not true. There are some people who actually respect the drinking age law and do not drink until they reach it. I know, i wouldnt believe it myself until i met someone who actually did this. Right now, there is a barrier, albeit not overly strong one, to drinking. Some type of barrier is better than none. why are you so for younger people being able to drinking? they are painfully annoying. Is it because it's a law created by "the man"? Or do you just want a chance to get high school senior girls drunk? Do you work for a beer company that wants to exploit the more immature?
Of course the laws will change. This will happen sometime between legalizing mar1juana and when pigs fly.
No. Drinking alone is relatively harmless (or at least, you harm yourself and not others). I'd argue the emphasis should be placed on laws such as drunk driving. It's obvious, IMO, that simply raising the age limit is not culling the rate of drunk driving. In fact, it appears to be getting worse.
What difference does it make whether a drunk driver is 18 years old or 24? Lowering or upping the legal drinking age limit won't change much. People are going to find ways to get drunk. It starts with the individual's mentality and his ability to say no to a drink.
It was hard to get booze at 16? I recall it being one of the easiest things in the world. I was 14 when I started drinking on a very regular basis, and I from freshman year of HS on. My experience is that 21 year olds are actually bigger idiots when it comes to drinking and driving. They get braver then they should be.
They can still do that if they want.....no one is forcing anyone to drink. Just allowing adults to do what every other adult in this country can do. DD
Nice generalization. So if a 22-year old hops into a car intoxicated and strikes your vehicle, it's ok? Sorry mate, 18 or 23 year old, you're still dead. Problem isn't the drinking age, it's drinking and driving. "You kids don't know anything. That's why you're still kids... 'cause you're stupid!"
Agreed, but I don’t understand how making it possible for an 18-year old to drink is going to make him less likely to drink. This is a philosophical difference I’ve always had with the ‘legalize it’ crowd. To me, it’s kind of like the speed limit. It’s pretty much expected that everyone is going to go 45 in a 35. Everyone knows that’s not exactly death defying speed. But if you raise it to 45, everyone is going to start going 55. And so on and so on. IMO, if you lower the age to 18, more 15-17 year olds are going to start drinking.
Anecdotal evidence about you or a friend's drinking habits and how they might be influenced by the drinking age is a completely moot point. I don't see why this is hard to understand.
allowing 18 year olds to drink means more kids at bars and clubs. more drunk people. more drunk drivers. it just makes too much sense to me.
Could you imagine life as a college freshman if the drinking age were 18? I think it would be insane to lower it. They can already get alcohol on a fairly regular basis by just hanging out where older people are, but if they could get it on their own it could open up the wrong doors for them. Talk about a whole new level of binge drinking. I hardly drank in high school. I guess it just depends on the group you hang out with. But I think lowering the age would increase high school consumption too- there are some 18 year old seniors that will be able to provide. Overall I think it would just be disaster, and remove any fear that is left when it comes to drinking.
Either the age of voting and registering for the draft should be raised to 21 or the drinking age should be dropped back down to 18. If you are expected to bear the full responsibilities of an adult, you should enjoy the full rights of an adult.
You don't need to know anyone older. Most bars/clubs are 18 to get in, and make it incredibly easy to drink underage(Put a mark on your hand that you wash of, or bracelets that can be slipped on and off. It was ridiculously easy to get a fake ID. There was likely a party every week in your own apartment/dorm even if you weren't throwing one. Just the way it is. An age limit means nothing in college. High school would probably depend on a number of factors, but in college it would be the same today.
Europe is 18 or in some cases 16....... The USA has no reason to be 21, it is an appeasement or a band aid covering up the real problem of drinking and driving. DD
You're probably right, but I just don't see the benefit of it. It's like giving up and saying "hey, fine, go ahead and go binge" ... at least now there is a little fear of getting caught, especially in public (albeit not much), and I think it does keep some people away from it to a degree. EDIT: I guess I'm just getting old (I'm only about to be 25, lol) ... but now I shudder at the thought of more immature 18-20 yr olds getting wasted and possibly ruining their lives. There is certainly no way it's going to MINIMIZE the amount of this happening by lowering the legal age- that's how I see it.
The UK has one of the worst problems with drinking. they're the last example to follow as far as drinking goes
How many people are gonna have to die each year due to drunk driving? How many kids will have to be beat by their drunken parents until we start seeing changes? I don't get how alcohol is so widely accepted while something like mar1juana, which actually has medical benefits, is grouped with hard drugs like crack and heroin? The only positive thing coming from alcohol is the money it generates. Kids are already influenced at a young age by all the cool and funny beer commercials that are shown on TV. Sure its hilarious when somebody pisses and throws up all over themselves, but smoke a joint and you're a danger to society.
