Expanded Drug Treatment Plans Sought for Mexican American Men

Saying it wants to take aim at the disproportionate problem of alcohol abuse among Mexican American men, a State Senate subcommittee recommended spending $1.25 million to expand a state program that helps create alcohol and drug treatment programs for underserved ethnic and other groups.

On another matter related to Mexican Americans and drinking, a top official of the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation pledged on Wednesday that his department would no longer allow alcohol to be sold at special events such as the massive Cinco de Mayo and 16th of September celebrations held on the department’s property each year.

At a hearing in Los Angeles of the Los Angeles County Commission on Alcoholism, Henry Roman, senior assistant director of the parks and recreation department, told a crowd of Latino community activists that he would honor existing contracts that allow alcohol to be served at those events at the Whittier Narrows recreation area this year, but would prohibit alcohol sales at such events in the future.

In 1999, Roman told the county alcohol commission, his department received $30,000 from a group that stages the Latino festivities, often with sponsorship from Anheuser-Busch Cos. Many communities, including Los Angeles and San Jose, have seen these events turn into heavy-drinking affairs that sometimes turn violent.

Both the Senate subcommittee and the Los Angeles County agency said their actions were in response to two Times stories last month about alcohol abuse among Mexican American men. National surveys have found that nearly a quarter of Mexican American men are considered heavy, problem drinkers, a higher proportion than any other ethnic group surveyed. More than one-third of Mexican American men surveyed said drinking had led to at least one of a dozen alcohol-related problems--from drunk driving to domestic violence to being fired.

Nationwide, Mexican Americans are nearly twice as likely to be arrested for drunk driving as whites or blacks. In Los Angeles, cirrhosis of the liver kills Mexican American men at double the rate of white and black men, one study found.

Members of the subcommittee of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review said there was no major coordinated effort by the state or federal government to tackle the problem.

In yesterday’s hearing, lawmakers voted to more than double funding for a fledgling program administered by the state Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs.

Alcohol treatment activists believe the program has been instrumental in helping more Latinos get access to publicly funded and culturally sensitive treatment programs for underserved groups such as Latinos, African Americans, Native Americans and pregnant women.

The subcommittee said it wanted aid groups and state officials to come up with better recommendations on how to deal with heavy drinking among Mexican American men.

“We are talking about a very, very severe problem here. It is something this community is very concerned about,” said Sen. Hilda Solis, (D-Los Angeles). She said her father is a heavy drinker. A brother, she said, was a heavy alcohol user who is now sober.

Arnoldo Torres, director of the California Hispanic Health Care Assn. had sought $29 million for anti-alcohol programs. “This is a problem much greater than anyone can imagine,” he said. “We are confronting an epidemic in this community.”

Assemblyman Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) said he hopes to hold legislative hearings on the shape of future programs. “The state needs to take the initiative on this,” he said. “Latinos continue to be marginalized.”

Cathy Senderling, a consultant to the subcommittee, said it would take between $250 million and $500 million additional state dollars per year to provide the treatment needed by Californians.