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While I respect this as a measured response, I think you are assuming heavy use of these substances. The still-developing, pre-25 brain can certainly handle responsible use of alcohol and marijuana (I won't comment on harder stuff).
But obviously the answer to the OP is yes. If you can get your legs blown off serving your country at 18, you can have a beer.
No studies are pretty clear that even casual drinking and drug use in teens is not a good thing. 21 is a fair middle ground. I feel like Cannabis should be legal also, at 21 and up.
In taking JEO123's opinion on the "spill over effect". I'm more in favor of making the drinking age 19 to keep drinking out of High School aged people. Who at the oldest may be 18 during their senior year.
-Make it legal to only consume at 19. (say at a restaurant or at a bar or dance club) Where you may buy one drink at a time.
-Then Make it legal to purchase large quantities at 21 like everyone else currently. (i.e. six pack, hard liquor in larger bottles, beer kegs etc....)
This should still keep liquor/alcohol out of the hands of teens by having older young adults buy it for them.
Personally once I turned 21, my alcohol intake went down a lot after the first 6 months or so. It lost the taboo it once had. At 25 now, I hardly drink any now.
I think we all just see pictures of the drunken/passed out college kid in our heads. However, by making the drinking age 19. We can probably start the process of drinking responsibly sooner than all of a sudden at 21 (have at it).
However, after some research and knowledge with time, I understand that the human brain does not stop developing until around age 25. Tampering with that delicate brain chemistry with external drugs, like alcohol, leads to greater problems down the road at a higher percentage then we have problems with adults who began drinking at a later age.
Same with marijuana and other drugs.
With that in mind, and what I've told my son, he is forbidden from using any drug, beer, cigarettes, pot, whatever until he is 21 years of age. While he still has 4 years of brain development left, there is some flexibility, as some mature faster then others.
I was just thinking today that, knowing what we do about brain development, we should raise the age of adulthood until 25 years old. That likely won't happen.
Wait a minute.....isn't 18 still considered a legal adult? How in the world will you be able to forbid him to do any of those things? Most 18 year old "kids" will dabble in at least a few beers. Some will experiment more.
I think today's kids are babied way too long. Let them grow up.
No studies are pretty clear that even casual drinking and drug use in teens is not a good thing. 21 is a fair middle ground. I feel like Cannabis should be legal also, at 21 and up.
Hmm, I'll take your word for it. But if you consider all the other things pre-25s can 'casually' be exposed to that are not good things: many legal medications, car exhaust/air pollution, 2nd hand smoke, chemicals in food, bad food, too much TV/internet/video games, etc., completely banning alcohol and cannabis would seem like missing the forest for the trees.
If people are so concerned about automobile-related fatalities, there's a simple solution: you can obtain the privilege to either drink or drive at age 18 (or 17, 16...), and then you can obtain the other privilege at 21. You can drink and not drive, or drive and not drink.
The FEDS should get their butts out of the situation and REPEAL the NMDAA.
That said, I'm in favor of lowering the drinking age to 18, but if a STATE wants to keep it 21 it's more understandable.
What we need is more severe penalties on DUI and causing harm while drunk. Sometimes people drive drunk, get pulled over, and still get out with just a slap on the wrist.
I'm stunned no one called you out for that. Can you give some examples, please?
Not my understanding at all. Even the first one will be expensive. Go up in front of a judge without a lawyer and he/she will likely throw the book at you. Even with first time offenders, while that person may escape jail time with the help of a good attorney I doubt anyone will just get off with just "a slap on the wrist."
It will also be on your driving record. The offender will get points and that will result in much higher insurance costs.
As for the topic I vote no due to alcohol being a dangerous drug.
How about this idea. Keep it at 21 for store purchase of alcohol but make it 18 for campus approved bars (that would be licensed and require BAC tests of designated drivers leaving the bar). That way the 18-20 year olds could drink in a more controlled supervised setting.
When I was coming of age in Denver, we had 3.2 bars for age 18 and over. I think people got just as drunk on 3.2% beer as 6% beer. That all changed later and honestly drinking and driving seems to have decreased but there are still too many drunks driving around. In a perfect world, age 18 is old enough and responsible enough.
Wait a minute.....isn't 18 still considered a legal adult? How in the world will you be able to forbid him to do any of those things? Most 18 year old "kids" will dabble in at least a few beers. Some will experiment more.
I think today's kids are babied way too long. Let them grow up.
No one can "force" an 18-year-old adult to do or not do something. The adult always has the option of simply saying no. But the reality is that many 18-yr-olds are still at least partially dependent on their parents. Anything from a spending allowance to housing to college tuition to full support. While the parent can't force any actions, the parent is perfectly within rights to cut off funding if the "adult" doesn't follow the rules.
If people are so concerned about automobile-related fatalities, there's a simple solution: you can obtain the privilege to either drink or drive at age 18 (or 17, 16...), and then you can obtain the other privilege at 21. You can drink and not drive, or drive and not drink.
Not really driving is kinda must have in many places due to poor public transit. I live in an Major City and yeah, it is possible(if not always efficient) to get around by public transit but way out in the burbs or in rural areas driving is must have. Even within an city having an older child who is able to drive can assist the parents(go pick your little brother up...ect.).
Anyway in the US you can drive age 15 or so on an leaner's permit(must have an licensed driver in the car) and you can get an full(or almost full) licensed aged 16! Adulthood is 18 and drinking is 21. Some states are barring under 18's from driving at night or limiting the number of teenage passengers who are not siblings they can have in the car.
Basically it needs to be over 18 because if it is just 18 then access to it is way too easy in high school(an high school senior is about 18.). At 21 very few 21 year olds hang out or know high school students(13/14-17 year olds). So that is one reason to keep it over 18 at least. It also needs to be uniform across the country so we don't get blood boarders like we used to when the drinking age ranged from 18-21, state by state.
I would support an age of 19-20 provided you have graduated from high school or have an GED but 18 is too low.
Last edited by chirack; 06-27-2014 at 02:12 PM..
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