home

Lowering the Drinking Age to 18

By Jeralyn, Section Crime Policy
Posted on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 07:38:16 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

A Vermont legislator has introduced a bill to lower the state's drinking age to 18. He says we're driving drinkers underground. 18 year olds can do everything else - go to war, sign contracts, marry, vote - so why not drink?

The drinking age was 18 in New York when I was a teenager - It got raised in every state to 21 when the feds decided they would withhold highway money from states that didn't have a 21 year old age limit and passed the Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984.

When I was with bloggers at the Democratic convention in Boston this summer, there was one of our group who only 20. It was ridiculous that we could all order drinks and he couldn't.

When was the last time you heard a kid turn down a drink saying not "I don't drink, thank you," but "I better not, I'm not 21 yet." In other words, a kid is going to drink at 18 if she wants to, regardless of whether the law says 18 or 21. The juvenile courts are jammed with "minor in possession" cases. If they weren't, they might have more time and funds to deal with the kids with more serious issues.

So I'm all in favor of lowering the drinking age. But, I take issue with the Vermont bill promoter here:

The 21-year-old drinking age is bad social policy and terrible law," Mr. McCardell wrote, saying it had led to binge drinking by teenagers. "Our latter-day prohibitionists have driven drinking behind closed doors and underground. (emphasis supplied.)

Where's the proof of that connection? This source says there is none.

"Binge" drinking is down and abstinence is up among American college students. Yet in spite of this and other overwhelming evidence, the false impression persists that drinking is increasing and that "bingeing continues unabated."

More on underage drinking misconceptions is here. But, in the final analysis, it probably doesn't matter what the state's residents really think about the drinking age. The bill is doomed to failure. It comes down to those highway funds.

I don't really know if the age is relevant," Mr. DePoy said. "I think it's just going to boil down to the mere fact that this state needs the transportation funds."

Where are the states' rights advocates when you need them?

< National Magazine Awards Announced Wednesday | Italian Journalist Hostage Says U.S. Lied >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 | 60 comments (60 topical)
    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 08:55:51 PM EST
    18 year olds can do everything else - go to war... Regardless of how irresponsible teenagers can be, the quoted portion above is quite enough said.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#2)
    by cp on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 08:58:21 PM EST
    you neglected to mention a couple of other items: * 18 year-olds can be sentenced to death, but can't buy a drink. * 18 year-olds can't buy stock, but can be sentenced to death. etc, etc. frankly, i'm not all that crazy about the drinking age being lowered. i remember when it was 18, around the same time they lowered the voting age to 18. there was an almost immediate increase in drinking related car accidents, involving 18-20 year-olds. that said, i'm also hard pressed to believe that suddenly, the moment you turn 21, you become this responsible person. 'taint so. there is no definitive proof that society is particularly well served by allowing 18 year-olds to do some, but not other things. basically, it's all politics.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 09:02:41 PM EST
    This is one of the things that confound me about the United States.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#4)
    by Jo Fish on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 09:21:47 PM EST
    Draft Beer, Not Students! Anyone else remember that? Signed my contract with the Navy at 17 right before my 18th birthday, had a legal beer at 18 and all the years after. All that aside, the perfect spokespersons for this campaign: Jenna and Not-Jenna. Poster children for revisting the minium drinking age, say true?

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 09:23:46 PM EST
    Change has to happen on the federal level before it can happen on the state level. *sigh*

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#6)
    by Che's Lounge on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 09:31:50 PM EST
    It was 18 in WI when I turned. Sure made college a lot more fun. UW Oshkosh 1973. Wild times indeed.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#7)
    by Beck on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 09:40:33 PM EST
    Any Ohioans here remember 3.2 beer? From 18 to 20 we could only buy beer that was 3.2% alcohol.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#8)
    by Johnny on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 09:59:58 PM EST
    Yeah, I don't have a problem with the 18 year old drinking age. But, those that say that 18 year olds are not mature enough to handle drinking, just might be the same people who say they are mature enough to go kill human beings while wearing a uniform. Or ride the lightening for committing murder. So, who knows? Is there any actual hard evidence that drinking rates will change if the age is lowered?

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#9)
    by Pete Guither on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 10:00:57 PM EST
    I work at a college campus. And I can state for a fact that students under 21 are drinking. Instead of drinking in a bar, where a bartender might cut you off if you've had too much, they're binge drinking at student apartment parties. The legislator is right. A 21 drinking age simply drives it underground. What you need is more encouragement of responsible drinking.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Apr 12, 2005 at 11:00:20 PM EST
    No war, no drugs, no drinking. and no teenage sex..well i need my VA drugs now.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 03:05:43 AM EST
    I agree with this. I does make sense. However, -Just watch your auto insurance rates go up if you are a Vermonter and this passes. -The trial lawyers are drooling like pavlov's dog over this.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 04:30:11 AM EST
    The only way that you could make this fly politically is if you also favor being a lot more aggressive in punishing under-18 drinkers. Otherwise, you run the risk of coming across as similar to the permissive, uninvolved parent who raises (badly) the sort of children who are spoiled brats or thugs or some other flawed person who makes you think that the parents did something wrong. This is not to say that 20 year olds are children or that government is a parent, but it you do have to draw the line somewhere and oppose social anarchy as policy.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 06:36:17 AM EST
    Don't forget the biggest political hurdle - MADD. Any legislator who wants to vote for this would have to run a gauntlet of women toting poster-size portraits of dead teenagers. This one is definitely a non-starter. D.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#14)
    by kdog on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 06:39:08 AM EST
    A legislator with the stones to talk common sense, how refreshing. Now maybe we can apply the same logic to marijuana prohibition, that all it does it drive it underground. Laws that the majority ignore only weaken the law.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#15)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 06:51:01 AM EST
    I was legal at 18 before they raised the drinking age to 21. I have ambivalent feeling about this because a. when the age was 18, my friends and I could buy booze in any package store or get into almost any bar or nightclub at 15 (years old, that is). As a mom this boggles my mind. As a 15 year old I thought I knew everything. b. there used to be happy hours to lure customers into clubs in the early evening, e.g., buy one 16oz drink, get one free. Now I never hurt anyone but when I think back about a 16 or 17 year old having three or four 16oz rum and cokes, hopping in my little Mustang and driving home I get chills down my spine. The cornfields of Iowa it was not. Tough one. I think I'm for raising the unsupervised driving age to 18, lowering the drinking age and practicing responsible alcohol education IN FAMILIES so kids don't binge the second they get out the door. A case in point - My brother who was raised in a very strict highly supervised environment flunked out of college because he became the proverbial "kid in a candy store" as soon as he got away from home.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#16)
    by Lora on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 07:56:53 AM EST
    I support lowering the drinking age to 18...but at the same time to support more highway patrol and local police to nab DUI offenders. Of all ages.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#17)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 08:07:03 AM EST
    Why not lower the drinking age and raise the driving age.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#18)
    by Dadler on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 08:52:04 AM EST
    One exception, You only have to be 16 to operate a motor vehicle, otherwise known as a two-ton deadly weapon on wheels. While I appreciate lowering the drinking age, I don't appreciate the driving conundrum. Then again, up the driving age and you've got drinking and driving legal in the same year. What to do?

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#19)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 08:58:46 AM EST
    There are many arguments that say 18 year olds should be allowed to drink because they are old enough to be in the military. Okay, 18 and a military ID and the person is legal. Otherwise, no. The problem is not the maturity, etc., of the 18 year old. It is that the 18 year old knows too many 16 year olds, and that they will buy booze for them.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#20)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 10:00:42 AM EST
    Hell has frozen over, I agree with mfox. As a parent, when I think of the dumb things I did as an underage drinker yet legal driver... Lower the drinking age, raise the unsupervised driving age. The linked articles from SUNY Potsdam interest me, especially since I attended the other college in that little town and spent 4 1/2 years binge drinking there. Funny that the first link admonishes us to cast a critical eye at any article about binge drinking, and then immediately follows that warning with their own article about binge drinking. Oh well, a SUNY school, what would you expect. Lastly, if the article is correct, and binge drinking has fallen dramatically over the past couple decades or so, my question is: why has it fallen? The easy answer, and perhaps the correct one, would be to observe that binge drinking has fallen as the drinking age has risen. If so, then I guess I'm for leaving the drinking age as is and raising the unsupervised driving age.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#21)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 10:54:30 AM EST
    When I was 15, my parents gave me a little bit of wine, they said so it wouldn't be such a "forbidden fruit". My GOP governor is promoting a law that would have sent my parents to jail for that (Luckily, Democrats control about 80% of my legislature, and the bill won't pass). I'm in favor of entirely abolishing the drinking age and instead encouraging safe drinking from a young age, not actually telling people to drink, but informing them of what it will do, how it will make you feel, and giving advice on how to be safe if you do in fact drink. Emphasize the fact that if you do drink, DO NOT DRIVE. In many ways, just the way sex education should be taught.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#22)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 12:04:58 PM EST
    When I was in the service, on of the posts I was stationed at allowed 18 yr olds with a Military ID to drink beer. I made extremely good use of that policy. Beer for soldiers! To heck with 18 year olds who are to craven to serve! We could have recruiting commercial s sponsored by Coors Light! (Okay, I'm being a bit facetious, but I do think my premise is fair.)

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#23)
    by kdog on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 01:45:36 PM EST
    Gerry, Jim...Your military only idea, though interesting, is blatantly discriminatory and would never fly. Come to think of it, How is letting a 21 yr. old drink and denying that right to a 20 yr. old, seperated at birth by two days or so, not discriminatory?

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#24)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 02:03:08 PM EST
    I would support this if along with it they move up the driving age to 21. I just want inexperienced drivers not to be allowed to drink, and to lose their licenses if they have been. Then go ahead and lower the drinking age to 14 for all I care.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#25)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 02:25:50 PM EST
    As a person who's been given a citation for possession of alcohol by a minor when I was 19, I'm in favor of this bill. Three undercovers came up to me and my best friend minding our own business on the beach having a couple beers by ourselves, not bothering anybody. 250 bucks...that's how much the ticket was. When I was in high school it was still easy to find a convenience store that would sell to us, or just find someone with a fake ID to buy beer for everyone. Bottom line, kids are still gonna drink regardless of the drinking age. With everyone worrried about the rise in DUI-related traffic accidents or arrests, the responsibility still lies on the parents teaching their children how to properly handle alcohol and not make dumb decisions. My dad always told me, and still does to this day (I'm 21 now), that if I get too drunk to drive he'll come and pick me up from wherever I am. On that note, I think I'll have a beer...

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#26)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 02:54:14 PM EST
    The legislatures will never lower the drinking age back to 18. Never! They would not get past the MADD crowd as a previous poster said and lowering the age back to 18 isn't good for their "law and order" images. And the government is not inclined to give us back any freedoms they have taken away. They mostly are just in it to see how many more laws they can come up with to lock even more people up so their benefactors in the prison industry will be pleased.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#27)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 03:35:15 PM EST
    PPJ - On this topic I may quibble with you. Sure Alcohol is toxic to the human body, it causes disease, breaks homes and destroys lives, etc. But prohibiting it from erstwhile adults only makes matters worse. I do buy into the "Forbidden Fruit" arguement. It is human nature to desire that which is prohibited. As it is not socially acceptable for a 19year old to drink-up, he/she is driven to the equivalent of a speakeasy, where binge drinking is more likely to happen. Back home (the only jurisdiction under the US Flag that didn't toe Reagan's alcohol policy dictum), you can still officially order yourself a spud at 18. Though, even so hardly anyone is carded. In many establishments, if you can reach the countertop, you can reach for a beer. When I tell my friends that in my Senior Prom, we had an open bar, no one can believe it (and no one got passed out drunk o violent either). At homes, alcohol is freely shared with your children say at 12 and above (a nip here or there of wine in dinners). Is there alcoholism, and all of the ills that it brings, back home? Of course! But my point is this: in a more relaxed environment, where alcohol is seen as a beneficial tool for social interaction, you find less prevalence of the evil side effects of alcohol.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#28)
    by Johnny on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 05:19:16 PM EST
    If life starts at conception, shouldn;t the drinking age be 20 years 3 months?

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#29)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 08:22:27 PM EST
    Boq - Problem is in other societies, 18 year olds buy booze for 16 year olds who weren't raised like yourself.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#30)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 13, 2005 at 08:38:49 PM EST
    Agreed to a point PPJ - Germanic Cultures (The US include) handle alcohol different from us Latins.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#31)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Apr 14, 2005 at 06:06:42 AM EST
    Boq - There have been some studies that indicate that genetics play a role in how alcohol impacts various groups. i.e. Native Americans are hit harder, etc. By and large, booze and tobacco are the worst drugs in American society, with tobacco in the lead. I quit tobacco years ago, but watched two loved ones kill themselves with tobacco (the big E). While I agree with the anti-smoking push, I think it being pushed by people with a drink in their hands is hypocritical.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#33)
    by Johnny on Thu Apr 14, 2005 at 09:08:38 AM EST
    17 years and 3 months for the anti-choice crowd.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#34)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Apr 14, 2005 at 09:17:34 AM EST
    Certainly PPJ, there are two factors at play here. The first one genetically; as you well described. Some of us can metabolize better alcohol's toxins, and are less prone to addiction, than others. The second one is sociological in nature. As I stated earlier, in my culture, alcohol is a tool for social interaction (as in Latin Cultures). In others it is used mainly as a release valve from personal stresors (as in Germanic Cultures). It is in the latter, that we see most of the problems arise. On Tobbaco, that's another can of worms.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#35)
    by pigwiggle on Thu Apr 14, 2005 at 11:23:16 AM EST
    “The juvenile courts are jammed with "minor in possession" cases.” My wife, who had an MIP from a high school party, went through some serious legal hoops to expunge her record before applying to medical school (often applicants are asked about past convictions). She is now an extremely competent physician, which perhaps may not have been the case if she was unable to hide the PIM. Minor drinking is a parent’s problem, not the states. Let them deal.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#36)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Apr 17, 2005 at 06:44:30 PM EST
    I'm currently a 19 Year-old Associate for Bank of America with a perfect driving record, no DUIs, no fender benders. Wanna know why? Because I understood the responsibility of alcohol at a young age in a responsible household that understood the value and didn't "demonize" it, and they always made sure I knew the facts. So now I don't have to go on binges because I'm suddenly "set free" once I turned 18. Honestly though, alcohol isn't all it's cracked up to be anymore. It's great with friends but once again RESPONSIBILY. Stop holding this back! It's ALL in the households, if you don't have the time to take care of your kids properly, don't have them. I say lower the age and teach responsibily!

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#37)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Apr 19, 2005 at 04:36:02 AM EST
    I post this from a hotel room while on a company business trip because I am 20 years old have lived on my own with no assistance of any kind from anyone since I was 17, paid taxes on my own for 2 years, and worked for this company for 2 years have a career started in my industry. This multibillion dollar company I work for has put me a team with 10 other people to help decide the future direction of one of the company’s departments. Now while they are doing some teambuilding at the bar down the street from our hotel I can not go in. Now does someone want to tell me why I can not join the rest of the team in the bar? Do you want to know how much of a second class citizen that makes me feel like?

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#38)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Apr 19, 2005 at 11:23:50 AM EST
    Hi I am sitting at college right now. I decided to reply, because I had gotten drunk just on Friday for the first time and I am 18 years of age. yes, it was fun, but I really don't see what the big deal is about drinking. If you are underage you are going to do these kinds of things. I think lowering the drinking age would be a bad thing. If it was lowered to 18 years old. 18 year olds could buy for younger people. and it would be easier for younger people to get drunk, because many younger people don't have friends who are 21, but they do have friends that are 18. It would be easier for them to get alcohol.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#39)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Apr 19, 2005 at 06:08:04 PM EST
    I am for it because i am doing a essay on it and lowering it will be awsome because an 18 yr old will buy it for me and i am only 14

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#40)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Apr 19, 2005 at 06:08:54 PM EST
    you are all fags suck my dick

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#41)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Apr 19, 2005 at 07:12:44 PM EST
    AT 18 YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO DRINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#42)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Apr 19, 2005 at 07:13:22 PM EST
    suck ur own dick!!!!

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#43)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Apr 19, 2005 at 09:37:33 PM EST
    To reply to agrapejuice@yahoo.com on the issue of lowing the drinking age to 18 and having 15 year olds want it. This is a myth that has been commonly portrayed as the truth when in fact this issue is still under investigation and can not be taken as the gospel truth as a Google search on the issue will turn up extremist on both sides of the issue. The real issue on alcohol should not be 18 or 21 we just need to take the junk science and the emotion out of the issue and let the truth be seen for what it is. It has not been the case because of the hysteria that has been drummed up on the issue by groups like MADD that use antidotal evidence as true science. While that might be good for a hypothesis to work from that is not a good thing for lawmakers and policy makers to be making decisions from. There are plenty of good sites on the web for information that is as unbiased as is possible on this issue. I have come to my concussion from my own life experience of traveling the world (France, England, etc), my social experience here in the States of being ostracized for being born too late and information on both sides that I have read. This conclusion is this; the United States taken as a whole does not deal with alcohol policies in a way this best for the majority of hard working Americans. The majority of young adults do not have the proper information about alcohol so that when they begin to have access to alcohol (legally or not) they are put in more danger from the false or missing information than if they had been told the truth about alcohol in first place. That is what I have observed and drawn my own conclusions about I would like to hear yours and see where you are coming from. Stingray99alfa Still posting from the hotel on the company trip, while the rest of the team discusses the days events over a pint.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#44)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Apr 19, 2005 at 09:47:26 PM EST
    One other thing I guess I didn’t address your point there about what is the big deal about being able to drink. It’s the not being able to drink somehow makes you better or cooler or anything like that its just that the social norm in the western business model is to have a few drinks over the course of an evening and discuss things that have happened during the day or week or month. Some of the most influential moments in the history of the world and of business have not happened in meetings and board rooms but in a lounge over brandy or whiskey and being unable to have the option to participate in this does two things to me personally that make me wish to lower the drinking age. One it cuts me out of social loops there by making me feel ostracized which is doesn’t bother me as much as the fact that when you are not able to participate you have less say in this back channel decision making than someone who does. Hope that clarifies where I am coming from.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#45)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 20, 2005 at 07:19:05 AM EST
    people will always think of alcohol as "bad". the question is.. if you are drinking beer now why do you care? i mean you're already drinking it.. you obviously dont care if it's legal or not. werd to your motha.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#46)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 20, 2005 at 09:37:00 AM EST
    I believe you should be allowed to drink at 18, because you are an adult and you should be treated like one.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#47)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 20, 2005 at 03:56:27 PM EST
    i think you've all made pretty valid points.. i think the drinking age should be lowered to 18 with harsher punishments for under-18 drinkers and DUI's and such as well- but again, thanks! cuz this is helping with my persuasion speech! i'm 18, by the way! and ya know.. i first drank when i was 15... i know that sounds horrible.. but i was really a good child! and i never went overboard with it.. and i've still, to this day, kept it from my parents... so i feel hyprocritical in a way.. saying it should be lowered to 18- though i had my first drink at 15-- but with every other privledges we have at 18, why not drink, ya know??

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#48)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 20, 2005 at 07:18:53 PM EST
    i think the legal age of drinking should be 18 because of all the things you are able to do at that age why not be able to have a drink either befor you die saving our country

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#49)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Apr 21, 2005 at 06:17:50 AM EST
    can neone give me reasons why the drinking age should be lowered because im doing a report on it

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#50)
    by Mike on Thu Apr 21, 2005 at 10:58:51 AM EST
    Instead of raising the drinking age, one should be able to drink to their own IQ score. There are several stupid 40 year olds who drink and drive, then there are responsible 20 year olds who might have a beer or wine with their dinner.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#51)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Apr 21, 2005 at 12:51:07 PM EST
    I think if someone can go to war they sould be able to drink if they want to

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#52)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Apr 21, 2005 at 12:58:29 PM EST
    I think the feds ordering every state to raise the drinking age to 21 is absurd. I'm 20-years-old, I work full-time, go to school part-time, and live on my own. I have the same responsibilities as every other adult 21 or over. Recently, a police officer asked to see my ID when I was minding my own business, drinking a beer on my front porch at my apartment. I told the cop straight up that there's plenty of loose murderers and rapists in this town to search for, rather than cracking down on a 20-year-old man drinking a beer after a hard-days work. The cop asked me to drink inside from now on until I turn 21 in 4 months. The drinking age need to be set with the age of majority, 18...

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#53)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Apr 21, 2005 at 03:57:41 PM EST
    I was in the military stationed in Yokosuka Japan. We had,(might still have) A midnight curfew. People that are married have to be in there houses at midnight. On the weekends. Drinking is a minor thing when people that are 18 have curfews while at war. Some even push the buttons that fire missles into other countries. I suggest the goverment realize what is important and concentrate on those things. The drinking age should be lowered. Look at Europe, Singapore, and Japan they have 16, 18 and no enforced drinking ages. There are NO ISSUES concerning drinking like we have in the U.S. My solution to the U.S. Gov: Concentrate on the biggest issues. Quit fidgeting over the minor crap altogether, please.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#54)
    by james on Thu Apr 21, 2005 at 10:28:08 PM EST
    I don't see how the law can classify 18, 19, and 20 year olds as adults when they don't get equal rights as the rest of adults. That's age discrimination, which should be unconstitutional. Once your an adult, I believe you should be able to make your own decisions. I'm 22, and I still believe the drinking age should be 18. My wife's 20, and she can't even get into a concert with me because they serve alcoholic beverages openly. That's just ludicrous.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#55)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Apr 22, 2005 at 07:40:40 AM EST
    I think that Teenagers Should beable to drink at the age of 18 because they are going to drink anyways

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#56)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Apr 22, 2005 at 08:09:32 AM EST
    Why would they change the drinking to 18 because all it is going to do is have people dieing from drinking. i just don't think it is right.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#57)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 23, 2005 at 09:23:36 AM EST
    In reply to Jamie. If you raised the driving age to 21 then all you do is move the deaths that would have happened in the 16 - 21 year old age group into the 21 - 25 year old age group. This is the same case as in drinking. The number of deaths will not change that much over all if any. The deaths will just be distributed differently. That is a really good point that you bring up. All the groups on both sides can make statistics lie for them. When they raised the drinking age from 18 to 21 the deaths in the 18 to 21 year old age group (duh I know) but what they don't tell you is that the number of deaths in the 21 - 25 year old age group went up as those 18 year olds turned 21 because of their inexperience with alcohol. They hide those numbers in statistics which if you do them right can hide the rise in total number deaths. Google how to make statistics lie and you might be shocked.

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#58)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Apr 28, 2005 at 11:58:55 AM EST
    EAA

    Re: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 (none / 0) (#59)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Apr 28, 2005 at 12:00:15 PM EST
    H8I I LOVE RYAN

    Lowering the drinking age (none / 0) (#60)
    by David on Sun Oct 29, 2006 at 06:05:07 PM EST
    I believe that the drinkning age should be lowered to 18 years of age.  If you are old enough at the age of 18 to vote, get married, or go to war then you should be able to drinking a beer if you want.  If you are considered an adult at the age of 18 then people should treat you like an adult and let you make your own decisions.

    lowering the drinking age (none / 0) (#61)
    by dickyP on Tue Apr 03, 2007 at 11:53:23 AM EST
    ..just lower it to 18..seriously
    i'm 16..i've been to the hospital cause the first time i tried drinking i was with my friends, drinking 151 and i didn't know any better
    i went into a 10 hour coma and racked up a pretty large bill that i'm still trying to pay my rents back for
    ..fast forward a year later i'm 17, my bday was in january, i graduated with my diploma from nightschool a year and a half early, i'm signed up for the navy and due to leave may 8th, i love quality beer, sam adams cherry wheat is the best thing to have on a hot hot day after you and your best friends just got done skating or any physical activity for that matter, i haven't drank in large amounts since then, alls kids really need is some education on the subject, having it called "bad" only makes it worse, i can't even enjoy a glass of wine with my mom cause shes the type that won't break any laws no matter how stupid or trivial they might be, lets all be real and think for a minute..back in the 70's was there alot of drinking problems? my mom and my stepdad can't recall having an organization such as MADD demonizing something thats been around for THOUSANDS of years, its like these latter day "reefer madness" crazed marijuana prohibitionists,  
    smoke a joint, you'll probally like it, sit back and kick a beer back with some of your best friends after accomplishing something you've been trying to learn for weeks, you'll love it
    i mean just be real..don't knock it if you haven't tried it first, and another rule to abide by is to much of anything will kill you or ruin your life, i mean hell, even george washington smoked the ganj and he basically led america during the revolution..lets all just sit back..take a deep breath and wonder what the harm in a few beers with some friends or a joint after a highly stressful week is

    for those who read this, thank you for your time regardless of your opinion on the matter

    yours truly, RickyP
    if you wanna get at me on aim my s/n=futurexblues

    Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 | 60 comments (60 topical)