Under the old Missouri MIP law, the definition of MIP applied only to the purchase, attempt to purchase or actual possession of an intoxicating liquor by a minor. Under the current law, the definition of “minor in possession” (MIP) has been expanded to include a minor who has “a detectable blood alcohol content of .02 percent” or more and a minor who is “visibly intoxicated.”
A minor in Missouri may be arrested for, charged with and convicted of MIP even if he or she is not in actual possession of any alcohol at the time of the arrest. The Missouri MIP law definition of “possession” has been expanded to include either (1) having a very small amount of alcohol (1/4 the legal limit for adults to drive) in one’s system or (2) merely appearing intoxicated. The provision of Missouri’s MIP law that expands the definition of “possession” to include having alcohol in one’s system makes “possession by consumption” a crime in Missouri and is why the Missouri MIP statute often is called the MIP “Possession by Consumption” law.