A new law went into effect in July 2011 in the state of Washington making it mandatory for a vehicle driven by a person arrested for DUI (driving under the influence) to be towed and remain impounded for a 12-hour period.

Origins of Hailey’s Law

The new law, Senate Bill 5000, is also called "Hailey’s Law" in honor of Hailey Huntley. Hailey’s tragedy occurred in 2007 when a drunk driver was arrested for DUI. After processing the driver, and since there was no room for her in the jail, a state trooper drove her home. From home, the driver called a taxi in order to retrieve her vehicle.

Still impaired, the driver got behind the wheel and ended up in a head-on collision with Hailey Huntley. Huntley sued the County and State Patrol for damages and was awarded over $5 million. Huntley has undergone more than 16 surgeries related to injuries sustained in the accident.

In the past, police were often faced with a quandary: a lack of jail space for arrested drivers but no mandate to impound a DUI-involved car. The 2011 Legislature passed Hailey’s Law to protect others on the road, as well as the driver. The law’s primary intent is to keep impaired drivers from getting back behind the wheel before they have had enough time to sober up.

How the Law Works

The car must remain at the towing company for 12 hours (with three exceptions). This means that a sober friend in the car may not drive it home from the arrest scene and neither may a family member come and retrieve it from the roadside where the arrest occurred.

Though, to some, it may appear punitive, the law’s supporters are quick to point out that punishment is determined and meted out by the court at a later date.

There are three exceptions to the mandatory 12-hour impound provision in the new law:

1. If the vehicle is owned by a person other than the person who was arrested, and the owner was not in the car at the time of the arrest, the owner may reclaim the car at the towing company lot.
2. If the car is registered to a co-owner, that person may reclaim the car at the towing company before 12 hours have elapsed.
3. Commercial or farm transport vehicles whose owner is not the arrested party may retrieve the vehicle from the site of the arrest. This is the only case in which the vehicle is not required to be towed.

DUI Statistics

A few statistics help put the law into perspective. Washington state police arrest roughly 40,000 impaired drivers annually. While Washington’s highway fatality rate has been declining, the number of people killed by impaired drivers in the state is not keeping pace.

For those who wonder if it is unfair to impound the car of a person not yet convicted of drunk driving, consider that in 2008 police made 40,205 DUI arrests. According to the Transportation Department of Washington State, a scant 185 of those cases resulted in acquittals.

Alcohol consumption and cannabis use are often seen by many people as harmless social activities or ways to relieve everyday stress. However, alcohol use is associated with not only injury and increased risk of certain cancers and liver disease, but it is also connected with secondary risks such as dangerous sexual behaviors. Cannabis use has been associated with psychotic episodes.

The Centre for Addiction and Health in Ontario recently released their report, detailing information gathered in a survey of local adults. The survey asked about daily drinking and cannabis use, as well as psychological distress. The report showed that there are increasing rates of daily drinking and cannabis use and high levels of psychological distress among Ontario residents.

The CAMH Monitor survey is the longest running survey that tracks mental health and addiction. In its latest report, the survey showed that the number of adults that drink daily increased from 5.3 percent in 2002 to more than 9 percent in 2009. In addition, the average number of drinks per day has increased, from 3 drinks per day to 4.6. The proportion of adults that exceed low-risk drinking guidelines remains high at 22 percent.

The report, however, also published some findings that provide encouragement. There was a significant decline noted in binge drinking, with the rate in 2006 at 12.6 percent decreasing to 7.1 percent in 2009. A major decline was noted especially among young adults, with the number dropping from 24 percent to 11.5 percent.

Driving within an hour of consuming two or more drinks was a measure that showed a decline, from 13.1 percent in 1996 to 6.9 percent in 2009, the report indicates that there might be a reversal of the trend among young adults, with 18 to 29 year olds increasing on this measure from 7.7 percent in 2005 to 12.8 percent in 2009.

Cannabis use has shown a steady increase, from 8.7 percent in 1996 to 13.3 percent in 2009, taking into account both genders and all age groups. Among younger adults aged 18 to 29, there was a significant increase, from 18.3 percent to 35.8 percent.

The researchers at CAMH explain that increasing cannabis use is of particular concern because it has been linked closely with psychosis, especially for people who are predisposed to developing schizophrenia. The use of cannabis may worsen the symptoms of a number of mental illnesses.

The researchers report that there is also a significant increase in cannabis users among older adults, with those over the age of 50 showing an increase from 1.4 percent to 4.7 percent from 1996 to 2009, and among past-year cannabis users, the percentage of those aged 50 and over increased from 1.9 percent to 13.9 percent.

Many parents debate about whether to make drinking a family affair. Some believe that including kids in their social drinking and inviting kids to join in teaches their children responsibility with alcohol. Others would rather keep their drinking reserved for adult-only events and encourage their children to avoid alcohol.

A recent study says that teenagers also have opinions about their parents’ drinking habits. Especially when it comes to heavy drinking, teens report that they are negatively affected by their parents’ behaviors. The study found that one in ten Irish teenagers say that their parents’ drinking affects them in a "hugely negative way."

The National Children’s Consultation survey conducted by the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children examined multiple facets of attitudes about drinking among teenagers. The survey involved 9,746 teenagers. While the teens say that their own lives are negatively affected by their parents’ drinking, a quarter of teens report participating in binge drinking themselves, according to the report.

The study found that 79 percent of 12 to 18-year-olds believe that parents should not drink alcohol and should not become drunk in front of their children. However, almost a third of respondents said that it is acceptable for teenagers to drink alcohol to get drunk.

The report shows additional discrepancies between teens’ views of their own drinking and the drinking behaviors exhibited by their parents. Approximately 20 percent of teenagers say that it is okay for young people to drink five or more alcoholic drinks in one sitting, while only 9 percent say it is okay for adults to do the same.

Some respondents report being adversely affected by their parents’ drinking in significant ways. Teens reported in some cases that their childhood was negatively altered by their parents’ drinking and others cited "physical and emotional abuse" within their families. Some teens called their parents’ behavior upsetting and others felt it was embarrassing to see their parents out of control.

The survey shows that many Irish teens are consuming alcohol, with 45 percent of 12- to 18-year-olds indicating that they drink and a quarter of teens saying that they binge drink. Among teens who say that they have consumed alcohol in the last month, 63 percent report having been drunk at least one time during the month. However, 66 percent of the teens surveyed said that they are in favor of moderation in alcohol consumption.

The report issued by the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children highlights the effects that a parent’s drinking can have on their children. While some teens see their own heavy drinking as acceptable, they are troubled and sometimes embarrassed by their parents’ dangerous drinking behaviors.

A new study has found that binge drinking may put teenagers at an increased risk of developing osteoporosis and bone fractures later in life. Published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism, the study found long-term disruptions in many genes that play a role in bone formations in rats.

John Callaci, PhD, bone biologist at Loyola University Health System, says that damage to bones during adolescence may last decades. He noted that while data from animals doesn’t directly translate to humans, their findings suggest that a similar problem can occur in humans.

In 2008, Callaci and his colleagues found that adolescent rats who consumed amounts of alcohol comparable to human binge drinkers had 15 percent less bone mass build-up than rats that didn’t drink alcohol.

Their latest study looked at the effect of binge drinking on genes. The researchers injected rats with alcohol until their blood-alcohol level reached 0.28, which is very high. They were given this amount of alcohol on three consecutive days (acute binge drinking) or three consecutive days per week for four consecutive weeks (chronic binge drinking).

In acute binge-drinking rats, approximately 300 bone-related genes were disrupted, and in chronic binge-drinking rats, about 180 bone-related genes were disrupted. Alcohol either increased or decreased the amount of RNA (which helps make proteins, which are the foundation of bones) in the disrupted genes. The genes disrupted molecular pathways which are involved in bone metabolism and bone mass maintenance.

After 30 days of abstaining from alcohol (which translates to about three years in humans), the genes were still disrupted.

These results could help create new treatments to prevent bone loss in binge drinkers and others who have an increased risk of developing osteoporosis, though the best method of prevention is to avoid drinking alcohol, Callaci said.

Source: Science Daily, Are Teen Binge Drinkers Risking Future Osteoporosis?, July 18, 2010

Scientists have identified new genes and pathways that influence an individual’s typical pattern of brain electrical activity, a trait that may serve as a useful surrogate marker for more genetically complex traits and diseases, such as alcoholism.

A report of the findings by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, appears online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"This important advance sustains our hope for the potential of genome-wide association techniques to further the study of complex genetic disorders such as alcoholism," notes NIAAA Acting Director Kenneth R. Warren, Ph.D. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) allow researchers to rapidly scan the complete set of DNA of many individuals to find genetic variations associated with a particular disease or condition.

"One of the challenges in identifying the genes that underlie alcoholism is the large degree of genetic and environmental variability associated with the disease," explains first author Colin A. Hodgkinson, Ph.D., a geneticist in the NIAAA Laboratory of Neurogenetics. "Such variability has impeded even GWAS efforts to identify alcoholism genes. To overcome those difficulties, we used GWAS techniques to search for genetic variants related to EEG, or brain wave, patterns in a comparatively small sample of several hundred Native American individuals."

As unique as an individual’s fingerprints, EEG (electroencephalogram) patterns are highly heritable, and have been associated with alcoholism and other psychiatric disorders. The high degree of genetic similarity and common environmental exposure shared by the Native American individuals that comprised the study sample aided this search.

Working with David Goldman, M.D., chief of the NIAAA Laboratory of Neurogenetics, Dr. Hodgkinson and colleagues identified multiple genes that were associated with the amplitude, or height, of two of the four characteristic electrical frequencies that make up the wave patterns found in EEG recordings.

One of the genes, for example, was found to account for nearly 9 percent of the EEG theta wave variability seen in the Native American sample. Theta waves are relatively low-frequency brain waves, and previous studies have shown that their amplitude is altered among alcoholics. The researchers then showed that the same gene accounted for about 4 percent of theta wave variability in a sample of North American whites.

The gene’s diminished effect among whites, they noted, was likely a reflection of the greater genetic variability present in that sample. In the same study Dr. Goldman’s group went on to show that genetic variation in one of the genes identified for theta wave variability was also associated with an altered risk for alcoholism.

"While our main findings are for genes that influence EEG wave patterns, this study represents an important step toward the use of EEG as a surrogate marker for alcoholism," notes Dr. Goldman. "It also reveals new molecular pathways involved in addiction processes."

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health, is the primary U.S. agency for conducting and supporting research on the causes, consequences, prevention, and treatment of alcohol abuse, alcoholism, and alcohol problems. NIAAA also disseminates research findings to general, professional, and academic audiences. Additional alcohol research information and publications are available at www.niaaa.nih.gov.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

The BBC reports that William Armstrong, the Greater Norfolk coroner, criticized supermarkets for selling alcohol cheaper than bottled water after a Norfolk man died after consuming as little as £10 worth of alcohol.

Tests showed Roger Prosser, 64, had a level of almost 500 milligrams of alcohol in his blood; the legal limit for drivers is 80.

"The huge amount that he drank could have been purchased at a supermarket for around £10. It is alarming that alcohol can be purchased at supermarkets at a price less than bottled water,” Armstrong said. "One of the witnesses said told me that wine and cider were Mr. Prosser’s poison—sadly that proved to be literally as well as metaphorically true."

Earlier this week, the Government unveiled new measures to cut down on irresponsible drinking in England and Wales, including a ban on all-you-can-drink promotions and a move to force bars and pubs to offer smaller glasses of wine.

The Conservatives have also promised to review the "open all hours" policy introduced by the Government.

However, moves in Scotland to set a minimum price for alcohol in supermarkets—which offer lager for as little as 25p a can and wine for £2.50 a bottle—have faltered.

Armstrong first attacked low-price drink offers last July after he dealt with three inquests into alcohol-related deaths. At the time, he said: "The cost of alcohol is a factor – because it is so cheap it is not a costly business to get drunk. It has become an entrenched part of our culture not just among the young but older people as well.”

"In my role I deal with death and disaster every day but I am still surprised and shocked by the extent of excessive alcohol consumption going on and the effect it is having—it is a major public health problem."

This week’s hearing in Norwich into the death of Prosser, who lived in Loddon, Norfolk, was told that he had been a heavy drinker for more than 30 years.

Armstrong said: "A substantial number of deaths are now linked to alcohol abuse—and there is a relationship between the cost of alcohol and the damage that abuse causes. Doing something about this should be a priority."

Over the holiday weekend, many people were arrested for drunk driving in Chatham County, Georgia, from Garden City to Savannah to Thunderbolt.

Garden City police pulled over a driver on New Year’s Eve after they caught him speeding and weaving from lane to lane. The man’s family was in the car with him, and he was charged for driving under the influence.

The video of the arrest shows one officer who found beer in the car. "We found this open bottle of Heineken," the officer said. Police took the driver to jail, took his family home, and towed his car.

He was just one of nearly 100 people in Chatham County arrested this weekend for drinking and driving. Several of those arrested were underage.

"That is a staggering number and just to keep in mind that’s only the ones we caught," said Georgia State Patrol trooper first class Chad Gray. "Most of the people we pulled over this weekend were coming from the downtown area, the bars, and downtown Savannah."

While Gray has heard every excuse in the book, he says he didn’t hear many this weekend. "Most of them weren’t surprised, they knew we were going to be out, they took a chance, most took it and went on their way about it," he said.

Police say one drunk driver ended up in the hospital after he flipped his car and ended up in Franklin Square.

"There are still people who are going to do it and until we see a drastic decrease in the numbers, until there’s not a problem anymore, we are going to be out there doing our job," Gray said.

New findings about alcohol’s effects on the brain and potential drug treatments that prevent damage to brain cells has led to three federal grants totaling $3.1 million for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

The grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will advance the work of UAMS’ Cynthia J.M. Kane, Ph.D., and Paul D. Drew, Ph.D., professors in the Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences of the College of Medicine. Their studies could become the foundation for medicines that block the toxic effects of alcohol as well as treat alcoholism

"We’re excited about our findings, and this new round of funding gives us the opportunity to take a major step toward preventing the neurological harm caused by alcohol," said Kane, an alcohol researcher at UAMS. "It is my hope that adults, adolescents, and even the fetuses of alcoholic mothers can benefit."

Kane and her colleagues found in earlier studies that drinking causes loss of neurons in the brain and that glial cells (which provide support and protection for neurons) are also primary targets of alcohol. In addition, they discovered that alcohol’s impact on the glial cells increases the vulnerability of neurons to alcohol damage.

Kane, Drew, and others at UAMS have been studying the signaling mechanisms inside neurons and glial cells that cause alcohol consumption to result in neuron and glial cell death, failed communication between cells, impaired brain function, and inflammation within the brain. Their discoveries led to the identification of drugs that block this cascade of events, preventing the inflammation, neurodegeneration, and death and dysfunction of brain cells.

Kane’s alcohol research at UAMS was seeded by funds from the UAMS Foundation and has been continuously funded by NIH since 2000. She is the lead investigator, with Drew as co-investigator, on the largest of the three new grants: $1.7 million over five years.

The grant will enable Kane and Drew to focus on the mechanisms by which the drugs provide protection against alcohol and evaluate their success individually as well as in combination therapies.

"The drugs we are looking at right now are FDA-approved drugs," Kane said. "If we find that they work, then they well may be able to be used in humans."

A British lemonade brand has sparked a police inquiry in Maine because of its alcohol content. The Associated Press reports that a high school student in Maine consumed half a bottle of Fentimans lemonade before reading about the alcohol content, which was listed on the lable as less than 0.5 percent.

Not wanting to get in trouble, he showed it to school administrators, who called police, who referred the matter to state officials. U.S. anti-drinking groups got involved, warning parents and retailers about the drink’s potential perils.

"We see it as slightly absurd," said Tiffany McKirdy, operations director at Fentimans, a specialty brewer in northern England. "It looks to us like utter hysteria, the fact that the principal contacted the police and the substance abuse officials got involved.”

She said the company was concerned about underaged drinking and received occasional inquiries about the alcohol content, but said that “it is legally classified as a soft drink."

McKirdy said a person would need to drink about 28 bottles of the lemonade in order to consume the alcohol found in a typical pint of beer.

Fentimans managing director Eldon Robson said the concerns raised in Maine reflects the prudishness of the devout men and women who left England in search of the new world.

"Maine is of course where our Puritanical forefathers went because Britain was not strict enough and it has been said that Puritans are people who are always worried that someone, somewhere might be having fun," he said, adding that he found the situation amusing.

But it is not a laughing matter in Houlton, Maine, where police chief Butch Asselin asked the state’s liquor licensing authorities to determine if the Victorian-style lemonade could legally be sold to minors.

"It wasn’t so much that we were trying to give Fentimans a black eye," he said. "We just want to make parents aware it contains alcohol. I’ve never had it, it’s probably very good, but their Web site says it can be used for mixed drinks."

He pointed out that nonalcoholic beers with similar residual alcohol content cannot be dispensed to minors under Maine law.

The police chief is also concerned because a Google search of Victorian lemonade turned up recipes calling for it to be made with gin. He is concerned young people will read those recipe and add gins to their Fentimans.

He is waiting for the state’s attorney general to issue a ruling clarifying the drink’s legal status.
The case has drawn the attention of two advocacy groups trying to combat teenage drug and alcohol abuse. Both the Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition and the statewide Maine Alliance to Prevent Substance Abuse believe the drink poses a potential threat.

"We got involved because we wanted parents and retailers to know this product does have some alcohol in it so they can make their own decision about whether to sell the product and whether to let their children drink it," said Clare Desrogiers, director of the local group.

Toyota Motor announced that it is developing anti-drunk-driving equipment that will lock the ignition of a vehicle if high levels of alcohol are detected in the driver.

The system features a hand-held breathalyzer equipped with a digital camera that detects alcohol consumption and photographs the driver’s face for identification, a company statement said.
If the driver tests positive, the system either warns him or her, or locks the vehicle’s ignition depending on the level of alcohol detected, Toyota said.

The carmaker is conducting tests with affiliate truck maker Hino Motors, and will install the equipment in selected trucks and other vehicles of fleet customers that include companies and government organizations.
The device will alert fleet administrators if the driver is detected with excessive alcohol levels, Toyota said.

Nissan Motor is currently developing similar equipment. In the United States, certain states earlier this year passed legislation requiring drunk-driving offenders to install breathalyzer ignition locks in their cars.