We have all been young once or twice throughout our lives, so it is no question that we have either witnessed first or secondhand the phase of underage drinking that most kids tend to go through. Laurie Poole has come across dozens of cases involving minors under the influence or in possession of alcohol while working as a bail bondsman in Oklahoma City.
Due to working in the bail bonds business, Laurie has fought with numbing herself to the underage drinking epidemic sweeping the nation. It is a sad fact that almost every minor will taste alcohol before turning 21. In fact, the desire to consume alcohol is what drives most young travelers to Europe; where the drinking age ranges from 16 to 18.
This is exactly why instead of turning a blind eye to the billions of minors illegally drinking alcohol, Laurie Poole makes it her mission to inform and change society instead; one person at a time.
Now the reason behind underage drinking usually stems from a lack of other options. It is undeniably a GO-TO for teenagers to get alcohol and drink it solely for the sake of getting drunk. That is not how alcohol should be handled. Whether you are a minor or an adult, you should drink alcohol to have fun.
In the beginning, minors will get their hands on beer and wine for parties to make them more fun, but now there are teenagers sitting at home alone with a beer in their hands; drinking for all the wrong reasons.
The sad thing is that underage drinking is not always a bad thing. Some states will allow minors to drink with their legal guardians and some parents will supply their kids alcohol under strict supervision and/or guidelines.
It is when the parents leave the kids alone – or the kids get the alcohol behind the parents backs – that things start getting complicated and dangerous. This is when kids have the opportunity to get behind the wheel, make stupid choices, or hurt themselves via alcohol poisoning or other impaired activities.
When working with people under the age of 21, Laurie optimizes her knowledge as a bail bondsman in Oklahoma to help her clients avoid making the same mistakes in the future. The first thing she stresses to them is the importance of drinking in a safe environment with the permission of all applicable legal guardians.
If you throw a party and invite the entire school, it is no secret that most of the people going to that party will not have permission from their guardians. Furthermore, a party with 40+ people is not a safe environment. This is why Laurie advises her clients on avoiding parties – or at the very least, avoiding alcohol at parties.
In addition to a safe environment with permission from guardians, you should also have an adult present. This is not to say that the adult has to be breathing down your neck or watching you like a hawk, but having someone present in case of an emergency is very important. Moreover, the best thing you can do is stick as close to the law as possible. There are ways to drink legally while under the age of 21.