Larkspur Party Bus Bust Indicative Of Larger Marin Teen Drinking Problem
MARIN COUNTY (CBS SF) -- The bust of party bus full of teens with booze, pot and pills in Larkspur earlier this week has served as a major wake up call for Marin County officials.
KPIX 5 has learned this is not the first time teenagers in the North Bay paid money to let the good times roll.
The bust is an eye opening indicator of what one official described as a systemic problem in Marin County.
"We know we have a problem with under age substance abuse in Marin County," said Matt Willis with Marin County Public Health. "And this is another sign that we need to be doing something to fix that."
After being tipped off by an anonymous source, police on Monday found 33 teens ranging from 15-to-17 years old outfitted with 30 bottles of hard liquor, prescription pills and marijuana.
A 16-year-old Tiburon boy rented the bus online and had a $900 cash payment that did not change hands before police arrived, authorities said.
Teens that knew the crowd on board say buses have become a new way to party.
"I guess they just thought it would be a good time," an unidentified teen who told KPIX 5 he knew the kids who got in trouble. "There has been a lot of them lately and they just wanted to have fun."
But Monday's incident has also become an eye opener for police, parents and officials alike. In its wake, the health department met with community leaders to talk about the problem.
"This is prompting new conversation about who we are, what do we stand for and where are we going to draw the line on this?" said Willis.
Marin County teens have higher than average rates of alcohol use. A school district study found 63 percent of high school juniors say they've used alcohol. Marin County teens start earlier, drink more frequently and in higher quantities than the rest of the state.
"We are really fortunate that none of these children ended up in the hospital, said Willis. And its probably because we were able to intervene before it got to that point."
All of the teens on the bus were handed over to their parents after police stopped it in Larkspur Monday afternoon except for one 16-year-old girl who was charged with possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, and having a fake ID.
The driver, 63-year-old San Francisco resident James Franklin Greene, was charged Wednesday with misdemeanor transporting a person under age 21 in a charter-party carrier containing alcoholic beverages, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, and carrying a switch blade knife in a motor vehicle.
Police said that none of the other teens were charged with being minors in possession of alcohol because police did not have enough evidence to tie the alcohol found to any specific teen.
