What do you think it should be? I personally think that if you are old enough to die for your country and to vote, you should be allowed to have a beer. DaDakota
I was having this conversation just the other day. My take was i used to think that if you can die, why not drink. Then i turned 21 and didn't care anymore. I don't drink anymore though, so I really don't have much to say. Getting alcohol was so easy it didn't matter. Especialy if you go to college.
It's 19 in Newfoundland & Labrador. I fondly remember sneaking across the border into Quebec to buy booze in my high school days (it's 18 in Quebec).
Yeah, but they don't hassle you much if you look over 16 it think. I lived in Ottawa for a while, and some of the bars in Hull had some pretty young looking people in them. You snuck into Quebec? Where were you living?
Ottamaton, The ID thread got me thinking about it, and the fact that so many men and women that are under the legal age are fighting in this war on terrorism. DaDakota
I believe it should be 21. Although a good portion are mature enough to drink at 18, the others are way too immature to drink before 21. I heard several of my friends say they would drink all weekend once they turned 21. Once they turned 21, they didn't find drinking fun anymore.
I feel it should stay at 21, however, if you are in the armed forces you should have a specific armed forces ID card that allows you to drink.
Actually your reasons are the reasons why I think the drinking age should be 16 and the driving age 18. I think that the reasons your friends didn't drink all weekend wasn't that they were 21, it's that as you said "they didn't find drinking fun anymore." Personal history: I didn't drink at all in high school. My freshman/sophomore years I drank way way too much cuase it was so new and fun. Eventually I reached the point were I was able to say "you know, hurling 2 or 3 times every weekend really just isn't very much fun anymore." While I never did anything cataclysmically stupid, I did do some stupid things that cost money and friendships. I wish that I had been able to drink and get used to the feeling at home where I would have had more supervision and control over my drinking. If people start drinking at 16, by the time they are 18 the thrill would have largely gone. I'm not saying people wouldn't drink anymore obviously, but I think there would be much less binge drinking. Then, when people are 18 and learning to drive (which I think is a much greater responsibility/risk than drinking) they won't feel the need to binge drink before driving. This is my suspicion at list. I know that most, if not all, European nations have a much lower drinking age than the US. I am curious as to the amount of alcoholism/binge drinking in those countries...
I belive that you can drink on military bases if you are under 21 but in the military. At least, that is why I have heard. I could be completely wrong, however...
If you're old enough to go to prison, vote, and fight in our wars, then you ought to be able to drink. Maybe the question should be "How old should you have to be to vote, fight in our wars, go to prison, and drink"? Maybe the minimum age limits on these other items ought to be raised? I can certainly tell the difference between a 21-year old and an 18-year old in terms of general maturity...
Im you can smoke, vote and fight in a war you should be able to Drink I think I would agree that Drving is the main reason for the 21 age.
