Overview
Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol (CMCA) describes a community-level public health intervention aimed at reducing underage drinking by shaping institutional practices and local social norms. Some of these include:
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Mandatory Retail Compliance Checks: law enforcement agents might regularly send undercover decoys who look underage to see if clerks ask for valid ID at establishments that sell alcohol. Sometimes this is reinforced through rewards for refusing sale to a minor and legal warnings for those who fail to do so. Consequences can escalate from fines to suspensions of liquor licenses.
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Mandatory Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) Training: local laws might require all workers at establishments that sell liquor to undergo certified training to check IDs and spot potential fakes.
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Keg Registration: laws might require that every keg of beer have a traceable tag attached with a unique ID that allows it to be tracked to the adult who purchased it in case it appears in the possession of underage drinkers. Some laws might go as far as to hold the property owner where underage drinking occurs liable under civil or criminal laws.
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Zoning Restrictions: these might limit the number of liquor licenses that can be issued in commercial or residential areas, or they might mandate that liquor stores be a minimum distance from public zones and child-centered areas like schools or playgrounds.
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Sobriety Checkpoints: Law enforcement agents might increase these roadside checkpoints to address drinking under the influence generally, although advertising these checkpoints in media, especially online, can be a deterrent for underage drinkers.
CMCA acknowledges that programs like DARE focused on individual education will still fail to land with lots of teens (with many studies questioning claims about DARE’s basic effectiveness), so CMCA instead targets the adults in the environment who might provide alcohol or be responsible for monitoring minors for alcohol use. This gives CMCA an edge on influencing young adults over 18 with increased independence.