Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws is crucial if the country is to succeed in ending underage drinking.
The country’s primary underage drinking law is the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, sometimes called the Federal Uniform Drinking Age Act. The law requires all states to legislate and implement the minimum age of 21 as the limit for purchasing and possessing alcohol. This, however, does not directly prohibit consumption of alcohol except for some states that opted to completely prohibit underage drinking. These states include Alabama, Kansas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana and Idaho. And for other states, there are some exceptions in the prohibition of purchasing, possessing and drinking alcohol among minors.[1]
The exceptions of when to allow minors to drink vary among states. There are states that allow minors to drink when there are family members around. And other states prohibit underage drinking ONLY in public places. This means that when they are in a privately owned property, like their home, it is not illegal. While others still, allow minors to drink for religious, educational or cultural purposes. [2]
In the same manner that the prohibition of the consumption of alcohol varies per state, laws in the prohibition of hosting underage drinking parties vary as well. Some states allow minors to drink in a party or any event as long as they are in the company of their parents. Other states impose more stern laws in hosting underage drinking parties. The Florida House Party Law, for example, states that, a person who owns a house must NOT, under any situation, allow a minor to consume alcohol within his or her knowledge. [3]
Moreover, increased alcohol-related deaths from teen car accidents have led to the Zero Tolerance Law. While it is illegal for any minor to possess and consume alcohol in any state, the Zero Tolerance Law makes it illegal for a minor to drive if they are found to have any quantifiable amount of alcohol in the blood. This is done by measuring the BAC or Breath Alcohol Content. Violators will be penalized depending on state laws.[4]
As issues on underage drinking continue to heighten, more creative and strategic laws have been designed in order to avert its progression. One such underage drinking law is the Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Act or simply the STOP Act. It is the earliest law submitted on the topic of underage drinking. The law generally aims to provide funding for research, campaign and scholarships for training the community in becoming more active in stopping underage drinking.[5]
To help states in evaluating their underage drinking laws, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Program released the following recommendations[6]:
1. Commercial Availability
- Ban commercial sales and gifts to minors
- Restrict the location of alcohol outlets
- Restrict alcohol sales at community events
- Restrict the age of alcohol servers and sellers
- Restrict minors’ access to bars and nightclubs
- Install and use drivers license scanners
- Regulate home delivery and internet/mail-order sales
- Mandate responsible beverage service programs
- Carry out compliance check programs
2. Social Availability
- Restrict non-commercial furnishing of alcohol to minors
- Implement beer keg registration
- Implement “shoulder-tap” enforcement programs
- Restrict and monitor teen parties at motels and hotels
- Establish alcohol restrictions in public locations
- Apply appropriate penalties to illegal transactions in noncommercial settings
3. Youth Possession
- Ban possession by minors in public and private locations
- Use “Cops in Shops” programs sparingly
- Implement and enforce zero-tolerance laws
- Ban false identification
- Apply appropriate penalties to minors in possession
[1] http://epw.senate.gov/title23.pdf
[2] http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/LegalDrinkingAge.html
[3] http://www.udetc.org/documents/UnderageDrinking.pdf
[4] http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/outreach/safesobr/13qp/facts/factzero.html
[5] http://www.dontletminorsdrink.com/underage_legislation.shtml
[6] http://faceproject.org/tools/kits/UnderageDrinkingLaws.pdf