness campaign by Oregon Partnership and the Oregon Liquor Control Commission regarding "shoulder tapping."  It's a term used when teens ask adults to buy them alcohol.

Shoulder tapping. This is a term I learned during middle school and, sadly, later became a term that I would witness my peers demonstrate.

Attempting to recollect the memories of my adolescent years, it feels as if it were yesterday that my friends and I were arguing over who was going to go to a store and shoulder tap customers as they walked in.