Posted on 01/25/2005 11:33:55 AM PST by AdamSelene235
In an attempt to curb alcohol related deaths among young people, state Rep. Gary Lindstrom, D-Breckenridge, last week proposed a bill that would mandate kegs of beer be marked with identification tracking tags.
The keg identification - a recyclable tag bearing an identification number attached to the keg - would allow police to track the sales of kegs for up to six months after the purchase. Additionally, it will enable police to more quickly and efficiently identify those who provide kegs to minors.
"This bill gives law enforcement a tool in their investigation to find out who has purchased alcohol where a minor has either had a problem or has died," said Lindstrom.
Without the tags police departments can have trouble identifying who bought the keg. Culpability can be derived from the identity of the person who bought the keg.
"It (the alcohol related deaths) is certainly a very good reason to do what we can to find out who is buying alcohol for our children," said Lindstrom.
Colorado saw six students on five campuses, including one at CU and two at Colorado State University, die in alcohol-related incidents last fall. Several lawmakers took note and have introduced legislation intended to prevent future deaths.
This is the third time in three years that keg IDs have been proposed. The last two years the legislation didn't even make it out of the committee.
Last year the Business Affairs and Labor Committee narrowly voted against the bill 7-6. Some members from the committee cited as a reason for voting against the legislation that the scope isn't wide enough.
"Although this legislation is a well intended measure to reduce underage drinking, I am not confident that it will cut down on minors drinking," said state Sen. Ron Tupa D-Boulder. "It may motivate minors to drink beverages with higher alcohol content."
Currently 22 states have keg identification laws.
Even though the concept of keg tracking is unprecedented in Colorado, several municipalities have tried keg identification on a local level. The city of Boulder uses a volunteer program which liquor stores can choose to use the keg identification. Also, the city of Loveland has a mandatory keg identification policy, where all liquor stores in the city limits are required to mark their kegs upon sale.
The Boulder Police Department said it is hard to track the merits of its voluntary program.
"Effectiveness is relative because the sources (of keg beer) may be coming out of our jurisdiction," said Julie Brooks, public information officer for the Boulder Police Department.
Brooks noted that even kegs which are purchased within Boulder proper could be hard to track. One could cut or scrape off the keg identification to avoid prosecution, she said.
Coors Brewery in Golden declined to comment on the legislation.
Lindstrom said that he thinks he has enough support for the bill to pass the committee. He also said that he thinks the bill has enough support to pass through the Colorado House.
There is some agreement that regardless the outcome of this legislation, the emphasis still should be placed upon responsible drinking.
"I doubt the legislature can do anything meaningful to cut down on underage drinking; instead we should focus on young adults drinking more responsibly," said Tupa.
I had the same thought. How do you die from over drinking too much beer in an evening. Most of the kids die from the hard stuff: too much over too short of a time.
Is this post from the "Onion" or Scrappleface? It sure reads as though it's parody.
Honestly, they can track the beer keg, but how do you prove someone drank from it? If the person is dead, they're not talking. Maybe he/she was drinking shots? Are we to tag bottles of alcohol next? Why not implant a device to tell if someone is drinking then call the cops when their blood alcohol level fluctuates.
You think alcohol needs to be registered with the state with traceable serial numbers, why not people?
Why not just put radioactive taggants in the beer?
We have a keg law here in NY. Now kids just drink hard liquor at parties instead of beer.
The parallels to the Drug War are staggering...
Seems the author must have hit the keg himself before writing this....It's unprecendented in Colorado, but, several municipalities already to it? How is this UNprecendented?
They do it here in Greeley, fairly effectively as well.
Papers please.
We usually used a cow trough. Holds four half kegs and about another two cases of singles around the sides (for when the kegs run dry and the beer store is closed), add 12 to 15 bags of ice, top off with about 10 gallons of water out of the garden hose and dude, you're good to go.
Now, where's that bushel?!
Oh yeah, almost forgot... Invite all the neighbors, cuts down on the police calls.
Been tagging kegs here in Oregon for ten years that I know of.
We're a bit funny here, as you can own a machine gun legally so go figure....
...needs to include a background check and a 7 day waiting period.
I've never heard of a keg lasting up to six months as the story states. More like half a night at the most, depending upon who is at your house.
A Texas Tech frat party at the Lubbock National Guard Armory. The objective of the party was to drink beer out of bucket and kiss as many women as you could during the night.
Out back was a line out about 50 porta potties for the ladies and the guys lined up for about 75 yards to piss down a hill.
Right on, brother!
I wonder if this chemical would work?
Nichols fertilizer dealer uses pink surprise(turns meth users pink)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.