I've seen a lot of fics where people offer Harry a drink but he says no cause he's underage. Now I was lead to believe that there was no drinking age in England, so shouldn't he be able to drink? Canon wise Molly I think it was or possibly Hermione told them off but not because they were underage, it was more like it was morally wrong. Can someone clear this up for me?

 

The drinking age in England is 18.

EDIT: Well, to buy drink that is. To drink alcohol that is given freely, you have to be above 14.

EDIT 2: Despite the legal drinking age being 18, many shops (e.g. Tesco supermarkets) still refuse to sell alcohol to anyone under 21.

EDIT 3: It's also likely that the drinking age in the Wizarding world is 17, as that is the age when someone becomes an adult in the HP world.

 

Come on though, it seems like the whole trio (especially hermoine) is unrealistic in canon. Besides for the whole magic saving the world thing you would think to see some parties with alcohol, sex, and drugs, especially with 16 year olds (anyone who is 16 knows exactly what i'm talking about). Instead you see the bitchy, predictable, bossy hermoine tell ron off for just wanting to try it. Honestly who waits till there 18,21, or whatever the legal limit is anyways..

 

Ummm Hermione would.

 

The age for drinking here in England is not 18, but 18 is the age where you are allowed to buy alcohol. Anyone under the age of 18 cannot buy alcohol from a licensed premises, except where they are aged between 16 and 17, accompanied by an adult, and eating a table meal.

There is also a rather strange law that I've wrote down in it's entirety below:

No intoxicating liquor may be administered to a child under five years of
age except under medical supervision or in the case of sickness or other
urgent cause.

This leads me to believe that as long as the child is not on a licensed premises or on the streets (as drinking on the streets is a crime over here), it is perfectly legal for a child aged over 5 to consume alcohol.

I'm not a lawyer and as such may have overlooked something, feel free to contradict me if you wish.

 

yeah, i mean, plenty of times i've been at a party, no-one over 18, and everyone is pished ou their face, but all the police have ever done is tell us to keep the noise down, i dont know the ins and outs of the law, but i've never been stopped in my house/party and i dont drink in the streets

 

Is it that hard to believe that people dont drink? even when they are over the 21. It seems like is such a rare thing now a days. Alchohol in my opinion is worth than other drugs that are illeagal.

 

let me rephrase what i said..
Out of the whole of teenage boys and girls there isn't any "rebels" that like to drink? Come on that just doesn't make sense at all..

 

No-one bothers with the law anyway. Half my year are still 16-17 and they still all go to pubs and get hammered and no-one asks for ID or anything.

 

*pouts* I WANNA LIVE IN UK

 

I was going to night clubs at 15 and getting served. The law and what pubs actually do are two different things. Before the 24 hour laws came into effect last orders at a pub was supposed to be 11 o'clock, I was still getting served at five in to morning.

 

Five am? Really? wow thats late, or early depending on how you look at it. I don't think i could drink at that time of day. It just wouldn't seem right..

 

Thats nothing guys, me and my friends were stopped at the door to a pub and id (coz some of the ppl didnt look overage at all) and none of us has id, and admited we were under age but jst wanted to get in to celebrate our mates bday, we got in, we were sold drink even though they knew we were 16, told that we werent allowed to much to drink, and still got absinthe (nasty nasty stuff lol) and red aftershock (best drink ever)

needless to say, one of my mates uke: on the way home
i laughed

 

Aftershock is horrible, not nearly as good as a zombie. Mix six spirits together (can't remember which) in a pint glass, then down it in one, and you have a decent drink.

 

lol i doubt i could handle that, btw, is butterbeer in HP alchoholic? i forget

 

Its prolly not in there because its a childbooks and she doesnt want to have kids interested in Alcohol and stuff.

 

Yet Harry and Ron are given drinks on numerous occassions in , probably a nod to what she was drinking when she was not eating hash brownies.

 

Actually, butterbeer is alcoholic, because in GOF, Winky was completely hammered when the trio went into the kitchens. I think the actual amount of alcohol in the drink is so minimal, that humans aren't actually affected by it.

 

i think butterbeer is equivaliant to wine coolers, alcoholic, but you can never really tell..

Drugs are another thing, in HP don't you think there are some sort of potions or "magical mushrooms" or something else that will make you just trip balls? or am i just crazy..

 

I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were a whole set of narcotic-like potions, and/or plants in the HP world. These would probably make even the most potent drugs in our world look like tea leaves in comparison.