OIU: No alcohol at graduation parties

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Starting this week, seniors all over the Buckeye State will be graduating from high school. Agents with the Ohio Investigative Unit are taking an active role in enforcing Ohio’s alcohol laws, to ensure that these young adults are celebrating responsibly and within Ohio’s laws.

“As graduates, your high school accomplishments as well as your decisions made over the next several weeks will follow you throughout your lifetime,” said Agent-in-Charge Eric Wolf. “Make sure those decisions are the right ones. Remember, if you’re not yet 21, you booze, you lose.”

As with prom season, agents are reminding liquor permit premises to watch for underage individuals attempting to purchase beer – often with a false identification. Clerks should also lookout for individuals 21 and over purchasing alcohol for a person who is not yet 21. In Ohio it is illegal to share in the cost of purchasing alcoholic beverages, or attempts to do so – even if the sale is refused.

Parents who are hosting a party for their child’s friends should also be aware of Ohio’s laws and how they could impact them. In the state of Ohio, parents cannot give alcohol to children who are under 21, even with the other parents’ permission. Parents also cannot allow minors to consume alcohol in their home.

Anyone convicted of attempting to purchase alcohol as a minor, sharing in the cost, using false identification or furnishing alcohol to a minor may face a maximum sentence of six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

Agents are also asking for local hotels and limousine companies to be vigilant and report underage drinking and parties to local authorities.

Those who have information about a bar, store or carryout selling beer or liquor to persons under the age of 21, can notify the Ohio Investigative Unit by calling #677 on their cell phone.