Organizations Work to Curb Laramie Binge Drinking

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — Laramie's binge-drinking culture isn't unique among college towns.

Tracy Young, of the Coalition to Prevent Substance Abuse, says the Laramie community is generally proactive when it comes to addressing substance abuse issues. But she says binge drinking is a huge issue that will take the community's support for a long period of time to fight.

The coalition is made up of representatives from almost 20 different organizations, including the University of Wyoming, law enforcement agencies and demographic groups in Laramie. The group meets monthly and has been discussing how to address binge drinking specifically for the last few months.

Lena Newlin of UW's AWARE program tells the Associated Press that the university has been working a long time to try to change the binge-drinking culture.