Almost three-fourths (73%) of their high school peers have had a drink sometime in their life
and almost one third (31%) have participated in binge drinking in the past month.1
North Dakota is ranked #1 for binge alcohol use among youth ages 12-20.2
Don’t be afraid to start talking to your child early…
Nearly 6% of middle school students in North Dakota had their first drink of alcohol at 8 years of age
or younger.6
Talk to your child about the dangers of underage drinking, that you disapprove of it, and that there will
be consequences…
73% of North Dakota high school students perceive that binge drinking once or twice a week does not pose a great risk.7
Underage drinking costs the citizens of ND $141 million.3
Over a fourth (28%) of North Dakota high school students had rode one or more times during the
past 30 days in a car or other vehicle driven by someone who had been drinking alcohol and 15%
had driven a car or other vehicle when they had been drinking alcohol.8
Over half of fatal crashes (52%) and fatalities (52%) in North Dakota are alcohol-related.4
Almost a fourth (23%) of all juvenile arrests in North Dakota are alcohol and drug related, while
almost half (46%) of all arrests are alcohol and drug related.5
1 ND Youth Risk Behavior Survey [YRBS], 2009 2 National Survey on Drug Use and Health [NSDUH], 2008 3 Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation [PIRE], November 2009 4 ND Highway Patrol, 2010 5 ND Uniform Crime Report, 2009