Michael, But aren't the laws more draconian and the fines, etc. larger? In Boulder, CO, the cops arrest a ton of drivers for DUI. To fight an arrest, you have to have a lawyer because the laws are so harsh. Count on spending about $4,000 just to get a lesser charge, and much more if you take matters to court. Then if you get a lesser charge, you will pay many thousands of dollars before you get a clean slate again. Woe unto you if you are say 19 and you entrapped by police in one of those internet chat rooms we see on the TV sex predator progams. Count on a lifetime of spending money. You're from western PA. What would public drunkenness with no bad behavior (being a harmless drunk person weaving down the street) cost you in 1970? A ride home? A night in jail to sober up? A small fine? Not today.