Where are the parents,

grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. of all the

youth in Fayette County - why aren't you raising

your voices in support of law enforcement and the city

council? Why are you letting a few people, accused of

selling alcohol to minors, dominate the outcry?

Fayette County can be a

model for the rest of Georgia in taking up the fight

against underage drinking. You should be very proud of

your City Council and law enforcement agencies. They

deserve the support of the majority, not the criticism of

a minority of citizens.

Alcohol is the number one

drug of choice among our nation's youth, and it is

costing our society an average of $577.91 per year for

every household in the United States.

Underage drinking kills 6.5

times more young people each year than all other illicit

drugs combined. This disappointing new research shows the

extent of the underage drinking problem and proves that

without effort to prevent youth alcohol use now, we could

see further preventable tragedies and also an upturn in

drunk driving as the number of young drivers increase

with the population.

While much progress has

been made in reducing youth and adult deaths resulting

from alcohol-related traffic crashes, young people are

still overrepresented in alcohol-related traffic crash

rates. Additionally, a study recently released by the

U.S. Justice Department reveals that underage drinking

cost Americans $58 billion annually - enough to

supply every kindergarten through senior high school

students with a new computer.

It is against the law in

Georgia to sell alcohol to minors. If indeed the 20

businesses cited recently are determined to be guilty by

the courts then they deserve the citation and revocation

of their licenses. We cannot allow anyone to sell alcohol

to our young people and MADD takes a very strong position

against underage drinking and the sale of alcohol to

minors.

Mothers Against Drunk

Driving is in the process of organizing a community

action team in Fayette County. If you are interested in

joining this effort please contact us at 404-223-3331 and

we will connect you with our volunteers in Fayette

County.

John Allen

State Executive Director

MADD Georgia