Archive for January, 2010

Bill would allow microbreweries to sell beer on Sundays

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

By Jonathan Oskvarek – City Editor

Purdue Exponent

Publication Date: 01/19/2010

Laws banning sales of alcoholic beverages on Sundays could be modified, giving microbreweries permission to sell their branded beer on that day. Microbreweries see this as an opportunity to extend sales of their specialized product on a day of heavy tourism.

The bill, proposed by State Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, would allow microbreweries to sell the equivalent of up to three cases of 12-ounce bottles to an individual on Sundays. Only beer made within the microbrewery could be sold. Alting said this would prevent large amounts of alcohol, such as kegs, to be sold while still allowing a variety of beers to be purchased.

Greg Emig, vice president of the Brewers of Indiana Guild and owner of the Lafayette Brewing Company, a local microbrewery, welcomes the change and does not feel constricted by the limit.

“Obviously, we’re happy with being able to get anything,” Emig said. “We’re not looking to sell kegs on Sunday.”

Obtaining parity with wineries is an objective of the proposed change, Emig said.

Wineries, as Alting explained, already have an exception and can sell their beverages without limits based on the notion that their beverages are art and that bans prevent sales to tourists.

Alting puts beer from local breweries on the same plane.

“It’s an art to make local wine. It’s an art to make local beer.”

Reaching tourists on one of the busiest tourism days is essential for Emig’s business and other Indiana breweries.

“There’s a significant group of people that plan vacations around visiting breweries – sampling the nuances of the different beers,” Emig said.

Opening up Sunday sales for breweries would be a great aid to local business, according to both Alting and Emig.

“We’re talking about local beer made in local breweries,” Alting said. “We’re talking about small business.”

Microbreweries currently account for less than 1 percent of the total alcohol sales in Indiana, Emig said.

“This is less about Sunday sales and more about Indiana small business,” he said.

While not taking a specific stance on the bill proposing the modifications, the Drug-Free Coalition of Tippecanoe County is against the addition of another day to alcohol sales.

Karah Rawlings, coordinator of the coalition, said, “We’re concerned about the expansion of sales into Sunday because it does increase the accessibility of alcohol to minors.”

She also said the coalition would prefer more controls be put in place before sales were expanded to another day.

Although his liquor store will not be affected by the change, Ro Lopez, manager of the Village Bottle Shoppe, said he did not feel too left out.

“Honestly, to me, it’s not really a big deal,” Lopez said.

If ever allowed to sell on Sundays, Lopez said he would see a minor initial benefit, especially during the football season. Generally, however, he does not know why his and other liquor stores still cannot sell on Sundays.

“It’s a real surprise to me that it hasn’t happened yet.”

Posted in Alcohol, Indiana, Legislation | No Comments »

Sunday take-home sales on microbreweries’ radar

Monday, January 25th, 2010

By AMANDA HAMON • ahamon@jconline.com • January 23, 2010

State legislation that would allow microbreweries to sell take-home beer on Sundays has some local beer enthusiasts cheering.

The bill, written by Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, means microbreweries could sell a customer up to three cases of beer on Sundays, a day when take-home liquor sales now are banned at most places.

If the bill passes, Lafayette Brewing Company likely would remain open on Sundays, owner Greg Emig said. The business is closed most Sundays now.

Brewing company customers greeted the bill — and its implications — warmly.

“It would be good for the economy, good for the people who work here and good for the people who come here,” said Dan Monroe, a Thorntown resident who goes to Lafayette Brewing Company two or three times a week.

The bill passed in the Indiana Senate Thursday by a vote of 41-9. The House is expected to vote on the bill Wednesday, Alting said.

If passed and signed into law, the law would go into effect July 1. It would allow take-home sales only at microbreweries’ locations and would restrict the sale of kegs.

The bill is the fruit of a grassroots effort by the state’s 32 microbreweries and their customers, Alting said. Emig, who also serves as the vice president of the Brewers of Indiana Guild, said the group has been pushing for such a bill for years.

Fairness is a key justification for the bill, Alting said. Wineries have been permitted to sell take-home wine on Sunday for years, yet microbreweries have not.

A large part of microbreweries’ appeal lies in tours of the beer-making facilities and taste testing, Emig said.

However, under current law, breweries are at a disadvantage because customers can’t buy their beer on Sundays — historically a popular day with tourists.

If tourists can hit microbreweries on Sundays, nearby shops and communities would benefit, Emig said.

“We’re just asking to be able to sell an Indiana product in Indiana on Sundays,” Emig said. “We’re talking about tourist dollars in Indiana here.”

Emig said the bill wouldn’t contribute to underage drinking because Indiana-produced beer accounts for less than 1 percent of all beer sold in the state.

Additionally, microbrewed beer is much more expensive than mass-produced beer, and therefore isn’t appealing to minors.

Karah Rawlings, director of the Drug-Free Coalition of Tippecanoe County, said the organization hasn’t taken a stance on the bill.

“We’re not sure if it would affect underage drinking or not,” she said.

Bob Foley, a Lafayette Brewing Company regular, said he’d frequent the downtown business on Sundays if the law passes.

“I think it’s a great idea,” he said of the bill. “I don’t understand why there’s distinction between wineries and microbreweries now.”

Posted in Alcohol, Indiana, Legislation | No Comments »

Drug Use Rising Among Seniors; Baby Boomers Continue Using, SAMHSA Says

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

A new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) finds that 4.7 percent of Americans age 50 and older used illicit drugs during the past year, a figure that’s on the rise and reflective of lifelong drug use by aging Baby Boomers, experts said.

SAMHSA said the report, Illicit Drug Use Among Older Adults, presages a possible doubling in need for treatment services among older Americans in the next decade. “This new data has profound implications for the health and well-being of older adults who continue to abuse substances,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde. “These findings highlight the need for prevention programs for all ages as well as to establish improved screening and appropriate referral to treatment as part of routine health care services.”

The report found that 8.5 percent of men ages 50-54 used marijuana during the past month, compared to 3.9 percent of women in the same age group. Marijuana use among older Americans was more prevalent than nonmedical use of prescription drugs, SAMHSA noted.

Posted in Substance Abuse, Trends | No Comments »

Alcohol Substitute Said to Make Users Mildly Drunk, with No Hangover

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

January 15, 2010 -  jointogether.org

Recently fired U.K. drug czar David Nutt and colleagues have developed a synthetic drink that they hope will someday replace alcohol, the Daily Mail reported Jan. 6.

Using chemicals related to those found in Valium, researchers at Imperial College, London created a colorless, tasteless liquid that reportedly produces mild intoxication, but won’t get users drunk regardless of how much they drink.

Nutt said the substance could replace the alcohol in beer, wine and liquor and help reduce alcohol-related deaths. Researchers also are working on an antidote for the substance that users could take to “sober up” at will.

Posted in Alcohol | No Comments »

Athletes on performance enhancers more likely to abuse alcohol, other drugs

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

College athletes who use performance-enhancing substances may be at greater risk of abusing alcohol and using other drugs as well, according to new research in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
The study, of 234 male athletes at one university, found that those who used performance enhancers – ranking from steroids to stimulants to weight-loss supplements – were more likely to admit to heavy drinking and using drugs like marijuana and cocaine. They also had elevated rates of alcohol- and drug-related problems, such as missing classes, failing tests or getting into fights.

The implication is that many athletes are not only experimenting with recreational drugs and alcohol, but suffering consequences as well, says study co-author Dr. Robert J. Pandina, director of the Center of Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Until now, it had been unclear whether college athletes who use performance enhancers might have any higher risk of misusing other substances. On one hand, Pandina explained, many athletes might avoid habits that could threaten their performance on the field. On the other, athletes drawn to performance-enhancing substances might have certain traits — such as a propensity toward “sensation seeking” – that make the misuse of alcohol or other drugs more likely.

In their study, the researchers, led by Dr. Jennifer F. Buckman, assistant research professor at the Center of Alcohol Studies, found that nearly one third of the athletes acknowledged using a performance-enhancing substance in the past year. The list included banned substances like steroids, creatine, “Andro,” stimulants and weight-loss aids.

As a group, athletes who used performance-enhancing substances reported higher rates of drug and alcohol use. Seventy percent said they had used marijuana and one third admitted to cocaine use, versus 22 percent and 3 percent of athletes who did not use performance enhancers. They also had higher rates of smoking, binge drinking and prescription-drug misuse.

The results also hint at some reasons for the elevated rates of drug and alcohol use. Athletes who used performance enhancers were more likely than nonusers to be natural sensation seekers – a desire to have new and varied experiences – but they were also more likely to say they used drugs or alcohol specifically to cope with stress and anxiety.

This, Pandina says, suggest that these athletes often see a “utilitarian value” to using recreational drugs. “They are using them to cope with the problems of day-to-day living.”

Pandina noted that it’s important to understand why some athletes are turning to these drugs. “This really says that we have to focus on the motivations for athletes’ substance use and make them aware of the consequences that are likely to come of it,” she said.

CADCA.ORG

Posted in Substance Abuse, Trends | No Comments »

Mentors Help Youth Avoid Substance Abuse

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Peggy Bylund – Big Brothers Big Sisters – Drug-Free Coalition Training and Outreach Chair

According to the Comprehensive Community Plan of the Drug-Free Coalition of Tippecanoe County, youth in our county report high rates of consumption of or experimentation with alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.  Mentoring is not the sole solution for these serious issues.  However, it is a proven and effective way to model a productive and healthy lifestyle and decrease the occurrence of poor, unhealthy and/or illegal choices among youth.

Research shows that formal mentoring programs provide a highly structured and experimentally proven strategy for the prevention of drug and alcohol experimentation and abuse. A study by Public/Private Ventures found that youth who meet regularly with a Big Brother or Big Sister are 46% less likely to begin using drugs and 27% less likely to begin drinking alcohol.  Research has shown that youth with mentors are more likely to make wiser choices when confronted with alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs because their mentors have helped them develop a sense of purpose, self-worth, and a greater awareness of the dangers and consequences of substance abuse. Similarly, youth that have the support of a natural mentor, a caring adult not involved through a formal mentoring program, are more likely to avoid alcohol and drug use (Teens Today, 2006).

January is National Mentoring Month and this year’s them is “Expand your Universe, Mentor a Child”.  This is a time to recognize the importance of mentors in the lives of children of all ages.  It is a time to consider how you can make a difference in the life of a child.

What can you do?

  • Be a positive adult role model.  If you drink yourself, drink responsibly.  Don’t drive when you’ve been drinking.
  • Talk with youth about how unhealthy tobacco, drugs, and alcohol can be and how decisions made now can drastically impact their lives for years to come.
  • Ask youth about what is going on in their lives, with their friends, and what is important to them.  Listen to their response.
  • Be that caring adult for the youth next door, down the street, in the neighborhood or community.

Posted in Prevention, Youth | No Comments »

Indiana’s Package Store Industry asks Courts to Interpret Alcohol Permit Laws Permit Quotas at Issue as Local Hearings are Scheduled Statewide

Friday, January 15th, 2010

For Immediate Release
Jan. 14, 2010

Media Contact: Kyle Niederpruem, 317-509-7334, kyle@kylecommunications.com


INDIANAPOLIS—The Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers (IABR) filed a complaint for declaratory judgment today seeking an injunction against the state’s regulatory commission that issues alcohol permits for retailers.

IABR, the trade association representing the package store industry in Indiana, is seeking a court order to stop the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission (ATC) from issuing any permits until a judge can interpret and clarify state quota laws, which sets the available number of permits to sell alcohol per population.

According to IABR, a legislative compromise was struck in 2008 that set an established number of available permits – but the association believes the law has not been followed. That compromise between retailers allowed the ATC to grant beer dealer permits to convenience stores, but capped the number of permits available by quota at a smaller and
more limited number than existed before the compromise.

John Livengood, president and CEO of the 500-member association, said his group has met with three different chairmen of the ATC attempting to resolve the quota issue. “We believe our interpretation is correct and we’re asking the courts for direction,” Livengood said Thursday. “Until the quota law changed in 2008, we did not realize state
officials were miscounting permits. The commission is calculating the quota in a way that results in twice as many permits being considered than the law currently allows,”

Livengood said a flood of recent permit applications filed with the state brought the issue to light again. As of this week, the ATC has posted 97 permit requests for Walgreens alone on its Web site. Of those, 30 are scheduled for hearings this January at local boards.

Only January hearing dates are posted online—many of those in Fort Wayne. The complaint states that the city of Fort Wayne, by example, is currently over its quota limit of 35 beer dealer permits. “The same scenario,” according to the complaint, “is occurring throughout the state, and permits have been issued, and will continue to issue, in violation of Ind. Code 7.1-3-22-4.” The seven-page complaint was filed Thursday in Marion County Superior Court 2.
About the Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers (IABR)

The Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers is a statewide membership group for package store owners licensed and regulated by the state of Indiana. Founded in 1936, the association’s mission is to protect, promote and improve the package store industry in Indiana. The association represents Hoosier businesses with 8,000 employees.

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Convenience stores will card all for alcohol

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

By JUSTIN L. MACK • jmack@jconline.com • January 13, 2010

It’s difficult for 52-year-old Edgar Logan to recall the last time he was asked to show his ID when buying alcohol.

Starting this month, Logan will have to remember to keep his card handy if he plans to purchase alcohol from local convenience stores.

“I guess the gray in my beard and hair ain’t good enough anymore. That was the only good part of having it,” he said.

The Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association announced Tuesday that convenience stores throughout Indiana will verify ages for all alcohol purchasers regardless of appearance.

Association President Kelly McClure said the decision is an effort to keep alcohol out of the hands of minors.

“Our industry has a proud record of acting responsibly when it comes to selling alcohol and other age-restricted products,” he said. “We are committed to preventing minors from getting alcohol and know there is more we can do.”

The voluntary policy changes come after a two-year study by Indiana State Excise Police that found that businesses that sell alcoholic beverages had a 35 percentnoncompliance rate when selling to minors.

Local businesses, such as Speedway, Circle K, Gas America and Super-Test, will participate in the effort. More than 450 locations statewide will do the same.

“We’re doing it to cut down on the number of minors buying and trying to buy,” said Kimberly Neal, assistant manager of the Circle K on Indiana 26.

“It’s not something that our customers are too happy about, but we hope that it helps.”

Lafayette’s Dustin Harris, 36, is one resident who is annoyed by the new policy. “It comes down to common sense,” he said.

“Anyone can look at me and see I’m older than 21. It just adds an extra step.”

Tuesday’s announcement coincides with proposed legislation introduced in the Indiana General Assembly this week.

Language requiring the mandatory carding of alcohol purchasers is included in Senate Bill 189, introduced by Sen. Phil Boots, R-Crawfordsville.

In addition, SB 189 would modernize alcohol laws by permitting Sunday carryout sales and allowing all licensed retailers the right to sell cold beer.

Karah Rawlings, director of the Drug-Free Coalition of Tippecanoe County, said she is excited about the efforts of local shops and the possibility of legislation being passed statewide.

In December, the coalition identified mandatory carding as its top issue.

“I think it’s a big step that they took the initiative to make this change without legislation being in place to make it mandatory,” she said.

“Hopefully it sets an example for other businesses to follow suit.”

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Coalition Sponsored Organization Hosts Clean and Sober New Years Eve

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Journal and Courier – Bob Scott – December 29th

The message is clear at this party: “You don’t need alcohol to have a good time.”

That’s Beth Moore’s mantra for Thursday’s Clean and Sober New Year’s Eve Celebration at the Tippecanoe County 4-H Fairgrounds.

“This is a safe, family-oriented alternative for people wanting a fun party minus the alcohol,” said Moore, a volunteer organizer for the event. “This is something you can take your children to.

“It sends the message to our children that we can have fun and enjoy ourselves without alcohol.”

The annual event is sponsored by the SURF Center. SURF stands for Service, Unity, Recovery and Fellowship. The center, located at 316 N. Third St., offers meeting space for 12-step groups and other recovery-related organizations.

The alcohol-free party has been held at various sites, but this year, for the first time, it will be held at the fairgrounds.

“We had 272 people last year (at Trinity United Methodist Church),” Moore said. “The past few years, the event has really grown. At the fairgrounds, we’ll have more parking and a lot more room.”

Activities will take place in the Exhibit Hall, which is in the back of the fairgrounds across from the dairy barn.

Food, music, prizes and dancing are on tap. For the first time, a one-hour jam session is scheduled for singers and musicians. The WSL Mobile DJ’s will provide dance music.

“People will be playing euchre and Trivial Pursuit, while the kids are playing games and popping balloons,” Moore said.

SURF Center volunteer Rick Nelson said he’s been attending the New Year’s Eve party since 2001.

“I haven’t missed one, yet,” said the retired truck driver. “I was a single dad with three teenagers. I came knowing that my children were safe with me at the party.

“They are grown now, but still might go to the party.”

Moore said rides are available to the fairgrounds from the SURF Center. She asks people to call to make arrangements.

She said volunteers are always needed. People also are asked to bring finger food snacks and hors d’oeuvres in crockpots.

Moore said a refrigerator also is needed.

Donating food are Marsh, Subway, Little Caesar’s, Chick-fil-A, and MCL Restaurant and Bakery. Walmart and other businesses have donated gift cards as prizes, Moore said.

She said a grant from the Drug-Free Coalition of Tippecanoe County also helped make the party possible.

If you go

The Clean and Sober New Year’s Eve Celebration is scheduled from 8 p.m. to midnight Thursday in the Exhibit Hall of the Tippecanoe County 4-H Fairgrounds, 1401 Teal Road.

Tickets are $5 for adults and children 12 and older, and $3 for ages 6-11. Children 5 and under are free.

A jam session is scheduled from 8 to 9 p.m. Singers and musicians are invited to perform.

Rides to the fairgrounds will be available at the SURF Center, 316 N. Third St. For a ride or to volunteer or donate food, call (765) 742-1033.

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