Spring has finally sprung, Ohio
snow is gone and success and pride is in the air as graduation season is upon us. Unfortunately,
the smell of alcohol, death and destruction is also upon us as inevitably,
social hosts will serve “minors” (persons under 18 years of age) and “underage
persons” (persons under 21 years of age) alcohol, from real estate they control,
with g-d-awful consequences.
Home parties have repeatedly been
identified as the primary source by which youth obtain alcohol. 29% of teens in a recent survey indicated
that they know of parents who host teen alcohol parties, and 25% of those teens
indicated that, in the past two months, they had attended a house party where
alcohol was present. Consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors and underage
persons at parties (and elsewhere) presents a myriad of problems for the minor/underage
person, the “host”, the community and law enforcement. For youth, the statistics are grim. Alcohol
is still the drug of choice for youth, and a major factor in the four leading
causes of death among persons ages 10-24; motor vehicle crashes, unintentional
injuries, homicide and suicide.
Underage drinking is a factor in nearly half of all teen automobile
crashes and 60% of all youth suicides.
Teen alcohol abuse is also linked to as many as 2/3 of all sexual
assaults and date rapes (of teens and college students) and is a major factor
in unprotected sex among youth.
While many believe that underage
drinking is an inevitable “right of passage” that adolescents can easily
recover from because their bodies are more resilient, exactly the opposite is
true. The brain changes dramatically
during adolescence, and this growth can be seriously inhibited by alcohol
consumption. Studies reveal that alcohol consumption by adolescents results in
brain damage, possibly permanent, and impairs intellectual development. According to the National Institute of
Health, youth who begin drinking alcohol before age 16 are four times more
likely to become dependent on alcohol than those who wait to begin drinking
until age 21.
If for some reason, the above
statistics don’t scare those who furnish youth alcohol, or those who knowingly
allow underage drinking at a property they own or control, the law should.
Pursuant to
Ohio Revised Code §4301.69(B); Ohio’s “Social Host Law”: “No person who is the
owner or occupant of any public or private place shall knowingly allow
any underage person to remain in or on the premises while possessing or
consuming beer or intoxicating liquor, unless the intoxicating liquor or beer
is given to the person possessing or consuming it by that person’s parent,
spouse who is not an underage person, or legal guardian, unless the parent, spouse
who is not an underage person, or legal guardian is present at the time of the
person’s possession or consumption of the beer or intoxicating liquor.”
Further, Ohio
Revised Code Section §4301.69 (A) provides that:
“No person…shall furnish {beer or intoxicating
liquor} to an underage person…unless the underage person is accompanied by a
parent, spouse who is not an underage person or legal guardian.”
In
other words, parents who give alcohol to their teen’s friends (or knowingly
allow it), even in their own homes, are breaking the law. While often thought
to only apply to parents, the above-cited law in Ohio provides that no person
shall furnish or knowingly allow underage drinking on the premises.
Accordingly, the statute applies to bar owners as well as homeowners, lessors
and others who control real estate.
Violators who knowingly allow a
person under 21 to remain in their home or on their property while consuming or
possessing alcoholic beverages can be held criminally liable and prosecuted
(for up to 6 months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine) and everything associated
with the violation can be confiscated, including personal property.
If morbid statistics and criminal
liability don’t worry you, how about the prospect of being sued in civil court
for all you are worth?
As a result of Ohio Supreme Court
decisions (Mitseff v. Wheeler and Huston v. Konieczny) Ohio social hosts
can be held civilly liable for death or injuries to: (1) intoxicated minors [under 18 years of
age] who were furnished alcohol by a social host or at a party a social host
consented to, and (2) to a third-party who suffered death or injury by an
intoxicated minor that was furnished alcohol by a social host or at a party a
social host consented to. Ohio law denies recovery where a social host served
an adult who becomes intoxicated and then kills or injures a third party. (Note,
Ohio also has a number of laws regulating the sale of alcohol, most
notably the "Dram Shop" laws (O.R.C. 4399.02 et. seq.), which may hold
a bar owner liable for injuries to a third person caused by an intoxicated bar customer,
in certain circumstances).
The bottom line, to coin a phrase,
which is also the title of the nationally heralded program of Drug Free Action
Alliance: “Parents Who Host, Lose The
Most: Don’t be a party to teenage drinking”TM (See www.DrugFreeActionAlliance.org).
During this spring season, Prom
and graduation are important milestones in young people’s lives and certainly
cause for celebration. Please do your part to make this season safe for
everybody. You can protect yourselves, your property and our youth by following
these guidelines when hosting parties:
· Host safe, alcohol-free activities and
events for youth during prom and graduation season
· Refuse to supply alcohol to children or allow drinking in
your home or on your property
· Be at home when your teenager has a party
· Make sure your teenager’s friends do not bring alcohol
into your home
· Talk to others about not providing alcohol at youth events
· Report underage drinking to your local Police Department
In other words, “With great power comes great
responsibility”- Spiderman (and Stan Lee, Franklin Roosevelt, and a number of
others credited with these words). So, if you own or control real property,
be responsible. If not, Ohio’s laws, courts and jails will be waiting with a
much more painful way to learn about social host/premises responsibility.
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