IN Legislators Water Down Carding Law: No Longer Mandatory

State legislators have reached an agreement on changing Indiana's law requiring everyone, regardless of age, to provide identification when buying carry-out alcohol. Bill sponsor Sen. James Merritt, R-Indianapolis, said that he would accept a proposal to no longer require store clerks to card customers who appear older than 40. Liquor store owners support the current law, saying it has discouraged minors from trying to buy alcohol. The change in the law means that evidence collected by State Excise Police - showing that mandatory carding cut back tremendously on underage purchases of alcohol - was ignored.

A Reminder for Prom - Parents Listen Up

Each year across the United States, hundreds of teens are killed or injured in alcohol-related accidents connected with prom night celebrations. One of the most effective prevention efforts is for parents to simply talk with their teens about the dangers of drinking on prom night. Here are some additional tips as prom seasons closes out this spring.

• Make sure your teen has a plan for the evening and shares that plan with parents.
• Work with the school to make sure food is served at prom-related events.
• Know all of the "hot spot" destinations, including parties on Facebook.
• Take an inventory of the alcohol in your home and make sure supplies are secure.
• Know who is driving.
• If a limo is rented, check on polices about allowing alcohol in the vehicle.
• Discuss the school's prom rules and consequences for violations.
• Encourage seatbelt use.
• Do not rent hotel rooms for prom-goers.
• Stay up and be present when your teens return home; let them know you will be waiting.

More Good Prom Ideas to Share From Around the Country

In Tuscon, AZ

When students pick up their prom flowers from one northwest side florist Saturday, they will get a safety message, too. Inglis Florists, Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), and Southwest Ambulance will be there to remind prom-goers to party sober and to not ride in a car with someone who has been drinking or using drugs. "Arizona SADD knows all too well the consequences of impaired driving," said Jessica Smith, Director, Arizona SADD. "We also know that more youth choose to make the right choice."

In Miami Beach, FL

Wailing friends collapse at the burnished coffin of a teen as pallbearers slowly wheel it away. Two crashed cars sit nearby, bearing witness in pools of blood to the drunken driving accident that took his life. The scene isn't real. It was a simulation called "Cheat the Reaper: Live to See Your Future," staged in the parking lot of Miami Beach Senior High School last year with help from students and adults desperate to end drinking and drugging during prom season. The mock tragedy, like others at high schools around the country, will play out again this year in Miami Beach with help from Drug Free Youth in Town, one of many groups kicking into high gear as the "killing season" approaches.

In Pearl River, NY

Students at a New York high school celebrated their junior prom in the most typical of ways: buying dresses, posing for photos. But instead of capping off prom with the ultimate party, they had to get home at a sensible hour. This year's Pearl River High School junior prom was on a Wednesday night. And students were expected in class this morning-or else. The controversial rule was Principal Bill Furdon's answer to last year's prom debauchery, where students pulled a drunken all-nighter and posted pictures on Facebook. "We had one bus come back with a girl that was non-responsive," Furdon said of an event where 50 teens were cited for underage drinking.

Does the Name on an Indiana Alcohol Permit Matter?

In Indiana, a beer retailer's permit shall not be issued to anyone "who is not of good moral character and of good repute in the community." But what if a bar owner has had so many problems that even off-duty cops won't work for him - so he transfers the permit to his wife?

The Allen County Alcoholic Beverage Commission has been grappling with that question for weeks, and could decide next month whether George Kotsopoulos - a former Komets hockey player whose legal problems date back more than 20 years - will be allowed to remain in the business of selling alcohol.

To read Kevin Leininger's full column in The News-Sentinel, click here.

Indiana AG Absent in Letter to Pabst Brewing Co.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, as pointed out by the Drug Free Marion County group, is one state official who did not sign on to a letter sent to Pabst urging it to reduce the alcohol content of the controversial drink - Blast by Colt 45.

More than a dozen state officials recently signed onto the letter. The Attorneys General wrote the product "poses a grave public safety threat and is irresponsible."

According to the Wall Street Journal, the AGs are also concerned that the target market includes underage drinkers, especially since the high-alcohol content, fruit-flavored malt beverage is being promoted by rapper Snoop Dogg.

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