As Christmas party season hits full swing, Officials in Mississippi are reminding parents that it is against the law to knowingly provide alcohol to teens.
Known as the Social Hosting Law, the 2011 rule levies fines and community service on adults who knowingly provide alcohol to anyone under 21.
Mark Hicks with Alcoholic Beverage Control says that includes adults who host teen drinking parties as a way of keeping an eye on kids that they assume would be drinking anyway.
"Those teens have to go home at some point. And if they are under the influence, they don't need to be behind the wheel of a car," Hicks said.
Hicks says the parties can have disastrous consequence.
In September, three teens died in a drunk driving wreck after leaving a party facilitated by an adult.
Tawni Basden with the anti-substance abuse advocacy organization Dream says teen are more susceptible to the negative effects of alcohol, especially because their brains are not done developing.
"Where an adult drinks and they get a hangover the next day, their brain is done developing. So its going to hurt them as much as 15-year-old. 15-year-old drinks, they don't get that part of the brain back. It does have a life-long memory and decision-making skills effect on a teenager," Basden said.
The law has been used about 10 times since it was created.
