Underage drinking has always been a concern with universities and parents in general. With the ease of access to alcohol in college, it’s no wonder that this concern has continued to rise over the years.
The bottom line issue is that it is illegal.
If you are underage, you cannot consume alcohol unless you are in a private residence, are accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or spouse of at least 21 years of age and have the consent of that parent, legal guardian or spouse.
The only other time you are allowed to have possession of alcohol is if you are under the instruction of a parent to deliver it somewhere. This, of course, does not mean you can consume it. If these requirements are not met, you will be charged with underage possession of alcohol.
Underage college students think too often that “it could never happen” to them. This is a dangerous and foolish idea to have. There is always a possibility of you getting caught and being charged.
A surprising statistic released this year by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration states that the rates of underage drinking and binge-drinking have lowered in the United States.
The report states that the rate of underage people who drink fell 6.1 percent between 2002 and 2013. In 2002, the percentage of underage people who drink was at 28.8 percent, while in 2013 the percentage was 22.7 percent. According to the Washington Post, this report defined the ages for “underage” to be between 12 and 20 years old.
Although there is a drop in the numbers of underage drinking, there is still plenty of concern to be held. This is not only a concern to authorities, but should also be one to “of age” people who purchase alcohol for those underage.
“Have a drink on me” - five words that could cost you and land you in jail.
Many people believe that this is harmless and that “if I can drink, so can my friend” or “he’s 18 and a legal adult, that’s old enough”. Although this may seem reasonable to some, it still doesn’t line up with the law.
Many would argue that the law is wrong, but until (if at all) it is changed, you have to obey the law if you don’t want the consequences. Sure, you could get away with it, but it doesn’t mean that you will always get away with it.
You don’t have to like the law, but you have to follow it if you don’t want to end up with a charge.
So, can providing alcohol to underage people even lead back to you? Sure it can. One person says the wrong thing under pressure or accidentally and your name is revealed. Or perhaps the receipt with your name on it is still conveniently lying on the table. There are a number of ways your name can be discovered.
This isn’t the only consequence that comes with providing alcohol to underage people though. Think about it: your friend wants you to buy her alcohol so she can drink before going to a party, you (being of age) decide “why not?” and make the purchase. This very same friend uses this alcohol to drink with her other friends and decides she’s okay to drive. Maybe your friend accidentally crashes due to not being fully sober enough to pay attention to the road and the cars around her. Maybe your friend is severely injured and has to be airlifted to a hospital. Maybe the crash is so bad that she dies along with the others in the car. Maybe she crashed into another car and the driver of that car dies too.
Many different circumstances can happen as a result of offering or providing alcohol to an underage person. Sure, this could happen with those who are of age too.
In my own personal thoughts though, the idea of illegally providing alcohol to someone and then finding out that the person has gotten into an accident or something perhaps even worse due to alcohol influence, would make me feel guilty. By providing alcohol, I would feel like the cause of the accident or possibly my friend’s death was my fault. Why would anyone want to live with that guilt?
These scenarios may seem dramatized (and they totally are), but it doesn’t mean that they aren’t possible. The consequences are very possible. All it takes is one time to make the wrong decision or wrong mistake. The consequences could last forever.
