Since 1999, alcohol-related deaths in Wisconsin have tripled. Alcohol use among Wisconsin youth is at a significant high of 21.54%, which is over 40% higher than the national average. This data comes from an addiction experts study conducted at Lantana Recovery, which examined cases of alcohol use, binge-drinking, and alcohol-use disorder.

An addiction to alcohol is easy to get, but hard to get rid of. While there are resources available to get help for these addictions, many people refuse to use them due to the fear of getting in trouble or being excluded from groups in society. 

“ Whoever they’re reaching out to, to say, you know, I’ve been drinking, and I’m concerned about my use and I want to stop, or I wanna change that, or whatever. So I’m looking for some help. Nobody’s gonna penalize them for that,” social worker Jane Larson said.

With Wisconsin’s laws pertaining to alcohol for minors being more lenient than other states, and with parents being allowed to give their kids permission to possess, drink, or buy alcohol, there sometimes are issues with parents accidentally enabling their kids bad behaviors.

Alcohol is a dangerous substance, even if it doesn’t seem that way at first. If you or a loved one are struggling with an alcohol addiction such as binge-drinking, or an alcohol-use disorder, please contact the Wisconsin Teen Addiction Hotline at 888-351-0084.