Holliston Police Department

Important Facts

Four out of ten youths who start drinking

before the age of 13 will develop alcohol

abuse or alcohol dependence at some point

in their lives. (Grant & Dawson, 1997)

Four out of ten middle and high school students

(ages 12-17) who drank alcohol in the

past year had a serious problem related to

drinking. (www.health.org/govpubs/

RPO990) Incidents of sexual assault, date

rape, motor vehicle accidents, drowning, and

suicide can occur more commonly among

these youths.

45% of 7th and 8th graders in Massachusetts

said that it was easy to obtain alcohol. 78%

of high school students reported that alcohol

was easy to obtain. (Massachusetts Youth

Alcohol Prevention Task Force, May 2002)

Parents often don’t know that four out of

five teens have the opportunity to drink

alcohol; only three out of five parents

believe children have access to alcohol.

(www.libertymutual.com/personal/teen/

2001_executive_summary.html)

On a typical weekend in the United States,

an average of one teenager per hour dies in

a car crash. More than 45% of these

crashes involve alcohol. (MADD, 2002)

If drinking is delayed until age 21, a child’s

risk of serious alcohol problems is

decreased by 70%. (Grant & Dawson,

1997)

Key Terms

Social host: An adult or juvenile who is in control of premises and who serves alcohol or allows it to be consumed on those premises.

Social host liability: You can be held financially responsible if your child or guest injures or kills another person after you permit your child or guest to drink alcohol in your home or other property you control.

Underage: The legal drinking age in Massachusetts and every other state is 21. Someone under 21 cannot legally drink alcohol.

Liable: Criminally responsible (meaning that you might be ordered to pay a fine or serve a prison term) or civilly responsible (meaning that you might be ordered to pay for injuries to or for the death of another, and other

related costs)

Negligence: Failure to do what is required; carelessness; inattention. You are negligent if you permit an impaired and/or underage guest(s) to drink alcohol at your home. The civil law holds you liable because the likelihood of your impaired or underage guest(s) injuring or killing a third person is so great.

Did You Know?

The legal drinking age in Massachusetts and every other state is 21. It is against the law to serve or provide alcohol to underage guests or to allow them to drink alcohol in your home or on other property you control. If you do, you may be prosecuted criminally. The penalty is a fine up to $2,000, imprisonment for up to a year, or both. G.L. c.138, sec. 34.

You may also be sued civilly. If you are sued

civilly, a jury may decide whether you are

liable and how much you will have to pay for

injuries caused by your guests.

You could be prosecuted criminally or sued

civilly if you knowingly allow a person under

21 to drink at your home, and he becomes

very ill or dies from alcohol poisoning or

other injuries.

You could be civilly liable if you give permission

for your underage child to drink in

someone else’s home and he injures or kills a

third party.

You could be civilly liable if your child has a

few friends over when you are not at home, it

develops into a drinking party, and a partygoer

injures himself when fleeing after the

police arrive.

Even if you win a criminal or civil lawsuit, it

is an expensive process. Lawsuits can take

years to conclude. They put a tremendous

amount of strain on you and your family.