Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
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.
not like 12, but I think 18 is reasonable. Me personally, I, in this past year from June '13 to June '14, have had 4 beers, all with my parents. It used to be 18 then someone decided to ruin the fun of being a teenager. You can say " oh well, they can't handle booze at that age. They're immature" You know who's 21? That Miley Cyrus, is she mature? no. If anything leave it up to the parents. My parents know I'm a good kid and know that, if it was 18, I wouldn't be at the bar nightly getting hammered. If your kid is dumb and irresponsible, keep them away from it as best you can. No one magically matures on their 21st birthday, plenty of people of legal age are morons. I was watching that " What would you do" show and 1 episode had 2 soldiers both 20, try to get a beer and they were refused. Really? So you're telling me at 18, I'm allowed to buy a house, get married, buy cigarettes, adopt, get shot at in battle and go to strip clubs. But drinking a beer is a no-no?
Personally, I think the drinking age needs to be higher. The brain is not fully developed til mid-20s, and the younger they are, the more stupid stuff they do, e.g., Miley Cyrus.
Just because you think you are mature does not make it so.
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.
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.
IIRC, it was the NHTSA (Feds--Highways) that worked hard to get the drinking age a consistent 21 across all states. Their data clearly indicated that 'underage" drinking led a to a LOT of highway fatalities.
I lived in a border state at the time. 18 in my state. 21 a few miles away. Several times each year youngsters were killed driving from my "18" state back to their "21" state.
So, consistency is one issue.
And, as has been stated, the brain does not mature enough at 18 to make smart decisions about things like alcohol, so to be on the safe side, we went to 21.
Are some ready to drink at 18? Sure. Are some not even ready at 21? No doubt.
But 21 is a happy medium. Truly, as much as we may not like it, prohibiting alcohol at the younger age does save lives. When it is you, or your child, that 'statistic' becomes pretty relevant.
not like 12, but I think 18 is reasonable. Me personally, I, in this past year from June '13 to June '14, have had 4 beers, all with my parents. It used to be 18 then someone decided to ruin the fun of being a teenager. You can say " oh well, they can't handle booze at that age. They're immature" You know who's 21? That Miley Cyrus, is she mature? no. If anything leave it up to the parents. My parents know I'm a good kid and know that, if it was 18, I wouldn't be at the bar nightly getting hammered. If your kid is dumb and irresponsible, keep them away from it as best you can. No one magically matures on their 21st birthday, plenty of people of legal age are morons. I was watching that " What would you do" show and 1 episode had 2 soldiers both 20, try to get a beer and they were refused. Really? So you're telling me at 18, I'm allowed to buy a house, get married, buy cigarettes, adopt, get shot at in battle and go to strip clubs. But drinking a beer is a no-no?
The uniform drinking age of 21 is relatively recent. I remember when it varied much more from state to state. For example, the drinking age in Illinois was 21, while in Wisconsin, it was 18. That resulted in a lot of Illinois teens driving up to Wisconsin to get loaded, then getting killed in car wrecks on the drive back.
Lowering the drinking age to 18 would be fine. It would just have to be lowered uniformly in all states. That is tough to do.
Some past history, about the drinking age, in two jurisdictions, that border each other.
I live in Ontario, and a long time ago, when I was a much younger guy, the legal drinking age in Ontario was 21, while in New York state it was 18. Guess where we used to go to drink ? Buffalo.
Now the situation is reversed, its 19 in Ontario and 21 in New York, so the kids ( who have a US passport ) come up to Ontario to drink. And get busted by the New York State Police, right after they cross the border, from Ontario.
Ontario has a graduated driver licensing system ,for all news drivers, of ANY age. For the first year, they cannot drive after dark, cannot have more than one passenger, who has to have a full license, cannot drive on a multi lane highway, and must have a ZERO blood alcohol level. In the second year, they can drive after dark, and on a multi lane highway, with a passenger who has to have a full license, and five years of driving experience. BUT they cannot have ANY alcohol in their blood stream, until they are fully 22 years old, and if caught drinking and driving, they loose their licence, and MUST start back at the beginning of the process. That has really reduced the death rate here in Ontario, for drivers under age 30.
link to the Ontario graduated driver license system.
It causes far more teenage deaths,
it isn't good for developing bodies, or those that have developed
kids need to focus on school, not the party
it interferes with having a good time
kids have little discernment
They have no sense of mortality ( why do you think the enlisting age is 18?)
Is that enough? Did I pass?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
