Sorry to disappoint, but this is not a guide on how to legally drink underage. Instead, this article will give you a large-scale look at Arizona’s underage drinking laws. These laws are harsh and when enforced against a young person, the penalties can have a lasting impact. The penalties can include a conviction that may impact the ability to secure a job or be admitted into college or graduate programs. Therefore, it is important to understand how Arizona’s underage drinking laws work.

Why Does Society Care About Underage Drinking?

Arizona, like all other states, requires a person to be 21-years old before being able to legally drink alcohol. According to the CDC, having this 21-year old minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) saves lives and improves health. Some startling underage drinking stats show that:

• Excessive drinking contributes to more than 3,200 deaths of people under the age of 21 each year.
• There were 189,000 emergency department visits by underage persons for injuries and other conditions linked to alcohol use in 2010.
• Underage persons are tremendously more likely to engage in the dangerous practice of binge drinking (defined as drinking 5 or more drinks per occasion for boys; 4 or more drinks for girls). More than 90% of underage drinking occurs during binge drinking sessions.
• Underage drinking is strongly linked with death from alcohol poisoning, suicide and violence, brain development alterations, detrimental school performance, alcohol dependence, other risky actions like smoking and drug use, and unintentional injuries such as car accidents.
• A 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that during the last 30 days 6 % of high school aged students had driven after drinking alcohol and 17% had rode with a driver who had been drinking.

While underage drinking is a problem everywhere, it is especially serious when it involves vehicles. Because of the commonality of underage DUI accidents, vehicle crashes became one of the most important factors in the fight to set the MLDA at 21. Once every state had adopted the MLDA of 21, drinking in people aged 21-25 declined from 70% to 56%. This led to a 16% median decline in motor vehicle crashes. Fewer crashes means more saved lives. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that having the MLDA at 21 saves more than 500 lives of people between the ages of 18 and 20.

Common Underage Alcohol Crimes

An underage person in Arizona can be charged with numerous alcohol-related crimes. Below are a few of Arizona’s most common crimes:

In a drug-related DUI case, if the state is unable to prove that the defendant had a sufficient amount of a drug or its impairing metabolite in his body, then A.R.S. § 28-1381(A)(1) permits the court to still charge the defendant for being impaired to the slightest degree.

To succeed on a drug-related DUI charge for being impaired to the slightest degree, the state must prove two things:

1. Underage Person Possessing Alcohol: This crime, commonly referred to as a minor in possession (MIP), occurs when any person under the age of 21 possesses an alcoholic beverage. An MIP offense is by far the most common drinking offense that an underage person will commit. Officers patrol popular drinking spots across Arizona, especially in Tempe and Scottsdale, looking for signs of underage drinking. Once an officer suspects that an underage person possess alcohol, the officer will look to see if the person has a alcoholic beverage in their possession. It does not matter if the person did not drank the beverage or even if it is unopened. All the officer needs to for her citation is for the person to possess an alcoholic beverage. There are two exceptions to this crime. A minor may have alcohol for medicinal or religious purposes. However, these exceptions will not apply if the alcohol is endangering the health or safety to the public. Because of this broad prohibition of endangering the health or safety to the public, these exceptions are rarely applied. An MIP offense is a class 1 misdemeanor and if convicted, the person could receive $2,500 in fines and up to six months in jail.
2. The next most common drinking offense is the crime of underage consumption of alcohol. More commonly known as a MIC (Minor In Consumption), this offense occurs whenever someone under the age of 21 consumes alcohol. So, while a person under the age of 21 with a parent, legal guardian or spouse that is of drinking age may go into a bar, that person still cannot drink. Like the MIP above, there are two exceptions (religious or medicinal purposes) for consumption. If these hard to find exceptions do not apply to the person, then that person will receive a MIC charge. Notice how in both, MIP and MIC exceptions, there is no parental consent exception. Unlike other states, Arizona does not permit an underage person to drink with parental permission. So, unless the underage person is drinking for medicinal or religious purposes, the person receive a MIC charge. An MIC conviction can result in a person losing their driver’s license for 180 days, as well as receiving a class 1 misdemeanor that carries $2,500 in fines and up to 6 months in jail.
3. The less common but most serious underage drinking offense is a drunk driving charge. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Arizona is one of the strictest states regarding DUI enforcement. For every state in the nation, MADD uses a rating between 1-5 based on a cumulative total that measures each state’s success in overall legislative measures and law enforcement support against drunk driving. Arizona has consistently received the highest score among the 50 states and is the only state currently receiving a perfect score of 5. Continuing, MADD has given Arizona zero recommendations on ways to improve its drunk driving laws and enforcement. As a leader in DUI laws and enforcement, it is to be expected that violating any of Arizona’s DUI laws will lead to grave consequences.
1. Arizona is especially harsh on underage DUIs. Under A.R.S. §4-244 (34), it is illegal for a person under the age of 21 years to be in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. As a “zero tolerance” state, if any person under the age of 21 has any alcohol in their system, that person can receive a conviction for driving under the influence. So, if the person is found driving with their blood alcohol content above 0.00%, then that person will face a DUI charge. A first time underage DUI conviction has a minimum prison sentence of 24 hours and up to 10 days. It also carries a $1,600 fine and license suspension of at least 90 days. For a person who is charged a second time within seven years of their first offense, a conviction carries a prison sentence of at least 30 days, a $2,500 fine, and a license suspension of 1 year.

As detailed above, Arizona takes underage drinking crime seriously. While the punishments are stiff, in many cases the court will offer a diversion program to first time offenders. That program will require the person to attend alcohol abuse classes and pay certain fees. After completion of that program, the person will not have a criminal conviction on their record. To best insure that an option like this is available, a person must secure the assistance of an attorney.

Let Us Help

 Underage drinking offense can result in serious and harsh consequences that can contain a lifetime of consequences. Fighting an underage drinking offense requires a team of highly experienced lawyers to ensure you receive the best result possible. Let Tempe DUI Lawyer’s criminal lawyers and their knowledge of Arizona’s underage drinking law guide you through the process. The legal battle ahead will be led by strong representation and diligence.