Blog assignment # 5

For this blog I chose to go to www.law.com and do some research on my topic. What I found was an article on how Maryland enacted a new law to try to stop underage drinking. The laws purpose is to fine parents of kids who think it is ok for their kids to drink underage under the supervision of their homes. Any persons over the age of 21 caught providing to minors in their homes could get fined up to $1,000 - $2,500 dollars for the first offense and $5,000 for the second offense.

In my opinion I think this is a ridiculous law. Rather than having their kids drinking in a dangerous environment they give them a safe place to drink and be sociable with their friends. If a group of teenagers want a place to drink with their friends they will almost always find a place to do it. These places are more than likely going to be much more dangerous than under the supervision of an adult.

This leads to another argument that I have. Rather than not letting teens drink lets give them certain environments where they can learn to drink responsibly. Let’s educate younger people rather then play keep away. One of these environments is under the supervision of adults so it does not make any sense to me on to why you would fine adults who try to teach teens on how to drink responsibly.

On the other hand the numbers are staggering on the amount of underage drinking that is going on throughout the country. According to the article "In 2002 to 2006, more than one in four persons aged 12 to 20 (28.6 percent) had consumed alcohol in the past month, corresponding to an estimated 10.8 million underage current alcohol users. Within this age group, 7.2 million (19.2 percent) engaged in binge alcohol use, and 2.3 million (6.2 percent) were heavy drinkers." Also, it mentions that around 1,700 college students die each year from binge drinking. This is a sign that something is not working and we need change.

You can read the full article at http://injurylaw.reganfirm.com/2008/10/articles/child-safety/maryland-enacts-new-law-to-assist-efforts-to-curb-underage-drinking/