Enforcement of Minimum Purchase Age and Other Laws

Campus and community officials must enforce laws and policies to prevent underage drinking. Several strategies can ensure that minimum purchase age laws are strictly followed both on- and off-campus.

Campuses can uphold such laws through several strategies. For instance, some campuses ban alcohol altogether. Campuses may also implement alcohol restrictions at on-campus events, such as having enclosed areas for alcohol sale and consumption.

In the community, compliance checks with area alcohol merchants, sanctions imposed on merchants in violation of the law, and enforcement of laws to prohibit adults from buying alcohol for minors all can reduce underage drinking. Bars and alcohol retailers can require that sellers are at least 21 years old, consistently check IDs, refuse admittance and sale to minors, and enforce penalties when fake IDs are used.

Efforts to enforce minimum purchase age laws are most effective when campuses and communities work together to enforce minimum age laws. Creating linkages among groups, including State Alcoholic Beverage Control Boards, local police, college administrators, and others who promote community values, can help build strong community support for the strict enforcement of drinking-age laws.

Other actions that campuses and communities can take to enforce minimum-age drinking laws include:

• Vigorously enforcing laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol to minors
• Using compliance checks with area alcohol retailers
• Educating merchants regarding serving and selling techniques and responsibilities
• Establishing use/lose laws allowing alcohol outlets to be sued if they serve alcohol to a minor who later causes injury
• Using “Cops in Shops” programs to ticket minors who try to buy alcohol