Posts tagged "underage drinking"

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety Alcohol Law Enforcement has a zero tolerance policy on underage drinking. Most people know that it is illegal for a minor to possess or consume any alcohol, and underage drinkers in North Carolina face a fine of over $200 if they are caught.

But there are additional juvenile crimes associated with underage drinking that can have particularity serious consequences, including using a borrowed, fake or altered identification to procure alcohol, or driving while under the influence of alcohol. Minors may also lose their driving privileges and face an arrest record that could affect their schooling or jobs. Although these charges should all be considered serious, they may be addressed in a way that will not ruin someone's life.

Police recently charged a university student riding in the back seat of a vehicle with underage use of alcohol. This student arrest was made even though the passenger student had taken the safe and commendable step of having a designated driver for the evening who did not consume alcohol.

Students in North Carolina, and elsewhere, often engage in youthful indiscretions which involve experimentation with alcohol while they are underage. Often, as in this case, they do not realize that they can get into trouble even if they are taking precautions, such as refraining from driving.

For many people, summer is a time for relaxing and getting together with friends. For young people and students, sometimes summer means house parties, late nights and drinking or using marijuana. It's certainly not a new trend, but parents should be reminded that if they are aware of any drinking or drug use at a party in their home, they can face serious consequences.

One North Carolina mother learned this lesson the hard way. After her daughter threw an enormous house party, the mother was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana, giving alcohol to minors and other violations.

Being well-known or a celebrity does not necessarily mean you can do whatever you want. In most cases, mistakes or attempts to thwart the law are actually made more obvious if you have a photographer or fans chasing after you. But, just like many other people their age, famous people under 21 try to get away with underage drinking.

Recently, the celebrity daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, Scout Willis, was casually enjoying a beer when she was nabbed for underage drinking. Police approached her because Willis was drinking outside, in public, which is against the law in many states. The 20-year-old student and musician could have thought she would not get in trouble because people may know who she is and think she is old enough to drink. But things only got worse for her after police spoke with her.

With prom season in full swing, teenagers across North Carolina are looking to celebrate. Students and parents alike may want to be careful at the after party, though. Police responding to noise complaints recently have discovered some underage drinking at post-prom parties. They are citing parents who are home as well as any minors who are drinking.

Parents and other adults may believe that allowing minors to drink in a home is the safest way to deal with what they feel is the inevitability of underage drinking. With adults present and no one leaving to drive, some may believe that they are keeping the kids out of danger. However, underage drinking is underage drinking no matter where it happens. Adults who are aware of the illegal activity can be sent to jail along with any minor who is drinking.

A 19-year-old North Carolina man was throwing eggs out of his apartment window. Understandably, someone noticed, and called the cops on him.

When the cops arrived, they thought he seemed intoxicated, according to the Athens Banner-Herald, and the 19-year-old ultimately got busted for underage drinking.

But that's not all.

It has been roughly a month since North Carolina's alcohol regulation took effect, which does not allow bartenders to claim innocence when they serve alcohol to underage patrons, even though the underage patron may have a wristband or ink stamp indicating that they are of legal drinking age.

The new regulation, as Paul Woolverton reports for the Fay Observer, seeks to "reduce the chance" that a bar will serve underage patrons and inadvertently facilitate underage drinking.

The regulation applies to those bars and restaurants that use wristbands and ink stamps to readily identify who is of legal drinking age and who is not.

Last Thursday, part of U.S. 501 was the site of a fatal car wreck involving drunk driving. As ABC 11 reports, a 17-year-old Northern High student was drunk behind the wheel at two in the morning when he apparently lost control of his car, went off the road, hit a tree, and the car flipped over.

Eryn Sun reports for the Christian Post that alcohol industry marketers are going after the younger crowd with their so-called alcopops, which the state of North Carolina classifies as malt beverages but may contain levels of alcohol similar to beer.

Sun writes that the alcohol industry intends to sell alcopops to young people; in turn, this has an impact on underage drinking - especially given that some fast food chains are beginning to sell alcopops, as well as wine and beer, in stores.

Most states in the nation keep a tight lid on the criminal records of juvenile offenders. Even to use the words "juvenile offenders" seems a bit harsh; what Erin Zureick characterizes as an offense that "could follow the teen for the rest of his or her life" - Zureick uses the example of a schoolyard fight - is only something that could happen to a 16-year-old or a 17-year-old in two states, North Carolina and New York.

Underage drinking is one such offense, another example of a misdemeanor that could haunt the teen for a long time to come, in terms of job opportunities and admittance to college.

With the job market still in the doldrums, employers looking for easy ways to "screen" the multitudes of job seekers who apply for any given position can do so simply by the background check. If anything comes up - relatively minor underage drinking charges, for instance - this gives the employer an easy excuse not to hire.

"Criminal record? Boom, you're out," says labor expert John Quinterno, as the Republic reports.

It seems as though would-be underage drinkers in North Carolina will have a tougher time than underage drinkers in other states in getting alcohol using fake identification. Using a fake ID in North Carolina and participating in underage drinking can lead to minor in alcohol consumption charges.

As Jamie Boll reports on WBTV 3 News, North Carolina is introducing a vertical driver's license for those under age 21, which presumably means that the orientation on the driver's license is vertical instead of horizontal, making it much easier for a clerk working behind the counter or a bartender to ascertain whether or not the person presenting his or her ID is of legal age.

Fatal Vision goggles make everything dark green when looking through them, and everything also looks much closer than it really is. These goggles simulate conditions when someone is drunk and behind the wheel of a car. With prom coming up for many high school students across North Carolina, students are getting a crash course on the dangers of drunk driving.

The editorial board at the Daily Tar Heel makes its case for cutting funding to North Carolina's Alcohol Law Enforcement agency (referred to as ALE). ALE is the North Carolina agency tasked with enforcing the state's alcohol laws, and is notorious for the tactics it employs to arrest minors for underage drinking.

Now that spring has arrived, high school students all across North Carolina will be getting ready to celebrate several important events. The next few months will be filled with proms, graduations and the parties that follow them.

These are important milestones in a teen's life, but they can also come with dangers. Prom and graduation parties often present teens with opportunities to drink or try illegal drugs, and many students don't realize the consequences of getting caught. A criminal charge like underage drinking could easily disrupt post-graduation plans.

Police say a young North Carolina man will face charges following a deadly car accident which the young man allegedly caused. He was reportedly driving the wrong way while fleeing from police when he collided head-on with a pickup truck. The 20-year-old man has been charged with DWI and driving after drinking while underage.

According to police testimony the young man was first spotted by a Greensboro police officer after he turned onto a street and began driving the wrong way. The officer says he turned on his sirens in an attempt to get the young man to pull over. Instead the driver allegedly sped away.

The state recently released its annual report on juvenile crimes which occur in schools. The report tracks 17 types of criminal acts committed by students. Non-violent acts include such things as drug possession and underage drinking. The violent acts involve offenses such as weapons possession, and assault on teachers or staff.

The report shows that statewide, the number of juvenile crimes reported in North Carolina schools rose 4.4 percent from the previous school year. Although the data varies by region and school district, the upward trend is alarming, especially in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS).

Drinking alcohol is a common part of college culture, yet many college students do not turn 21 until well into their college career. Therefore, many students who engage in underage drinking attempt to do so by using fake IDs at bars and liquor stores.

In the past, authorities in North Carolina may have turned a blind eye to this practice, but that is beginning to change. Police are not only cracking down on minors who try to buy alcohol, they are also punishing the business that sell to them.

Underage drinking, and especially underage DUI, has received a lot of attention lately in North Carolina. One situation in particular has been the cause of conversations between teenagers, their parents and school administrators.

In November of this year, two parents of students at Charlotte Catholic High School were arrested for providing alcohol to teenagers at a party. That situation spurred the high school to host an assembly for parents and students on the topic of underage drinking.

Drinks like Four Loko and Joose have been recently been blamed for underage binge drinking. Most notably, Washington State banned the caffeinated alcoholic drinks after nine underage college students were hospitalized with alcohol poisoning after drinking the beverages.

Today, regulators from the United States Food and Drug Administration sent letters to companies that manufacture these kinds of drinks stating that they are unsafe. This move is one of many by the administration aimed at targeting underage drinking.