Many
legal drinking age requirements apply to 21 and older. Regardless of where you are in the country, the
legal drinking age for some beverages may be different from state to state. Both the
legal drinking age for your state may be significantly different. For example, in Illinois, the
legal drinking age for all drinkers is actually a bit less than the
legal drinking age for some (including minors). This means that if you're visiting Illinois and are looking to buy alcohol, you may want to ask the manager/volunteer at the bar if it's legal there. While many states have what is called a "dry age," some states (including Illinois) have what is known as a "dry DUI." A dry DUI, or a DUI with no alcohol involved at all, is punished much differently than a DUI that involves alcohol. In a dry DUI, a person can still be charged with a crime even if they don't drink at all. If you're visiting Illinois and think that you may be in violation of the law by becoming intoxicated, make sure you speak to an attorney before you get home. One area where both the
legal drinking age and minimum
legal drinking age differ from state to state is the legal age for consuming alcohol in other countries outside of Illinois. Most countries set a legal age of 18 as the legal drinking age, but in some countries (such as Ireland and Sweden) the
legal drinking age doesn't include any sort of alcohol-related penalty. In these countries, the legal age to consume alcohol is simply a minimum age that countries take very seriously. If you plan on traveling to any part of the world, make sure you know and understand their legal drinking age. Even though it may be a vastly different guideline than your own, you don't want to risk the chance of going to jail or being sentenced to community service for a crime you did not commit.