When it comes to alcohol, the law gets a little complicated.
According to the Code of Iowa, a 16-year-old can sell alcohol legally in a grocery store or other establishment where alcohol isn't actually consumed on the premise, but you must be 18 years old to sell alcohol in a bar or restaurant.
To confuse matters further, you can't drink alcohol legally until you're 21.
Of course there is the law that says a minor can consume alcohol with the permission of a parent, but another law says a bar can allow 18-year-old patrons into the establishment - as long as no one sells them alcohol.
It's enough to make your head spin.
"Having under-aged patrons in a bar does make it difficult to enforce the law," said Assistant Fort Dodge Police Chief Kevin Doty. "A lot of 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds attempt to get served using fake IDs or borrowed IDs."
Bar owners end up depending a lot on their servers to be responsible enough to check driver's licenses and do the math to make sure the person ordering is old enough, said Doty.
''If the law changes to allow 18-year-olds to drink, is it easier on everyone? Yes,'' said Doty. ''Is it right? No.''
During a workshop session on Aug. 18, Fort Dodge City Council members discussed the possibility of amending a civic ordinance in the near future to prevent anyone under the age of 21 from even entering a bar.
There's a gray area between what constitutes a bar and a restaurant that happens to sell alcohol.
Dan Payne, a Fort Dodge City Council member, explained that if 50 percent or more of the total revenue of an establishment comes from food rather than alcohol, it is considered to be a restaurant.
If the measure were to be passed, 18-year-olds would be barred from entering an establishment that earns 50 percent or more of its revenue from alcohol.
Paul Cain, manager of the Sport's Page Bar & Grill, 2707 N. 15th St., said if the changed ordinance passed it wouldn't affect the restaurant because 85 to 90 percent of its revenue comes from selling food.
Even without stricter guidelines, the establishment opts for what it refers to as a responsible policy.
''We had signs up that said unaccompanied minors were not allowed in the establishment after the grill closed,'' said Cain. ''But someone stole them.''
Despite no longer having signs up, the bars still closes its door to anyone under 21 years old after 10 p.m., he said.
While Fareway, 615 Second Ave. S., can legally let its younger employees sell alcohol, its corporate policy requires the sales of cigarettes or beer to be handled by employees 21 years old or older to prevent peer pressure, said Dale Valvoda, a Fareway manager.
The push to prevent young people from drinking alcohol too soon in life is more than a social issue. It is a health issue.
Dena DeStigter, a representative for the prevention department of Hamilton County Community & Family Resources in Webster City, said a minor's brain is still developing and is therefore vulnerable to damage by alcohol.
''A brain of a 15-year-old is four times more likely to become addicted to alcohol than a 21-year-old,'' she said. ''The brain matures by 21, but before then alcohol is more likely to affect the neurotransmitters.''
She said consuming alcohol under age ''rewires'' the brain's neurotransmitters and actually makes the brain slower.
''Alcohol also affects the serotonin levels, making the person severely depressed,'' DeStigter said.
So, even though it's legal for parents to allow their minor children to consume alcohol, they shouldn't, she said.
''It also affects the frontal lobe of the brain which controls thinking, reasoning and impulse control,'' DeStigter said. ''The impulse control can also feed into the early addiction.''
She said teens naturally make an abundance of dopamine, the chemical in the brain that makes you feel good, and alcohol reacts with it making the brain's ability to sense pleasure from other things difficult. Minors then can only feel happy by consuming alcohol, she said.
And that means trouble.
''You rapidly go from liking it, to wanting it, to needing it,'' DeStigter said.
Contact Katie Williams at (515) 573-2141 or katie@messengernews.net
