Hi, I’m from Germany and here people can drink unlimited amounts of beer and wine in public at 16 years old and at 18 you’re allowed to also drink every other strong alcoholic beverage publicly such as Vodka.

I was reading online that in the US it’s not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages in public even if you’re over 21 and even if it’s something mild like beer. If I understood it correctly you’re not even allowed to be drunk in public? I was wondering if this is actually true and why that is the case.

And I wonder how strictly this is enforced. I assume it probably varies strongly between places so maybe you could give an example for where you are from or experiences from other places.

Like even if it’s technically illegal do people still drink a nice cold beer in the summer without getting in trouble? Because it’s hard for me to imagine that anyone would say something when someone simply enjoys a nice cold beer during the hot summer in a park or something.

And could you even be arrested when just enjoying the summer day by drinking beer? Cause that had to be the worst vibe killing situation that would make me paranoid of ever drinking in public.

  • besseljEnglish
    4·
    2 days ago

    Depends on the city/state. It’s legal to drink in public in Las Vegas, NV, but most cities have laws against open containers.

    In films and TV shows, you sometimes see people drinking from bottles covered in a brown paper bag. Doing so makes you less likely to get fined, since it’s not obvious exactly what you’re drinking and it’s usually not worth the police’s time to find out unless youre causing problems.

    • vala@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      38 minutes ago

      It’s legal to drink in public in Las Vegas, NV,

      This is incorrect. It’s legal to drink in some places around the strip but generally speaking, public drinking is not allowed. Ask any homeless person.

    • relaxing_blend@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      4·
      2 days ago

      Isn’t the bag making it way more obvious? I would just fill the beverage into a metal water bottle that way no one would know what I’m drinking.

      • Death_Equity@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        2 days ago

        A lot of alcoholics put alcohol in inconspicuous containers, like a fast food drink cup, and go about their day like they just have a large coke. My high school banned disposable plastic water bottles because people would drink straight vodka.

        If you are finned for drinking in public, you are already a problem and the discovery of drinking leads to more consequences.

        So just sitting in a park and drinking beer from a steel water bottle won’t get you in trouble until you start yelling slurs at the ducks.