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Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
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Marilyn Belmonte has a message for parents who say underage drinking is just a matter of kids being kids: It's a whole new world out there.
"There's a real change in the mentality," said Belmonte, a youth substance abuse prevention coordinator, to a group of parents assembled at Medway High School Wednesday night for "Turning Off the Tap," a presentation about underage drinking.
Recent incidents like the alcohol-related death of Plainville teen Taylor Meyer last October have moved the subject to the front burner, and the program detailed alarming new trends in teenage alcohol use, including extreme drinking games and binging.
"It really has changed," Belmonte said. Kids in the instant-gratification age are looking for quick fixes, and new trends, such as flavored alcohol. Walk into any store, she said, and you'll find shelves lined with attractive packages of vodkas in kid-friendly watermelon and cherry, perfect for teens looking to consume straight alcohol. Add in energy drinks as popular mixers and you've got the perfect storm, she said.
"They're mixing alcohol, which is a depressant, with energy drinks, which are stimulants, and the battle gets fought out in the heart," said Belmonte.
Parents can help by laying down the law. Recent studies show that the kids least likely to drink are those whose parents make it clear that such behavior is off limits.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here.
Two bars in town may temporarily lose their liquor licenses after allegedly serving alcohol to teens working with Franklin Police in an age compliance check, police said.
Workers at the Pepper Terrace Restaurant, at 400 Franklin Village Drive, and Cottage Street Pub & Grill, at 158 Cottage St., allegedly sold the teens beer on Saturday, Jan. 17, said Lt. Thomas Lynch.
"Do they look like they're 21? No they don't," Lynch said, explaining that police specifically instructed the teens not to wear make-up, jewelry, or dress up to appear older.
The goal, he said, was to check whether the establishments would serve people who were clearly younger than 21 years old.
Read the full article on the results of this sting operation in the Milford Daily News here
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In what police say is likely the biggest heroin bust in Franklin's history, Franklin Police and the Norfolk County Police Anti-Crime Task Force seized 324 grams of heroin from a Providence man who sold $150 worth of cocaine to an undercover officer.
In addition to the $32,000 worth of heroin, police also seized 12 grams of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $500 to $1,000, and $4,339 in cash during the arrest at 599 Old West Central St. (Rte. 140), police said.
"It's a very significant bust. Most people involved in the investigation and arrest, even the narcotics guys, they'd never seen that much heroin in any one place before this," said Franklin Lt. Thomas Lynch.
"That was the most (heroin seized) in one incident for one individual Franklin has ever had. In the 12 years I've been in law enforcement, I've never seen that much heroin in one place," said Lynch.
Read the full article on the heroin bust in the Milford Daily News here
Our teens have admitted struggling with substance abuse. You can check out the WASTED presentation here.
Over the past decade, Revere has seen significant statistical drops in the percentage of middle school and high school students who use and abuse alcohol, coinciding with what local officials, parents, and students themselves say has been a shift in attitudes about drinking.
That's no accident. Since 1997, Massachusetts General Hospital and Partners HealthCare have spent $4.4 million to fund a program called Revere CARES, designed to reduce teen drinking and substance abuse in a community where adults themselves abused alcohol and drugs at considerably higher rates than the state as a whole.
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The data show particular improvement among middle schoolers' behavior in the five years since Revere CARES launched a campaign called the "Power of Know," which included getting more than 1,000 parents of adolescents to sign cards pledging to talk with their children about alcohol, tobacco, and drugs, listen to their kids, and get to know their children's friends and their parents.
Bold for my emphasis
Read the full article in the Boston Globe here