dui – Teens Wanna Know

You probably know that drunk driving is illegal and has very serious consequences, including fines, license suspension and even jail time. What many teens may not know is that drunk driving laws and penalties are different for those under the age of 21. These are commonly called “Not a Drop” laws, and they are important to understand. They make taking EVEN ONE SIP of alcohol punishable by the law, including suspended license, mandatory breathalyzer installed in your vehicle, fines, DUI classes, and more.

How Not a Drop is Different

Regular drunk driving laws would allow the average adult to consume some alcohol before being considered legally intoxicated. This level is usually set at .08 percent blood alcohol, typically measured by breathalyzer and less frequently by an actual blood test. So long as an adult has not drunk enough to raise their blood alcohol beyond that point, then they are considered safe to drive.

Under Not a Drop laws such as those in Wisconsin, Utah, Minnesota or California, any level of intoxication is considered illegal. This means that a person under 21 cannot consume any amount of alcohol or have any amount of detectable blood alcohol.

Legal Penalty for Violation

A teen found in violation of Not a Drop may face several consequences. For some first-time offenders, they can expect their license will be suspended for 30 days and the will have to pay to get it reinstated. If they are caught a second time, then their license will be suspended for longer and they will have to pay another reinstatement fee. Further violations will probably result in the revocation of the license for a prolonged period of time and a much more complicated procedure for getting it back. The exact consequences for violation may vary by state or jurisdiction.

For example under the California Not a Drop Law we know of one teen who had his license suspended for a full year for his first offense. Yikes!

Other Consequences

Beyond the law, the consequences for driving intoxicated are real and serious. Accidents involving drunk drivers kill about 28 people every day according to attorney Dave Abels. A young person is likely to be more sensitive to the effects of alcohol and may be impaired at much lower levels of blood alcohol concentration compared to an adult.

It is also important to note that teen drivers are subject to regular DUI laws in addition to the Not a Drop rules. If a teen driver is found with a blood alcohol concentration over .08 percent, they will face serious consequences similar to and perhaps greater than those faced by an adult. This could include arrest, jail time and loss of a driver’s license for years and the requirement to attend drug and alcohol counseling before the license is restored.

Drunk driving is a serious offense for anyone, but it is especially serious for teens. In areas that have zero-tolerance Not a Drop Laws, it is important that underage drivers never consume any alcohol. The consequences to your future, health and ability to drive are never worth it.

Why so strict?

The fact is, even without drinking, teenagers are statistically bad drivers. As pointed out in the linked article from BMW Law Group:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2019 there were 2,734 teenagers (ages 13-19) who died in the United States from crash injuries – the leading cause of death in that age group.
The fatal crash rate per mile driven for 16 and 17-year-olds is about 3 times the rate for drivers 20 and older.
Based on police-reported crashes of all severities, the crash rate for 16 – 19 year-olds is nearly 4 times the rate for drivers over 20.
Teen crash risk is at its very highest at age 16
Teen drivers have crash rates nearly 4 times those of drivers 20 and older per mile driven
The crash rate per mile driven is 1½ times as high for 16-year-olds as it is for 18-19 year-olds
Alcohol is a factor in many teen crashes
Crash risk among teenage drivers is especially high during the first months of licensure
Risky driver in the early licensure period is higher among males
27 percent of the young male drivers involved in fatal crashes had been drinking at the time of the crash, compared with 15 percent of the young female drivers involved in fatal crashes
According to the CA Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV, 2019), the citation rate for 16-year-olds is 1.8 times higher than drivers of all ages
The citation rate for 16 to 19-year-olds is 2.1 times higher than drivers of all ages
Graduated licensing reduces teens’ driving risk
The crash rate for 16-year-olds is 3.7 times higher than drivers of all ages.
The crash rate for 16 to 19-year-olds is 2.7 times higher than drivers of all ages.
The citation rate for 16-year-olds is 1.8 times higher than drivers of all ages.
The citation rate for 16 to 19-year-olds is 2.1 times higher than drivers of all ages.

If teens are already higher risk, it becomes much worse when alcohol is involved. The takeaway: drinking and driving is something to avoid ALWAYS, but ESPECIALLY when you are a teenager.

This post was originally published in July 2017 and updated September 1, 2020 with teen driving statistics.

Every year, more states are voting to legalize Marijuana for either medical or recreational use. Canada legalized medical marijuana in 2001, and Trudeau has recently championed a bill to legalize recreational use. Seemingly everywhere in the Western world, it is becoming easier and easier to find places where one can purchase and consume cannabis legally.

That said, it is important to understand that existing laws are very strict, even in states where possession and use have been decriminalized. Laws vary from state to state (as well as in Canada), and there are some non-legal risks to consider as well. Do your homework before making a decision about whether to try marijuana. Here are a few things to consider.

Photo credit Vaping360.com (Vaping360)

Local Laws

It is important to know the law in any jurisdiction where you intend to smoke weed. In states where possession is still a criminal offense, a complaint by an individual that leads police to you can, and often will, result in criminal charges and possible jail time.

If it is your first offense or you are in possession of only a small amount of cannabis, a judge may only sentence you to time served. Some states, however, have mandatory minimum sentences for even nonviolent drug offenses that can put you away for months or even years. The best policy is to not light up at all anyplace where it is still considered a crime.

Possession

In many cases, evidence of smoking weed (being high or testing positive for THC) is not enough to land you in jail. If you happen to be high and run into a cop who detains you because he smells it, there is little that can be done to make charges stick if you aren’t carrying. That means, in most cases, you really don’t have to worry about just walking home from a friend’s house after a smoke session. If it’s out of sight and not on your person, jail is highly unlikely.

Being High In Public

If you are out and about creating a public nuisance as a result of being high, you can be arrested for public intoxication and spend at least a night in jail, just like you would if you were drunk in public. Since that’s not standard behavior for most stoners, it’s likely not something you would really need to worry about either.

Other Considerations

While it’s true that the health risks of cannabis use have been tremendously overstated in the past, it’s not true that the risks are negligible. It’s still a psychoactive drug, and heavy consumption can seriously affect users’ neurochemistry – particularly if those users are teenagers whose brains are still developing. The National Institutes of Health reports that marijuana abuse is associated with some level of physical and psychological dependency, contrary to popular belief. This is why legal consumption age has usually been set at 21, as the risk of developing dependencies goes down significantly after brain structures crystalize. Long-term effects can also include memory dysfunction and a decline in visuomotor skills. And similar to other intoxicants, chronic use can contribute to risk of mental illness later in life.

On the other hand, there is some evidence to suggest that mild cannabis use can help fight Glaucoma, reduce the incident of epileptic seizures, and has well-established benefits as a pain reliever. For most patients, cannabinoid pain relievers have a lower incidence of dependency than the opioids that currently saturate the market. And while smoking weed can irritate the lungs and exacerbate conditions like bronchitis and asthma, those effects are mild compared to those of – say – cigarettes.

In short, smoking weed does come with a degree of risk, particularly if you are underage or in a location where it is considered a criminal offense. And just because it’s legal doesn’t mean you should stock up and light up. MARIJUANA ABUSE CAN BE EXTREMELY HARMFUL! If, however, you know the laws in the jurisdiction where you live (or smoke), and play by all applicable rules when it comes to possession and use, possible incarceration for smoking weed is not likely to be a huge concern for you. But, there is so much more you can be doing with your time…so why get stoned in the first place?