It is illegal for anyone under 21 to consume or possess alcohol.  In Hawaii, if a minor purchases or consumes alcohol, they and whoever gave them the alcohol can get into big trouble with the law.  If you are 18 to 21 years of age, you could spend up to 30 days in jail and have to pay up to $1000 in fines!

      When it comes down to it, the law of 21 was made for good reasons.  When you’re in your teens, your body is still changing, and you can’t predict the amount of alcohol that your body can handle or how it will make you react.  Alcohol can also affect brain development that controls learning ability and memory capacity.  The human brain doesn’t stop developing until the early 20’s, so it’s possible that any alcohol you drink before that point can affect whether your brain develops correctly.

       An underage drinker not only affects themselves but the community too.  A 2005 report concluded that the cost of alcohol used by youth was $60 billion, including $15 billion from traffic crashes and about $31 billion from violent crime.  Despite the high cost of youth who use alcohol, there is also the issue of people’s lives.  In 2005 28% of teens from 15-20 who were killed in car crashes had been drinking.

       Those who drink and are under the age of 21 usually can’t do it responsibly since many teens don’t know their limits when it comes to drinking.  48% of 12^th graders in a national survey say they had 5 drinks or more in a row in the previous month…this is binge drinking and can lead to future problems with alcohol.  Among sexually active teens, those who average 5 or more drinks daily were nearly three times less likely to use condoms, putting them at greater risk for STDs, HIV and unwanted pregnancy.  One to two-thirds of sexual assault and acquaintance or date rape among teens and college students involve alcohol. 

       Teens aren’t the only ones that can get into trouble for drinking under the age of 21.  Whoever buys or supplies alcohol for teens can get into BIG trouble too.  In Hawaii, this law is referred to as the Social Host Liability Law.  It is illegal for adults to host parties or get togethers where teens drink, even if parents gave their permission for the teen to drink.  Also, if the teen hurts or kills someone or damages property then the adults that supplied the alcohol can be sued by whoever was hurt.  Making the decision to drink under the age of 21 can possibly have serious consequences not just for you, but also people you care about.

       The law of being 21 to consume alcohol has been around nationally since 1984, and most likely isn’t going anywhere.  The intent is to help teens and their communities avoid the harm that underage drinking can cause.  Most of all, this law was created to cut down on car crash fatalities, injuries, crime and unwanted sexual activities that tend to go along with underage drinking.