Mambers of the DWI Planning Council and Papa Murphy’s Pizza co-owner Gayle Cunningham. Courtesy/LAPS

Community and DWI Planning Council members with a co-owner of LA Market and Indian Grocery. Courtesy/LAPS

LAPS News:

“We do this because we love you!” –DWI Planning Council Chair Juanita McNiel

The Los Alamos County DWI Planning Council has been working in collaboration with the Los Alamos High School Student Prevention Team to implement a Sticker Shock Campaign leading up to high school graduation and Senior Appreciation Night on Saturday, May 27.

Sticker Shock is a public information campaign designed to remind community members of the dangers of underage drinking and the importance of complying with laws that protect youth from harm.

This campaign aims to discourage people from supplying alcohol to minors or using a fake ID to purchase alcohol. Parents, older siblings and older friends are often unaware of the many consequences including legal trouble that they may face as a result of providing alcohol to a minor. 

Papa Murphy’s Pizza and LA Market and Indian Groceries in Los Alamos and Smith’s Food and Drug in White Rock have all agreed to support this year’s sticker shock campaign. Gayle Cunningham, co-owner of Papa Murphy’s and employer of countless community teenagers, reminds young people to be smart and stay safe. DWI Planning Council Chair Juanita McNiel adds, “We do this because we love you!”

Community members are encouraged to thank these local businesses for their role in mentoring and protecting youth.

LAHS student prevention team members designed two stickers to be included in pizza orders and adhered to beer and alcohol products during the week before high school graduation. This campaign recognizes that parents, caregivers, community members, and local businesses all play an important role in helping to keep youth safe. 

Underage drinking is a serious issue that can have harmful consequences. Alcohol affects the developing adolescent brain more intensely than an adult’s brain. Teens who drink are more likely to be victims of crime or involved in alcohol-related crashes. Drinking also increases the risk of sexual assault or unplanned, unprotected sex. 

Twenty percent of LAHS students reported that they were current alcohol drinkers in the 2021 Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey. Of those students, more than 40% answered that they usually drink alcohol in private homes. Current LAHS students express concern for their peers especially around the increase in black out drinking and how easy it is to get alcohol from adults and then drive after drinking. According to SAMHSA (the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), adults who had their first drink before the age of 15 were 7 times more likely to experience alcohol problems than those who had not started drinking before the age of 21. 

Members of the Los Alamos County DWI Planning Council, the LAHS Student Prevention Team, and the LAPS Prevention Program are grateful for the public’s support of this campaign to enforce New Mexico’s underage drinking laws. 

Questions and comments can be directed to Juanita McNiel, Los Alamos County DWI Planning Council Chair – juanita.mcniel@lacnm.us, or Kristine Coblentz, LAPS Prevention Support Specialist – k.coblentz@laschools.net.