New State Law Hopes To Limit Detrimental Effects Of Underage Drinking

A new Indiana state law, signed into effect by Governor Mitch Daniels, offers protection from prosecution for some minor alcohol-related offenses.

The law goes into effect on July 1, 2012 and offers protection for individuals who may be publically intoxicated or who are underage drinkers and are seeking help for another person who is facing an alcohol-related emergency.

“This law should be seen as a way to help save lives of underage drinkers,” begins a spokesperson for Mountainside Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center . “Sometimes, a group of underage students will join with others at a party, consuming a great deal of alcohol, and someone will fall critically ill due to excessive alcohol consumption. The tendency would be for the participants to protect themselves to the detriment of the person who needs medical attention. Under this new law, if a fellow underage drinker helps another potentially critically ill underage drinker, neither will be prosecuted. While we need to send the message for those who are underage to abstain from drinking alcohol entirely, we also need to make certain that those who have consumed too much alcohol do get the medical help that they need.”

The new Indiana law, called the Lifeline Law, provides immunity, as long as the person reporting the incident cooperates fully with police and other law enforcement officials, provides his or her contact details, including full name, and he or she must remain at the scene until police or the paramedics arrive. The message that this law hopes to send is that even if you have illegally consumed alcohol, one’s primary goal is to save the life of another person in peril.

Underage college drinking, which includes binge drinking, has claimed the lives of so many young people and will continue to do so until those at risk receive vital alcoholism treatment. Fortunately, Mountainside Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center specializes in helping individuals get on the road to recovery through their holistic drug rehab and alcoholism treatment programs. Their evidence based holistic treatment models are among the most effective for long term sobriety and are recognized among the most comprehensive and individualized programs within the addiction treatment field.

Mountainside Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center is a modern drug rehab facility that is skilled in serving a variety of clients with various addictions and in varying stages of addiction. The caring, compassionate team is made up of licensed and certified social workers and counselors who have extensive experience and specialty in the addiction treatment field. In addition, the staff includes a Nurse Practitioner, as well as a Registered Nurse, both of whom also have specializations and experience within the field of addiction treatment and alcohol rehab.

Mountainside also provides services for those individuals who come to them with dual diagnoses and require the services of a Psychiatrist to help conquer the unique challenges that dual diagnosis brings.

For the past 13 years, Mountainside has established itself as an innovator within the addiction treatment field, and the treatment modalities Mountainside utilizes are regarded as among the most cutting-edge approaches in helping individuals to get, and to remain, sober. As a result of their unique, innovative approaches to addiction treatment, Mountainside has become the model for the addiction treatment field.

The program, along with its professional addiction treatment team, have earned national recognition and resulted in Mountainside being invited to Washington by the White House to meet with the White House Drug Czar, John P. Walters, for an in-depth meeting on what makes its program so successful. These accolades did not go unnoticed within the addiction treatment field and resulted in the adoption by many throughout the country of a more holistic approach to drug addiction treatment.

If you or someone you love is addicted to drugs or alcohol, or if you have any questions, please contact Mountainside Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center for a confidential inquiry at 800-762-5433.

Via EPR Network
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