Based on data from 2006-2010, the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates on average that alcohol is a factor in the deaths of 4,358 young people under the legal drinking age. According to Sgt. Scott Ballou of the Marshall University Police Department, the city is working to crack down on underage drinking.

Ballou said officers understand there could be multiple ways that alcohol can end up in a minor’s hands. 

“Underaged individuals can gain access to alcohol quite easily,” he said. “If you have a friend that is of age, there is the loophole.”

Describing the underage drinking situation as, “a battle, where victory means conservation,” Ballou said the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department, Huntington Police Department and state police, along with Alcoholic Beverage Control Administration (ABCA), all work together to combat underage drinking in different ways. 

Both the Sheriff’s Department and the Huntington Police Department counter underage drinking by issuing tickets, citations and in some cases, arrests. The ABCA operates in a different manner, looking at each step that may lead to alcohol consumption. 

The ABCA has an enforcement division that is committed to enforcing state laws. This includes the sale, purchase, transportation, manufacture, consumption, and of alcoholic beverages. 

In 2007, the ABCA reported there were 194 establishments licensed to sell alcohol in Cabell County who were scheduled for compliance checking. Forty-four of those establishments reportedly sold alcohol to undercover minors without checking for any identification. 

Ballou also said that not every semester is the same regarding underage drinking arrests, including citations. He explained the effort to reduce underage drinking is a community responsibility. 

“A guess would be about 30 to 50 citations are issued each semester”, Ballou said.

“Numbers could be lower if an underage alcohol enforcement operation took place in and around the Marshall University campus with all surrounding agencies involved, including the Marshall University Police Department. If the enforcement stings are done, then numbers could be lower.”

Jannson Williams can be contacted at [email protected].