Drinking On The Side Of The River?

[birchy]

For this work event we're having this summer, I've been asked "What's the policy on drinking on the river?" They're thinking of supplying some beer as part of the beverages portion of the lunch. We'll be on the upper Bow somewhere out by Banff or Canmore.

 

Not 100% sure about this one. As long as noone's getting drunk are there any issues with this?

 

Thoughts?

[yodatrout]

I do it most of the time and have never encountered any problems. I'm pretty sure that it's not necessarily within the rule of written law though...

[kungfool]

If a bunch of responsible adults want to drink a few cold beer during the heatwave were having, be it at the river, thier back yard, or church, I say all the power to them!!

[monger]

You can get an IP (illegally possession) ticket since you are not at your place/temporary place of residence.

[lonefisher]

yep mongers got it I believe...... likely they will just make you dump it but the question "ok can I dump it down my throat?" will likely net you a IP ticket....... seen it happen twice LOL (never to me). If I were you I would bring lots of pop and water and plan for a nice post fishing meeting at a local bar. Drake is a nice place, so is the rose and crown, grizzly paw and patrinos. If it was a personal get together I would say go for it and let everyone make the decision and take their chances but if its a work related thing I'd abide by the rules..... theres also a possibilty that your guide would not allow it.

[birchy]

You can get an IP (illegally possession) ticket since you are not at your place/temporary place of residence.

 

I could always try the famous line from Days of Thunder (slightly modified of course):

 

"This isn't possesion officer.. this is comsumption!"

 

haha.

 

Nah.. I think we better play it on the safe side.

[Weedy1]

My Parents and Grandparents stopped at a rest stop years ago between Calgary and Edmonton to have lunch. They opened a bottle of wine to have with lunch. The cops happened to stop by and see them sipping away then proceeded to give my Father a ticket for open liquor (IP). The combined age of them was probably 300 years at the time. What the hell would the cops have been worried about? Did they expect them to tear off and start hijacking cars on highway 2?

[lonefisher]

Yeah its a really dumb rule IMHO drunk in puplic I can understand but a bottle of wine with a picnic or a couple of beers while fishing I don't see the problem....... But like anything I'm sure a few have ruined it for the many...... But I also know that that is the rule in provincial parks but I am not sure if the rule applies outside of provincial parks or not...... i usually don't bring beer as I usually am to busy fishing to drink myself LOL

[Weedy1]

Lone, when I was a youngin it was the rule everywhere, parks, back lanes, school yards, wherever. I was present for many ticket handouts. Our rule used to be the first one stupid enough to admit to the cops that a beer that had been thrown on the ground when the cops showed up was theirs took the IP and had to pay for it themselves. They would usually only issue one ticket for a group of kids.

I remember sitting in an alley once when this happened and nobody would admit that any of the beers were theirs. Guess what? No IP's were given out. The cop actually told us they would have had to take prints off the bottles to prove which bottle belonged to what individual and that doing so would take up too many resources. Whether or not this is still the case I don't know.

[LynnF]

In addition to those concerns, your employer needs to remember their liability issues. If they offer liquor to employees, it is in their best interests to provide transportation home (taxi chits). You may not think it's something to worry about, but I worked for a company that was sued for huge $$ over this. And the next year at the Christmas party their legal counsel made them provide taxi chits to 200 employees. It's thanks to an increasingly litigious society that this has become the norm now.

[cdock]

Don't do it. Too much liability. Meet at a pub after, best option really.

[DonAndersen]

Birchy,

 

It is an Illegal Possession and the fine is $250.00. This is a hold-over from Premier Manning when the Socreds were in power 35+ years ago. Some things never change.

You can get a IP for walking from your camp to the neighbors in campgrounds or drinking on the beach @ the lake. Anywhere that you don't have a residence.

 

And other big plus - I don't have to pick up the cans and bottles.

 

catch ya'

 

Don

[Carlodabroads]

You can get an IP (illegally possession) ticket since you are not at your place/temporary place of residence.

 

There may be a few guys, Toolman and Maxwell come to mind, who could get away with it. Claiming a temporary place of residence!

[gravelman]

Had a CO catch me once he told me to finish it and not to open anymore. had a buddy get several tickets ice fishing at chain lakes

[Hawgstoppah]

There may be a few guys, Toolman and Maxwell come to mind, who could get away with it. Claiming a temporary place of residence!

 

LOL yeah those punks are always out there

[Grizz]

Any LEO (Law Enforcement Officer) that hands out an IP to a few adults having a beer or two in the relative wilds while fishing is just a plain Arsehole. You could probably tell that to him when he tickets you. I've been stopped by horsemen, city cops, wardens, COs etc. and even on occasion offered a "wee nip" to be polite (with polite refusal 99% of the time). There's a huge difference between a group of 18 year olds gettin hosed on the side of the river while they take a break from paddling and a bunch of 30 - 70 year olds stopped and quaffing a few with lunch or to stretch their legs.

 

Usually, they will look at you, decide your demeanor and temperament (eg. are you hooting and hollering, littering your cans/bottles, how much are you consuming, etc.) and decide what to do. If you are camping your campsite is considered much like a domicile and you can consume liquor.

 

I wouldn't even worry about it. If you're trying to get a buzz from the booze rather than enjoying the consumption, then I'd worry (and so would any sane LEO who stopped to talk to you).

 

Funny this comes up because recently I was on a particular body of water next to some young fellas in a boat who clearly were smoking some serious quantities of BC's finest (over the course of 3 hours they did not stop but for a while here and there). They were relatively quiet other than the occasional cloud of smoke, and seemed quite responsible. About an hour later, 4 complete goons with no shirts and completely sunburnt to a crisp pulled up not far away. They looked to be about the same age as the other fellas who had quietly moved off a fair distance away. These new 4 guys were loud, falling down in their aluminum boat, driving all over the place like the idiots that they were, and you could hear that they couldn't barely hold a conversation with each other. PISSED DRUNK (I wonder if they survived their weekend - literally)! I started to wonder why alcohol is legal, and the green stuff gets you thrown in jail???? The other fellas who were smokin the rope seemed to be having a pretty normal conversation between them and aside from the fact that you could smell the weed constantly, you wouldn't even have any idea they were baked on the water. I was entertaining myself over this crazy contrast for while afterwards... What a strange world we live in! A plant, which my nephew tells me now grows wild in BC is illegal, but a fermented and processed product which contains a poison (alcohol) is sold everywhere!

[jimbow]

Any LEO (Law Enforcement Officer) that hands out an IP to a few adults having a beer or two in the relative wilds while fishing is just a plain Arsehole......What a strange world we live in! A plant, which my nephew tells me now grows wild in BC is illegal, but a fermented and processed product which contains a poison (alcohol) is sold everywhere!

 

excellent post.....give the man a cigar and a flask of whisky!!!

[lonefisher]

excellent post.....give the man a cigar and a flask of whisky!!!

 

Hear! hear! and a philly blunt!

[cuttbow]

Try this next time your stopped. Peel the label from your beer bottle and stick it to your forehead next time the law stops you. If they ask if uve been drinking, say no officer im on the patch. Might work.

[jimbow]

Hear! hear! and a philly blunt!

do you know how to roll those? sounds a bit nasty to me.