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Alcohol, drugs & gambling
Drinking alcohol
The law says you can’t drink, buy or possess alcohol until you are 18, unless:
- you are in a private home – your own house or someone else’s house
- you are in a hotel or restaurant and you are having a meal with your parents, guardian or spouse (who is 18 or older).
You can only go into licensed premises, like a pub or club that sells alcohol, if you are with your parents, guardian or spouse (who is 18 or older) and you are having a meal there or you are staying the night.
The police or a staff member can ask for your name and address if you buy or have alcohol. They can take alcohol away from you if you are under 18 and they think it is illegal for you to have it.
In some public places, like the Moomba parade or some rock concerts, it is illegal to carry or drink alcohol no matter how old you are.
Remember, if you are on L- or P-plates, you are not allowed to drive if you have had any alcoholic drinks.
Buying cigarettes
Until you are 18 no-one is allowed to sell you cigarettes or tobacco, buy cigarettes or tobacco for you, or let you buy cigarettes or tobacco from a machine on their premises. However, it is not against the law to smoke or carry cigarettes or tobacco if you are under 18.
Drugs
Taking drugs prescribed for you by your doctor is not illegal. If you have to take prescription drugs at school, let your year level co-ordinator know.
There are many laws about illegal drugs. The four most common types of offences are:
- using
- possessing
- trafficking
- cultivating drugs of dependence.
Using
This includes smoking, inhaling fumes, injecting or swallowing a drug. You can be charged if you admit to using. You can also be charged with 'introducing a drug into the body of another person’ if you inject someone else or slip a drug into someone's drink without their knowledge.
Possessing
This means having a drug on you (like in your pockets or bag) or in a house or property where you live. This includes cannabis plants. You might also be charged with possession if drugs are found in a car you own or you are driving.
Trafficking
This usually means selling a drug, but it can include exchanging, agreeing to sell, or offering drugs for sale (even if you don’t go through with the deal). You can also be charged with trafficking if you:
- sell or offer to sell a harmless substance to someone who believes it is a drug
- manufacture drugs or prepare them for selling
- possess a ‘traffickable quantity’ of drugs; this amount is different for various types of drugs.
Selling drugs to a friend could be trafficking. Trafficking is a serious offence and the penalties can be very harsh.
Cultivating
This means growing a drug, like marijuana or opium poppies. It is an offence to plant, tend or harvest a ‘narcotic plant’. Growing drugs to sell is considered trafficking.
Syringes
It is legal to carry new and used syringes. Never carry drugs on you when carrying syringes or visiting a needle exchange. Even if drugs are not found on you, the police can still charge you if you admit to using drugs. Used syringes or traces of drugs can be used as evidence of using a drug of dependence.
Always flush syringes with water after using. This reduces the risk of infecting anyone else if they get a needle-stick injury.
There are penalties for unsafe disposal of used syringes. If you throw syringes down toilets, on the street or down drains they end up at sewerage plants or get washed up on the beach. Somebody may get hurt.
Don’t put syringes in a container and then in the domestic rubbish. Syringes can injure garbos who have to sort rubbish by hand. For safe disposal, return syringes to a needle exchange or use public disposal units. Outreach needle exchange services collect used syringes and give you new ones. Contact DirectLine on 1800 888 236 to find out your nearest exchange.
Overdoses
If you think someone has overdosed, call an ambulance immediately.
Phone ‘000’ and say someone needs urgent medical attention. Tell the ambulance officers as much as you can, like what drugs the person took, when they collapsed and any other health problems like asthma.
Ambulance officers will not call the police. They will tell you how to look after the person until they get there.
Inhaling, chroming or sniffing
The police have the power to search you if you are under 18 and they suspect you are going to inhale petrol, paint, glue or other ‘volatile substances (chroming). It is not a crime to chrome. The police can stop you and take you somewhere safe if they think you will hurt yourself by chroming. If the police find any substances, they can take them from you. Police don’t need a warrant to do this.
If the police stop you they must make a record of this. You can ask for a copy of the record at the time or later. They are not allowed to ask you about any crime that they think you might have been involved in. Police can’t hold you if they find out that you are older than 18.
Gambling
The legal age for gambling in Victoria is 18. This includes playing the pokies, betting on horses or buying lottery tickets and scratchies. It is illegal to go into a gaming room or casino if you are under 18 even if you are with an adult.
See the Gambler’s Help youth website – gspot (link below) – for information and support for young people with gambling issues.
More information
Related publications
Drugs, the law and safer injecting
Related websites
gspot – Gambler’s Help youth website (new window)
youthcentral – drugs, smoking and alcohol (new window)
How we can help
Victoria Legal Aid’s (VLA) has a Youth Legal Service that provides legal information and assistance to children, young people and parents.
Call VLA’s Legal Information Service for free information over the phone about the law and how we can help you with your legal problem. You can speak to a legal information officer in English or ask for an interpreter. Phone (03) 9269 0120 or 1800 677 402 (country callers), Monday to Friday from 8.45 am to 5.15 pm.
VLA’s free legal services include:
- advice at VLA offices and other locations across Victoria
- lawyers who are on ‘duty’ to help at many courts and tribunals, including the Children’s court
- advice at many correctional facilities, remand and detention centres, including the Melbourne Juvenile Justice Centre, Parkville Youth Residential Centre and secure welfare facilities.
For some matters we can provide you with a lawyer to help you run your case.
To find out more about any of our legal services see What we do.
Who else can help?
The Youth Substance Abuse Service (YSAS) provides a range of services for young people aged 12 to 21 who are experiencing significant problems related to their alcohol and/or drug use. See the YSAS website (new window) or call the YSAS 24-hour information and referral line on 1800 014 446 (toll free).
Frontyard (new window) brings together a number of services that work together to support young people aged 12 to 25 years who spend time in the Melbourne CBD and who are homeless or marginalised. Some of the services also work with young people across the whole of Melbourne and Victoria.
Frontyard is at 19 King Street Melbourne or you can call them on 1800 800 531 (freecall from landlines) or (03) 9614 3688 (evenings and weekends). All services are free and most are drop-in so no appointment is necessary.