Give me your thoughs on what the drinking age should be and why.

[coloradodem2005]

I saw this in a thread about the religious right. I am curious as to what you think about the drinking age, Reagan's part in lowering it and MADD. Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

[wyldwolf]

1. women - 18, men - 32

:evilgrin:

Seriously, though... I think 21 is about right.

[skylarmae]

2. 18 - old enough to vote and to die for your country in the armed

services, Old enough to drink - IMO

[wyldwolf]

3. I think militaty personel can drink legally at 18

[BOSSHOG]

13. That is not correct

It used to be that way but now military bases abide by any age limits as established by the community the base is in, even on base.

[wyldwolf]

20. thanks for the correction - here is a link on the explanation

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/justicelawlegislation/a/drinkingage.htm

[Occulus]

53. simply untrue

I work with people who served only a couple years ago. If that's the law on base, it's being overlooked all the time.

[malmapus]

49. Nope, unless its changed since 95

Only way I could drink at 18 was if the guy carding me couldn't read my military ID, sometimes I could get away with confusing people with it since it has the birthdate in some obsure place...can't remember where now lol..but it was on the back.

[wyldwolf]

76. thanks. Posts #13 and #20 have cleared it up.

[Dark]

4. I agree completely.

[spatlese]

6. I agree with you! n/t

[Karenca]

7. I TOTALLY AGREE Old enuff, then old enuff.... NT

[JaneDoughnut]

9. Yeah.

That's a cliched point, but it's difficult to argue with. It takes more maturity to fight in a war or understand politics than it does to drink responsibly.

I was just mad the way we got blackmailed here in Louisiana when they raised the drinking age from 18 to 21. I think we were the last state to do so. But the Feds threatened to deny us completely unrelated funds if we didn't, so the state leg changed the rules, even though 18 is the age of majority in our state constitution.

[lucabrasi]

yup

[Inland]

19. But we have 18 year olds in army, and forbid drinking, for same reason

young people are fearless and think themselves immortal. Makes for good soldiers and reckless drinkers.

Just saying.

[MrSlayer]

50. It has always been tradition in the neighborhood bars in Philly

to never deny a military man a drink. If you are old enough to fight and die you are old enough to drink.

[Downtown Hound]

5. 18

I think if you can get drafted and die in a war, you're old enough to drink. As for MADD, I think it has been a great organization overall but can get a little too over the top on occasion.

[Worst Username Ever]

8. 21

It is well known that 21 year olds will buy for the 18-20 year old crowd, which is one of the reasons why 21 is the legal age. 18 years olds will buy for the 15-17 year old crowd, which is too young, IMHO.

[Hippo_Tron]

38. Compromise, 18 year olds can go into bars but can't buy cases/kegs

I think this would solve the problem and would please a lot of 18-20 year olds.

[Worst Username Ever]

68. OR it could be a hybrid law.. it is legal to drink, but not legal to buy.

That way they will do what they do anyway, 18 year olds will still drink and 21 year olds will still buy, but the 15 year olds won't get theirs.

[Hippo_Tron]

78. My point...

Is that 18 year olds should be allowed to drink and should be allowed to walk into a bar in drink. Whatever accomplishes this is fine.

[BOSSHOG]

10. If our government can give an 18 year old a gun,

send him/her to Iraq and expect that American Citizen to shoot and kill other human beings, then, by god, that 18 year old should be allowed to drink as well as other 18 year olds. That issue is totally irrelevant to drinking and driving. Drinking impairs reflexes and people should not do it; just like rednecks "should" not string homosexuals up on fenceposts. MADD is not opposed to drinking. If religious zealots can spread hate from the pulpits then my Sailors can drink beer. (I'm retired but still love my Sailors).

[bullimiami]

11. if youre an adult, then youre an adult.

18

[buckettgirl]

74. Thats bull

I don't know many 18 year olds who are capable of adult responsibility. I wasn't, my husband wasn't, my parents weren't. Teenagers are teenagers, they don't have experience to handle situations involving drinking. They don't have any real life experience. Until that comes into play, then they don't really realize the consequences of drinking.

read my other post to see the rest of my thoughts

[Mojambo]

12. I've heard no persuasive argument that it should be any older than 18 n/t

[Warpy]

14. Lower it to 14 for beer and wine

Raise the driving age to 18. That way kids can find out what alcohol does to them before they can get behind the wheel of a car and kill somebody.

I drank at 13. I was WAY over it by the time I turned 15. It works pretty well in Europe. I think it would work well here, too.

Teenagers are drinking at that age. Keeping it forbidden just makes it much more attractive.

[NoPasaran]

15. 18

Old enough to VOTE
Old enough to drink

[alexisfree]

16. 18

mexico is..

[leftofthedial]

17. 26

or 14

either one will work

[BillZBubb]

18. No one should be allowed to drink, it's a sin.

With the declining morals in this country, we need to make booze illegal. Prohibition was right, it was just poorly implemented.

Then we can do away with dancing and music. They all need to be Tali-banned! Just like God intended.

(18)

[Cleita]

26. Hehe.

I once worked with a fellow bartender who wanted prohibition to come back. He said there was a lot more money to be made when it was illegal and no taxes to pay.

[UdoKier]

21. 16.

We should ease them into drinking wine at a younger age like in Europe. Take away the "verboten" thing that makes binge drinking so attractive for teens. Teach them to drink in moderation.

Everybody pretty much starts drinking some by 16 anyway.

[Lost Creek]

46. wine at hollidays for all

and special dinners - my daughter (young) knows that it is no big deal

Most of the time she does not even take a taste

[aquart]

22. 21. We tried 18 and the idiots died and took others with them.

[Jack_DeLeon]

37. it should be 18, freedom means risks...

If you are considered an adult at 18 you should have all the same rights all adults have.

Even if it means more people will die in accidents and whatnot, living in a free society has risks.

[Caledonia]

23. 18

It is old enough to get married, have kids, vote and drive. The downside... I see more and more kids 15 or younger on the streets drinking. It is a big problem here. The onus should be on the people who are buying it for them, or the stores who sell it to them without asking for ID. It is an offence, but I don't know anyone who has been charged with providing booze for underaged kids.

There was an article in the local newspaper this week which reported that even 8 year olds were developing habits. That shocked me to the core. I live in Scotland, and it is becoming more than a joke.

[SKKY]

24. The Military has taken me to many, many...

...places that either don't have a legal drinking age, or is 16-18 years old depending on the country. Having lived in Spain for 6 years, I can say they don't have nearly as many problems with alcohol as we do. I don't know what the age should/shouldn't be, but my gut tells me that if you're old enough to vote and serve in the military, why can't you drink? I do know that if the age of 21 was meant to solve the problems associated with alcohol abuse, it's failed miserably.

[Cleita]

25. As an ex-bartender, I think it should be eighteen.

Besides the obvious reasons that if an eighteen year old can get married, have a baby, vote and can go to war, then they should be able to have a drink.

A less obvious reason, is that eighteen year olds after high school enter an adult world where their peers are older people whether at work or in college. They are cut off the social scene when they can't have a social drink on Friday night or after games and so on.

As far as drinking and driving, no one should drive after drinking even if it's only a glass of wine with dinner. They need to arrange transportation that doesn't put them behind the wheel if they are going out to party.IMHO

[Hippo_Tron]

41. That's my rule, 1 beer or 10 beers, I don't drive...

Granted I've never had 10 beers in one night but if I did...

[Cleita]

43. The problem is that no matter how honorable your intentions,

there is the possiblity you might have more than one drink, so you need to be prepared for that. I've seen it happen too many times when I was bartending.

[janx]

65. That's so true! One or two drinks won't make you drunk,

but one or two drinks can get you arrested.

[lukasahero]

70. Call me a lightweight but

I'd have to say whether or not one or 2 drinks will make you drunk depends on what you're drinking and how fast you drink them.

[Piltdown13]

27. 18.

I agree with the "old enough to die for your country/old enough to vote = old enough to drink" line of reasoning, but what really convinced me was the observation I made during my last year and a half of college: As my friends and acquaintances turned 21, the amount of drinking (especially binge drinking) they did decreased, pretty dramatically in some cases. Apparently, once it was legal, and they weren't "getting away with" anything, it was no longer necessary to get drunk every weekend.

I suppose it's possible that lowering the drinking age to 18 *might* push the excessive illegal drinking behavior back to ages 15-17, though I can't imagine it would get all that much worse than it already is for that age group. Sure, 18-year-olds would be able to buy alcohol and might very well purchase it for their younger friends/siblings, but I'm not sure it would be that much worse than the liquor-cabinet-raiding that already goes on. Also, I think there's something to be said for having those last few years of being underage occur when most kids are still living at home, rather than at college or on their own as is now the case.

[Nlighten1]

28. 16

It works well in Europe

[Lefty48197]

29. Under 18, if the parents agree

It works in Europe, and their alcohol abuse rates are lower than ours.

[Fleurs du Mal]

30. 18 to purchase is reasonable

Old enough to vote, go to war, etc., should be able to drink. Minors should be able to have alcohol with dinner at the discretion of parents as well.

[Az_lefty]

31. 18

you can vote, die for your country, be drafted and held legally accountable as an adult, then you should be able to drink as an adult.

[timtom]

32. 87 for alcohol

Younger for marijuana.

[Jack_DeLeon]

33. 18

I'm against MADD for wanting to raise the age, and wanting to raise lower the legal BAC levels.

[Hippo_Tron]

42. I'm against raising the drinking age but not lower BAC levels...

I don't think that you should be driving if your BAC is .08, that's just my opinion.

[Misunderestimator]

34. If you're old enough to vote, you're old enough to get drunk if Bush wins

[esvhicl]

35. LOL

[Tage]

36. 18'd!

I'd say 18. It's 18 in England and they seems to be doing just fine.
Besides, if more students are wasting their tiem drunk in University it'll weed out the chaff from the wheat. ;)

[JVS]

39. 12

The kids today are a bunch of freaking lightweights. It's time to start training earlier

[Hippo_Tron]

40. Well maybe if 18-20 year olds would FUCKING VOTE...

Then we wouldn't be having this discussion. 18-25 year olds don't vote. Our parents do. Why do you think our parents win?

[Berserker]

45. 21 Unless

you have and active duty card in your possession. When I was in the military it was confusing to me that I could give my life for my country but I could not buy a beer.

[Occulus]

55. Yeah

SOME people are more special than OTHERS.

Whatever.

[Orangepeel]

44. There should be one age of adulthood

I don't really care what that age is -- 18, 21, whatever. But at that age, you should be full citizens with full rights.

[Kitsune]

47. Statutory age limits are counterproductive.

There is no greater thrill than sneaking some hooch out of your parents liquor cabinets when you're not supposed to. My mom told me that if I wanted some, just ask. As a result, I could give two shits about alcohol while the rest of my dorm, the lot of them underage, gets smashed every weekend.

[Left Brain]

48. 18

This mother of 3 believes its all about education, open discussion, and the examples set by adults, not about age. A 5th grader who wants to get drunk will find a source, no matter what the legal age.

The real question should be: at what age do we start talking to our kids about sex, drugs, alcohol, etc.?

[DrWeird]

51. As long as you're big enough to sit at the bar stool.

nt

[genieroze]

52. 18 for wine and beer

21 for hard liquor. Nobody should drive drunk

[maxsolomon]

54. Birth. NO DRINKING AGE.

Drinking ages are only neccessary because we fear freedom.

If forbidden fruit is not forbidden, it loses its appeal.

[Columbia]

58. Seconded

[jayfish]

72. 3rd -NT-

Jay

[SmokingJacket]

56. 18 -- you can vote then, so presumably you can make a decision.

And at home with parents whenever.

When the drinking age was raised, right around the time I was 18, drinking became a competetive sport. The whole binge drinking thing (among nonalcoholics) is the result of it being taboo -- same way bulimics gorge and purge because overeating is taboo.

My pet theory. Ain't he cute?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

57. I'd say 18 to purchase, but no such "crime" as

"minor in possession."

I was brought up European-style with respect to alcohol. When I was 14, my older relatives began serving me wine at family dinners, and one great-uncle even included me in the pre-dinner cocktails.

The fact that I could drink in the presence of my grandparents and the rest of their generation removed drinking as a form of rebellion.

These days, I go for one or two drinks with dinner on special occasions, as does one brother. My other brother doesn't drink at all.

[buckettgirl]

75. Thats good!

See, you have a point here... There is respect for alcohol and being responsible with it!
There wouldn't need to be an age limit here if the teenagers could be halfway responsible with alcohol... but they aren't, they weren't brought up to respect it. Why else is binge drinking such a problem among high school and college students?

[Swamp Rat]

59. 0

zero

[x-g.o.p.er]

60. 35....I have a 12 year old daughter, lol n/t

[Mick Knox]

61. Should be illegal

I always wanted to run 'shine, wear cool hats, and play with tommy guns and stuff.

[jdots]

62. Who knows ?

if it wasn't sold the way it is as a happy party and sex aid it would probably be less of a problem.It's been around for a long time and will remain around.The hype is alot of the problem.

[burrowowl]

63. 21 is a good age

The brain is still in development (actually for some up to 25).
Important connections are still being made up to that time.
In fact, in WWII they didn't want to train older (23-25 year-olds) to be pilots since they started to have a little sense (self-preservation and the idea one may not be invincible), they would train them to be navigators (needed more sense and math skills).

[KnowerOfLogic]

64. 18-you get all the *responsibilities*, you ought to have the rights.

The drinking age is just a perfect example of the majority taking rights away from the minority, just because they can. And btw, i'm 39 and don't drink.

[m berst]

66. no restrictions

Restrictions cause more problems, not less.

[HuskerDem]

67. Old enough to die............ old enough to fly

plain and simple.

A graduated system would be preferable.............

[ulTRAX]

69. I used to think......

I was opposed to the raising of the drinking age from 18 to 21 in my state. The intent of the law was ONLY to stop young teen male from driving drunk and in the process punished all others who were not irresponsible.

But I just heard a rather fascinating piece on how the teenage brain is more prone to addiction than the adult brain. So maybe there is a legitimate state interest in making alcohol harder for teens to get. I don't know the full details of the research, but I've heard enough to change my mind. I'm no longer in favor of 18 year olds drinking... maybe 19 for beer and wine and 20 for full privileges.

[American Tragedy]

71. 18, obviously. Like the rest of the civilized world.

If you're old enough to participate in our political system, carry an assault weapon and die for your country, I think you're old enough to buy a fuckin beer.

Anyway, most of us aren't really deterred by the law. We're just slightly more discreet.

[buckettgirl]

73. I don't think any age can be old enough

Ideally, I would say the age at which one is mature enough to accept responsibility for their actions... For some, this is a very young age and for some, this would never happen.

I am 23. I enjoy an occassional drink (being about 1 every six months or so). I hate beer and I never have made it a point to go out get drunk.

I think it is disgusting what I see at my college campus. These kids come to college, right out of high school; they get anyone they can to buy for them. They try to sneak into bars and they try to drink and think it is shit when they get caught (I know this personally because my husband worked as bouncer). Even the ones that are of age, come out and get drunk off their ass and many of them start fights.
It makes me so angry when I go to class and hear these kids bitching and moaning about how hard the class is and how there's too much work and THEN go on to talk about how drunk they got the night before. Then these same kids resent me and others like me for getting an A in the class and for keeping a 4.0. It isn't that hard, if all you want to do is party, THEN DON'T COME TO COLLEGE!

Something about laws regarding alcohol needs to be changed. There should be laws about college students and alcohol. For instance, if you have any kind of drug conviction on your record, you can't get federal financial aid. Perhaps the same should be done for those college students who get DUI's and MIP's. They certainly don't deserve money for tuition when they have more than plenty of money to blow on alcohol!

[abbadon]

77. None

As in, "no age limit" - tax it like there's no tomorrow and let the broke 12-year-olds get it from their parents' cabinets

I feel the same way about drugs, including cocaine and heroin, but I think that the FDA (or USDA, or whoever, just NOT The ATF, etc.) should inspect the supply to prevent tainting and ensure predictable quality

BUT I think that driver's licenses should be reviewed each year (at least!), and issued in levels according to accomplishment on thorough tests, including the applicant's history of traffic stops, tickets, etc. - same for gun ownership

I actually saw Reagan speak in 1984 (at the University of Alabama, which at the time was a perennial Top 5 Party School, and where the drinking age had just been raised from 19), and he was asked how he could reconcile his position on "state's rights" with his policy of denying federal funds to states that did NOT raise their drinking age: "well," he hissed,"I think it's better to break a promise and save *your* lives" - the crowd exploded with applause (and the mascot, an elepant suit named Big Al, ran around with a sign that said "4 More Years" ... what theatre) - I was horrifed that no one else around me was horrified (except my dormmate, a FAR-right guy who also seemed very troubled by that statement...)

MADD is a "good idea, ultimately bad implementation" organization, which accelerated the momentum of the loss of many of our civil liberties, regardless of the value of their intent - what they did has given other groups the incentive and playbook to initiate crusades against any behavior they find disgraceful, destructive, or just plain unappealing

[Menshevik]

79. 18

I am currently studying in the UK (after doing my undergrad in the US) and the drinking age here is 18. The freshman at my university seem really "chill" compared to the freshmen/sophomores back in the US. We have a few bars on campus (even one in our dorm) and you really don't see a lot of the binge drinking that is present on US campuses (not saying that it doesn't happen here, of course)...the students here are more likely to just sit around and have a few pints.

So yeah, I think 18 would be a good age.

[Shadowen]

80. 16.

But driving shouldn't be fully legal till 18. So you learn how to control your drinking, legally, before you learn to drive.