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Question: I was arrested for underage possesion. At the time of arrest I was not intoxicated, though there were many people at the party that were. We were all taken to the local jail and held for the remainder of the morning. When I blew into the BAC tester, my results were a .014 BAC. That is incredibly low, but yet I am still being charged with underage possession. How? I was not drunk?

Answer: Arizona Law  makes it illegal for anyone under the legal drinking age of 21 years to 'possess or consume spirituous liquor'. (A.R.S. § 4-244(9)). The statute does not only apply if you are intoxicated. It applies if you have consumed any alcohol, which was proven by your breath test reading.

The law does not require that you drink any alcohol either...just that you have it in your possession. If the police see you holding an unopened beer, they can prosecute you under this law.


Comments
11 thru 15 of 40 comments
On 03/03/04
Shelly from MI said:
I was given an MIP at school for pictures the police station got ahold of. The MIP was given to me three days after I was at the party. When I was at the party the cops told us all to leave and I did. Why can they give me the MIP now? If I didn't admit to having beer in the can can they still issue me an MIP?
On 03/02/04
Dave from AZ said:
If certain people would spend as much time following the law as they do crying about it they wouldn't have these issues. Also, the idea that children should be allowed to drink if their parents give them permission is ridiculous. Studies prove that alcohol is damaging to a child's brain, and that innocent "sip" may well become the green light for children to start getting plastered; and the government should stand back and let irresponsible parents hurt their kids? Most people don't agree with this, hence the concept of law! Teach your kids to respect it; or don't and visit them in jail.
On 02/26/04
Dave from NC said:
You may have been unfairly arrested for having used mouthwash or having taken any of a number of medications that contain alcohol. Or the officer may not have adjusted the alcohol testing device for the temperature, there may have been smoke in the air, or a short wave radio may have been operating somewhere in the vicinity of the device, or the officer may not have received proper instruction in the use of the device, etc, etc.
On 02/18/04
Shannon from AL said:
Hello....they say 21 and older for a reason. You aren't even supposed to HAVE beer or other alcohol to get drunk off of in the first place if you're a minor. That's a broken law right there. Let's think a little harder next time.
On 02/18/04
Shannon from AL said:
I think to rule a country you should first be able to spell words such as....'picky'. And if you don't like our country then get out. Although I do agree it's ridiculous how some laws are broken all the time and are just as dangerous and even more dangerous than other laws...however most of the time people are caught only for breaking certain laws that have more severe punishment.
11 thru 15 of 40 comments



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