North Carolina lawmakers are working hard to cut down on the billions of dollars it loses each year due to underage drinking.
On Tuesday Governor Pat McCory, Jim Gardner(Chairman of the NC Alcohol Beverage Control Commission) and Duke University's Dr. Wilkie Wilson introduced phase two of "Talk it Out" initiative to stop underage drinking.
In 2014 North Carolina leaders launched a new website called Talk It Out highlighting the negative affects of negative drinking in an attempt to encourage parents to open the dialogue about underage drinking at as young as middle school.
Phase 1 of the site gave parents tips and suggestions on how to talk to their kids about underage drinking and now phase 2 is working with outside organizations to also encourage parents to talk to their children. Many attorneys who see these cases every day in their office are weighing in across the state, including Attorney Danny Glover of Teague and Glover Law Firm in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Attorney Glover acknowledged that his firm has not seen an increase or decrease in underage drinking cases in office since the launch of 'Talk It Out' but weighed in on the topic emphasizing the role of the parents: "like most of the problems with our kids, this problem will not change until parents get involved and demand change from their own children."