NORTON — When Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III was a young, inexperienced driver, he hit a telephone pole while making a turn.
He told that story to Norton High School sophomores and juniors Thursday, on the eve of junior and senior prom, to illustrate his message.
“Your license comes with responsibility,” Quinn told about 350 students gathered in the school auditorium.
Quinn and Jennifer Sowa, second assistant district attorney, told the students to have a good time at prom Friday night but urged them to be careful.
The district attorney said he has been speaking to schools around the county to spread the word during the upcoming prom and graduation season.
He warned the students about the dangers of alcohol, marijuana and other drugs and the ramifications of driving under the influence.
When Quinn was younger, he said the legal drinking age was 18. The legal drinking age was hiked to 21, he said, because of the carnage on the roads attributed to drunken driving.
“If somebody is drinking and you’re in their car, take a pass,” Quinn said.
The county’s top prosecutor told the students of the danger of drugs, such as cocaine, heroin and fentanyl, and spoke of a mother who found her child dead in bed from an overdose.
“Imagine what toll that has on a parent,” Quinn said. “They are never going to get over that.”
The warnings by the district attorney, police and educators comes as many young people report regular use of alcohol and drugs across the country.
According to the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 47.5% of those 12 and older reported using alcohol in the prior month, and 14.3% reported using an illicit drug.
The survey found that 10.57% of those 12 to 17 years old reported using marijuana in the last year, and 3.3% of those 12 and older reported misusing opioids such as painkillers or heroin.
During her presentation, Sowa told students vaping has health consequences and to be careful when using social media, particularly posting rude comments or taking and sending sexual photos.
“When you post something,” she said, “you should assume it’s going to be out there forever.”
Even material that is deleted when using certain apps can be recovered, Sowa said, adding that social media postings can come back to haunt people when they apply to colleges or seek employment.
“You are creating your own digital biography every time you post something or send something,” she said, adding that she and other employers routinely check the social media accounts of applicants.
While social media does have positive impacts and is a technology that is here to stay, Sowa said, using it does have consequences for those who are irresponsible with it.
For instance, she said, texting or distributing sexual material can have emotional, personal and even legal implications because it may constitute child pornography, which is a crime to possess and distribute.
A prosecutor for 20 years and the mother of four children, two of whom are in high school, Sowa said, “The issues we’re talking about I’ve told to my own kids.”
David Linton may be reached at 508-236-0338.
