BELLINGHAM – Nineteen-year-olds in the state have to wait until they’re 21 before they can legally drink alcohol. But if they’re Whatcom County residents, they have to wait only as long as it takes to drive to Canada.
Many Whatcom County young adults head to Canada to do what they can’t do here: drink alcohol at 19 and 20 without breaking the law.
Young adults in the United States also head north to go dancing or hear live music, something they can’t do at local over-21 hangouts that serve alcohol.
And many bars in southern British Columbia are glad to have them, offering drink specials, favorable exchange rates, even limousine packages to encourage young adults to make the trip north.
Katie Denton, a 21-year-old Bellingham woman, used to drive to nightclubs in White Rock and Delta, British Columbia, so often that she kept her passport in her glove compartment.
On Friday and Saturday nights, young Americans make up about a third of the business at Cheers nightclub in Delta, said Scott Hilderman, club manager. He’s kept the Americans coming back despite the weakening U.S. dollar by offering them a much better exchange rate, 40 percent, than they can get at banks.
About 20 percent of the customers at White Rock’s Ocean Beach Grill and Hotel, called “O.B.” by regulars, are Americans, said manager Frank Veltri. When the U.S. dollar was stronger, Americans were about half his business, he said.
Many Canadian bars “aggressively advertise” to students on this side of the border, said Pat Fabiano, director of prevention and wellness services at Western Washington University.
But heavy drinking in Canada is part of the “urban myth” about social life close to the border, Fabiano said. She doesn’t think being close to Canada results in young adults drinking more here. Research shows that Western students don’t drink more than college students in other parts of the country, she said.
But drinking is only one of the reasons young adults say they head north to have fun.
“In Bellingham, a lot of the dancing and music are in bars where, if you’re under 21, you can’t go,” said Anna Blair, 19.
Many people actually drink more if they stay home, Blair said, where alcohol is free and plentiful at parties and people can walk home.
But going to Canada to drink may appeal more to under-21s who don’t want to get a fake ID, get beer illegally or risk getting cited for underage drinking.
A night out in Canada takes a bit more planning than going out at home. Many young people rent a hotel room and stay over, particularly if they’re going all the way to Vancouver.
For shorter trips, partiers must arrange for a designated driver, because they can count on at least a short chat with a law enforcement officer when they cross the border on the way home.
While border guards’ first priority is to stop terrorists and illegal drugs, they can also stop drunken teenagers from driving through, said Mike Milne, public affairs officer for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
But under-21s who are still tipsy when they cross the border aren’t home free, Fabiano said.
“They can be arrested as a minor in possession,” she said, “because their body is considered the container.”
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