Alcohol, tobacco & drugs
You need to know that penalties for under-age drinking, especially for drinking and driving, and for any kind of involvement with drugs can be severe.
The penalties for alcohol, tobacco and drug use are both legal and personal. These substances can harm you. Make a healthy choice: don't drink before you are old enough to drink legally and responsibly, and stay away from tobacco and drugs, period.
Are you a good friend? Prove it. Protect yourself and your friends. DonÂ’t let your friends use alcohol, tobacco or any drugs.
Know the law: alcohol
People under age 21 are considered to be minors, and since the legal drinking age in Texas is 21, a minor cannot consume alcohol, purchase or attempt to purchase alcohol, or possess alcohol.
Get help for yourself or a friend:
TeensHealth
www.checkyourself.com
More help with alcohol
Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission:
Underage drinking laws
No one, adult or minor, should drive after drinking. For adults, there is a legal limit to the amount of blood alcohol a driver can have. The law is different for minors. It is against the law for anyone under age 21 to drive if he or she has any detectable level of blood alcohol -- or odor.
Minors may work in places that sell alcohol in certain instances. Minors may also consume an alcoholic beverage if in the visible presence of a parent or guardian. An example would be drinking a glass of champagne to toast the bride and groom at a family wedding. However, it is an offense for parents to supply their child's minor friends with alcohol.
Public Intoxication. It is a Class C misdemeanor for a person to appear in a public place while intoxicated to the degree that the person is a danger to himself or to others.
Each year approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking. This statistic includes about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle accidents; 1,600 homicides; 300 suicides; and hundreds of others stemming from injuries such as falls, burns and drownings. Source.
Fake IDs. Sometimes teens try to get around the law by lying about their age. It is a Class C misdemeanor for a minor to falsely state or present any document that indicates that he or she is 21 or older to a person selling or serving alcohol.
A driver's license is an official governmental document. While issued to individuals, the license is actually owned by the Texas Department of Public Safety. It is a crime for an individual to tamper with a governmental record.
Minors can be charged with a variety of offenses, including minor driving under the influence of alcohol, possession of alcohol and illegally purchasing or attempting to purchase alcohol.
Minors who commit alcohol violations can lose their driving privileges, be fined or required to perform community service, or receive up to a six month jail sentence if they have turned 17. Students can also be placed in alternative education, suspended from school, expelled or sent to a juvenile justice alternative education program.
Although most young people believe that their peers drink all the time, in a survey for the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (TCADA), at least 60 percent said that they did not drink any alcohol in the previous month. That means teens may not be drinking as much as they say they are.
