Nightclubs can restrict admittance to those 21 and up, but most permits issued by the Alcohol Beverage Control Board don't require it. Anyone who's at least 18 can get in to most bars, although they're not supposed to drink. Bars use various methods, such as armbands or stamped hands, to separate the underage crowd from the legal drinkers, but that can be an empty gesture, said Lt. John Roberts of the ABC enforcement division in Montgomery. I did when I was 16.
Kids spend money.
ABC officers run about 3,000 sting operations a year in which minors, who are working for the officers, try to buy alcohol at clubs and stores. The results have been steady for the past 10 years, Roberts said - about 25 percent of vendors sell to the underage customers. Virginia Guy, executive director of the Drug Education Council in Mobile, said there can be a link between underage drug and alcohol use and clubbing. Club owners are very aware of the risks of underage drinking, and the responsible ones do their best to prevent it, said Jim Simpson of the National Licensed Beverage Association, a Washington-based trade group. The whole reason for our existence is to promote legitimate and lawful businesses.