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Legal drinking age?

What should the legal drinking age be?

  • Bring back Prohibition.

    Votes: 4 4.3%

  • Older than 21. Raise it even higher!

    Votes: 2 2.2%

  • Leave it at 21 (in the USA).

    Votes: 17 18.5%

  • 20

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 19

    Votes: 1 1.1%

  • 18

    Votes: 44 47.8%

  • 17

    Votes: 2 2.2%

  • 16

    Votes: 4 4.3%

  • Below 16.

    Votes: 3 3.3%

  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 15 16.3%
  • Total voters
    92
Durin said:
The current legal age to purchase alcohol in each state is 21, some states ban consumption of alcohol by those under 21, while others allow it to be consumed with parental permission. Either way I think it should be lowered to 18. Nobody should be able to risk dying for this country and be denied a beer. If you think people are too immature at 18 to drink, they are too immature to join the military or handle weapons. Either we need to increase the age to join the military, or lower the drinking age.
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I don't think there should be a drinking age and I think all drugs should be legal. I don't drink and don't do drugs but 30 years ago I tried both. The "nanny" state takes the blame, but the bootleggers during Prohibition were the major supporters of Prohibition. Does that mean brewing companies and big Pharma are today's primary supporters of such laws. I'd say yes. The common sense approach to drinking/drugging belongs with parental responsibility.
 
Lutherf said:
Right there on my list of stuff I never want to have to do, just above blowing my brains out slowly with a beanbag gun, is "supervising" a group of drunk 18 year olds.
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They vomit, they listen to horrible music, they're humping each other like freaking puppies.....no thanks!
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I totally agree, not a fun job.

Maybe it would be better just to keep them off of the booze, eh?
 
How about: You can drink or drive between 18 and 21: pick one.
 
CanadaJohn said:
Personally, I support the drinking age of 21 for both purchasing alcohol at a liquor store and at a bar or restaurant that serves drinks. However, if parents wish to allow their children, in the privacy of their homes, to consume a little wine with dinner or on a special occasion, I have no problem with that either. Actually, if parents introduce children to alcohol at a younger age, they lose their facination with it and the novelty of chasing after the forbidden as they progress through the teenage years. I tried beer when I was young and hated it and never acquired a taste for it throughout my life - I enjoy other drinks, on occasion, but that early access didn't turn me into an alcoholic - if anything, it might have done the opposite.
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John, with all due respect. You've heard the expression..."Give a kid an inch and they take a mile." Kids can justify almost anything. Underage drinking is against the law. While a parents might convince themselves that their kid would only drink at home under their supervision...is very naive thinking.

There are kids who are genetically predisposed to alcoholism. Unfortunately there's no test to determine who will become dependent.
 
Removable Mind said:
John, with all due respect. You've heard the expression..."Give a kid an inch and they take a mile." Kids can justify almost anything. Underage drinking is against the law. While a parents might convince themselves that their kid would only drink at home under their supervision...is very naive thinking.

There are kids who are genetically predisposed to alcoholism. Unfortunately there's no test to determine who will become dependent.
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I don't see what part of what I posted suggested that I condone children drinking to excess and clearly, I would agree, there are some that are genetically predisposed to alcoholism, but we're talking minor percentages of the population. I'm not big on creating laws to punish the vast majority in order to save the few.

And to be clear, I only indicated that I believe a parent providing their child with a glass of wine with dinner or a drink on special occasions - I did not suggest that parents should give their kids a bottle or free access to the liquor cabinet and then leave the room. I believe children learn good behaviour from their parent's example. I would much rather see a parent share some wine with dinner, involving them in an adult activity, than have the kid see mom and dad blotto or getting drunk and tipsy but telling their young adult kids they can't have any.
 
CanadaJohn said:
I don't see what part of what I posted suggested that I condone children drinking to excess and clearly, I would agree, there are some that are genetically predisposed to alcoholism, but we're talking minor percentages of the population. I'm not big on creating laws to punish the vast majority in order to save the few.

And to be clear, I only indicated that I believe a parent providing their child with a glass of wine with dinner or a drink on special occasions - I did not suggest that parents should give their kids a bottle or free access to the liquor cabinet and then leave the room. I believe children learn good behaviour from their parent's example. I would much rather see a parent share some wine with dinner, involving them in an adult activity, than have the kid see mom and dad blotto or getting drunk and tipsy but telling their young adult kids they can't have any.
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Wine with dinner or on special occasions...is what I'm referring to. Kid's can justify anything. Ex: My parents let's me drink at home. My friend Johnny's parent's let him drink at home. Jim has invited Johnny and I to his house to hang out and play video games. His parent's don't mind if Jim drinks alcohol. Jim's parents aren't at home...he likes to drink beer...so we might drink better while playing video games. The phone rings at Jim's house while the guys are there playing video games and drinking beer. They get a call inviting them to a party at Jane's house...and of course no parents at the house...and there will be booze served.

John, you live in a much more pristine world than I do. What parents do...in terms of good parenting...is great. But you and I both know that peer pressure is huge.

If I told you that the next drink that you have will alter your life in a negative way forever...would you drink it?
 
Removable Mind said:
Wine with dinner or on special occasions...is what I'm referring to. Kid's can justify anything. Ex: My parents let's me drink at home. My friend Johnny's parent's let him drink at home. Jim has invited Johnny and I to his house to hang out and play video games. His parent's don't mind if Jim drinks alcohol. Jim's parents aren't at home...he likes to drink beer...so we might drink better while playing video games. The phone rings at Jim's house while the guys are there playing video games and drinking beer. They get a call inviting them to a party at Jane's house...and of course no parents at the house...and there will be booze served.

John, you live in a much more pristine world than I do. What parents do...in terms of good parenting...is great. But you and I both know that peer pressure is huge.

If I told you that the next drink that you have will alter your life in a negative way forever...would you drink it?
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I'm not getting into an argument about the evils of alcohol. I simply stated that I believe smart, responsible parents help their children experience things in a safe environment and guide them in the dos and don'ts of that experience. Part of the parental introduction is a discussion about peer pressure and being their own person.

I don't know how you leap from what I said to some teenage binge drunkorama of all the neighbourhood kids.
 
shrubnose said:
I totally agree, not a fun job.

Maybe it would be better just to keep them off of the booze, eh?
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You really think the law is keeping them off the booze? It is making them abuse it more irresponsibly because it pushes it underground.

No offense but your profile says you are in Europe. I am not sure where, having Lech Walesa as your avatar might suggest eastern Europe. I understand there is a big alcohol abuse problem there, but if you are from Europe how can you comment on the situation in the USA apart from some "statistics" about car wrecks that also reflect much tougher drunk driving laws for adults, and also increased auto safety. I grew up in the USA and I can tell you the 21 drinking age simply doesn't work. The only reason it still stands is so politicians can pander about "keeping kids safe" and because a lot of people really don't care much about it after they turn 21, but 80-90% of the people break the law.
 
CanadaJohn said:
I'm not getting into an argument about the evils of alcohol. I simply stated that I believe smart, responsible parents help their children experience things in a safe environment and guide them in the dos and don'ts of that experience. Part of the parental introduction is a discussion about peer pressure and being their own person.

I don't know how you leap from what I said to some teenage binge drunkorama of all the neighbourhood kids.
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I'm not making a statement about the evils of alcohol. I'm talking about human behavior. Since when do we live in a world where all parents who attempt to be good parents have children that will never bend to peer pressure and who will never do things that are outside of the law?

I wasn't accusing you of anything, John. I'm merely pointing out that there is another side of the story, which is real.
 
Removable Mind said:
I'm not making a statement about the evils of alcohol. I'm talking about human behavior. Since when do we live in a world where all parents who attempt to be good parents have children that will never bend to peer pressure and who will never do things that are outside of the law?

I wasn't accusing you of anything, John. I'm merely pointing out that there is another side of the story, which is real.
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That's fair - I just believe it's better for children to learn about pitfalls in life from their parents than from their peers. If you ignore or avoid these things as parents, you're guaranteed to fail - if you attack them head on, you have a good chance of success, but not perfect success - children are people with their own complex minds, after all.
 
responsible enough to die protecting a China copper mine in afganistan or oil in Iraq, responsible enough to drink.
 
Removable Mind said:
What does intoxication (altering one's mental state) and engaging in events such as war, which could be fatal, have in common?
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It doesn't matter if the two are or are not related.At 18 you are a legal adult.As a legal adult you should be able to drink alcohol.

Certainly the two don't mix.
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Soldiers and marines 21 and over do not get to drink while engaging in war, so you bringing up an irrelevant point. They do get to drink when off duty unless they are on alert.
 
I know that I'm not the first (in this thread even) to have this opining, but I feel that the drinking age rules should be eliminated.

Not 21, not 25, not 18 or 16 either.

Prohibition, of any sort, has never worked. If people want to drink, let them drink.
 
I think the drinking age should be 85 years old.

At that age they have earned it.
 
Like a legal drinking age stops kids from getting their hands on alcohol, anyway. It never stopped me or anyone else I ever knew. It's ridiculous that you can die for your country in battle, get married, have kids, leave school, vote, secure employment and drive a car, but you can't have a pint. Completely absurd.
 
brothern said:
I'm all for lowering the drinking age. Having lived in a country where the drinking age is 16 for beer/wine and 18 for hard liquor, it's amusing that Americans are so uptight about this.

Society doesn't crumble when you let young adults vote and drink.
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Americans aren't culturally uptight about anything, teenagers drinking is almost a right of passage and is commonplace.
 
anonymous polls suck. I wanna see the person who said bring back Prohibition.

if you can serve in the Military and face a death penalty you should be able to drink

18
 
If you are old enough and mature enough to vote on who runs the govt and you are old enough and mature enought to kill/die for your country then you should be old enough and mature enough to drink.
 
TurtleDude said:
anonymous polls suck. I wanna see the person who said bring back Prohibition.

if you can serve in the Military and face a death penalty you should be able to drink

18
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Giving this considerable thought and obviously leaving behind all rational thought it seems appropriate to follow Obama's lead i.e. young people are too immature, inept, and completely unable and lacking proper abilities to fend for themselves the privileges of driving, drinking, voting, and military enlistment should be raised to the new age of majority; that being 26 years of age.

Mama, don't let your babies grow up...

Thom Paine
 
Its 18 if I had to decide. Young people can be as, or even more, mature than some adults, they have the right to join the military and to vote, they will drink and do drugs regardless of age if they want to.
I find the 21 law as dumb as dry Sundays. What's the difference in buying on Saturday and drinking Sundays to buying and drinking booze on Sunday?
 
shrubnose said:
Quite simply wrong.

Raising the drinking age to 21 lowered traffic accidents and related deaths all over the USA.

No one is forced to join the USA's all-volunteer military.

Allowing young people to drink alcohol is a totally unrelated issue which impacts everyone who uses our nation's highway's and roads.

Case closed as far as I'm concerned.
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The hell? Says the guy in Europe whose country's drinking age is in the 16-18 area? Pardon us if we don't take you seriously. Kids are going to drink before they're 21, so it's better that their first experiences with alcohol are say, with their parents on their 16th birthday, rather in a friend's basement.

Germans can have beer and wine at 16 and hard liquor at 18, and there are substantially fewer traffic incidents here. It's about education. Lower the drinking age, 21 is absurd.
 
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RabidAlpaca said:
The hell? Says the guy in Europe whose country's drinking age is in the 16-18 area? Pardon us if we don't take you seriously. Kids are going to drink before they're 21, so it's better that their first experiences with alcohol are say, with their parents on their 16th birthday, rather in a friend's basement.

Germans can have beer and wine at 16 and hard liquor at 18, and there are substantially fewer traffic incidents here. It's about education.
Lower the drinking age, 21 is absurd.
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It may be absurd to you but it makes a lot of sense to those who see the sharp decrease in alcohol-related traffic deaths since the drinking age was raised all over the USA.

Read about that here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/080701083542.htm



The drinking age will stay at 21 in the USA for the foreseeable future.

The USA doesn't make its laws based on what people do in Europe. There are a lot of big differences between European countries and the USA.
 
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shrubnose said:
It may be absurd to you but it makes a lot of sense to those who see the sharp decrease in alcohol-related traffic deaths since the drinking age was raised all over the USA.The drinking age will stay at 21 in the USA for the foreseeable future.

The USA doesn't make its laws based on what people do in Europe. There are a lot of big differences between European countries and the USA.
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So you just want us to be prevented from drinking earlier but are perfectly content in your alcohol wonderland that is Europe staying the same?

You see Americans as not mature enough to drink as early as you? Do you think there might be some other factors at play?
 
I say lower it to 16, in Canada it is either 19 in most provinces on 18 in Qubec or Alberta though Quebec will probably sell it to you at a lower age. I think that is too high, I went on exchange to Belgium where the age is 16 and I saw no negative consequences of that. Kids are going to get it one way or another anyways. The idea of the drinking age being 21 is absurd to very other country in the world.
 
Van Basten said:
Americans aren't culturally uptight about anything, teenagers drinking is almost a right of passage and is commonplace.
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No, Americans really are uptight. Go try France or Qubec and B.C.. We don't believe that we should shelter children form anything that could even remotely be seen as harmful. They are goign to do it anyways.
 
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