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There are many alcohol laws of the State of Missouri and your local community that may apply to your guests once they enter your event and after they leave. Keep these in mind when your guests begin to use alcohol at your event.

Open Container
In some communities in Missouri, any person who possesses an open container of alcohol on any street, sidewalk or city parking facility could be charged with a misdemeanor. So, you should ensure that anyone who leaves your event should also leave any opened containers behind.

Illegal Possession of Alcohol
Any person under the age of 21 that purchases, asks for, or in any way receives intoxicating liquor can be charged with a misdemeanor. Consider this when a minor asks for alcohol at your event. By refusing to serve someone who is underage, a server protects himself and the guest from legal problems.

Use or Possession of a Fake ID
Any person who is younger than 21 years of age, who uses a reproduced, modified, or altered license for the purpose of purchasing, asking for or in any way receiving any intoxicating liquor can be charged with a misdemeanor. If someone tries to use a fake ID when requesting alcohol, you or your staff should let them know that they could face a misdemeanor.

DWI
The legal BAC limit for DWI is .08. If someone under 21 drives under the influence they could be found guilty of a Zero Tolerance violation if their BAC is above .02. Consequences for this could include: fines, license revocation, classes, community service, and jail time, as well as misdemeanor or felony charges. If someone drinks any alcohol and drives, a police officer can actually determine whether alcohol had an effect on their driving ability regardless of what their blood alcohol content is. So, remember that a designated driver is someone who has not had anything to drink, and encourage guests to use a designated driver. This could save someone’s life. Also, discourage "road trips", because these can encourage drinking and driving

Abuse and Lose Law
In Missouri, anyone under 21 years old and operating a motor vehicle with either alcohol or illegal drugs in their possession can have their driver’s license revoked for 90 days. The Abuse and Lose law also requires that your license be revoked for 90 days if you commit any of the following offenses: any alcohol related traffic offense; possessing or using an illegal drug; altering a driver’s license; or trying to use someone else’s driver license. Second and subsequent offenses result in a one year license suspension. So, for the sake of your guests, make sure they use some sort of completely sober driver, whether a designated driver at the event who’s had nothing to drink, a taxi service or a campus-sponsored safe-ride program. Whatever the case may be, do everything in your power to ensure that someone who has been drinking does not drive.

Minor in Possession by Consumption Law
Any person under the age of 21, who purchases or attempts to purchase, or has in his or her possession, any intoxicating substance is guilty of a misdemeanor. Also, a minor is guilty of a misdemeanor for a “minor in possession” if he or she is “visibly intoxicated” or has a detectable blood alcohol content of at least 0.02. So, a minor can receive an MIP violation because of alcohol in their system. Keep this in mind when remembering that if you keep one of your underage guests from drinking alcohol, you could save them from a misdemeanor. We’ll talk more about the issue of minors in possession in our next section.