re: When did Louisiana switch the legal age of drinking from 18

It was definitely the summer of ‘95. I remember thinking how crazy it was I could buy alcohol as a senior in high school but not as a freshman in college.

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In South Louisiana you couldn't buy it in stores but you could in a bar until 1996 or so. It was a strange loophole.

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There was a loophole. If I remember correctly it was still against the law to drink to under 21. But it wasn't illegal to serve someone over 18 but under 21 if you were considered a "private" club. -If you charged a cover, that was the equivalent of paying your "membership" to the private club.

It allowed the bars to keep swerving, the state got their hwy money.

perhaps in 95 they ended the ended the loophole?

So everyone is correct to an extent.

Carry on.

95. I was in a bar in tiger land the night it took effect. At midnight they went around taking drinks from everyone not 21.

From Rummy's article.

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Louisiana’s drinking age was raised to 21 from 18 in 1986 to avoid losing federal highway dollars, but a loophole made it legal for bars and others to sell alcohol to those under 21, complicating possible enforcement of the law.

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In 1996, that loophole was closed. Prior to the change, Louisiana was the last state in the nation to allow 18-year-olds to drink.

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Just as I suspected.

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There was a loophole. If I remember correctly it was still against the law to drink to under 21. But it wasn't illegal to serve someone over 18 but under 21 if you were considered a "private" club. -If you charged a cover, that was the equivalent of paying your "membership" to the private club.

It allowed the bars to keep swerving, the state got their hwy money.

perhaps in 95 they ended the ended the loophole?

So everyone is correct to an extent.

Carry on.

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Very interesting

For some reason, the college bars in Lafayette didn't enforce the 21 age limit until around 2005 or so when ABC started cracking down. Prior to that, it was widely known and no one seemed to give a shite

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It was illegal to drink under 18 but not illegal for the bar to serve

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Illegal to drink under 21.

But legal to serve over 18.

Only in Louisiana does that make sense.

The irony was that the conservative “states rights” crowd in Washington were the very ones who forced the states to raise the age, on penalty of losing highway funds. That’s called hypocrisy kids.

All y’all are wrong it was summer of 97” I was a freshman in 95 and could drink , sophomore in 96 and could drink . Junior in 97 and turned 21 right when they changed it .


ETA it was 96. I guess no one enforced it until 97 after the incident at Murphy’s

When I was 20.5 and there was no grandfather clause, apparently the fed had the state by the balls

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Around March of 1996, they somehow "temporarily" changed it back, but it was cut quickly.

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I remember this because it was the weekend before my 18th bday. By the time I turned 18 it was 21.


Thankfully bunch of us would hang out at The Bengal the rest of our senior year for Drinking with Lincoln on Thursday nights. Bar would serve us drinks with no issues.