Should the drinking age be lowered to eighteen?

Rockbird wrote:That place is called Ireland.

BA DUM PSH!

Dan70 wrote:Allowing 18 year olds to legally drink would spike up the # of drunk driving crashes and fatalities. When I was younger I would have argued for lowering the drinking age, but I now see why it's 21. Adulthood comes in dribbles and drabs. Someone can't be a child for 17.9 years and then on their 18th birthday they're suddenly a fully functional adult, capable of handling full grown adult responsibility. The human brain doesn't reach full maturity until around age 22/23. Let someone grow a little further into their adulthood than 18 before we start allowing them to shrivel their liver.

Supernova wrote:It does make sense though. Anne Frank drank wine when she was 13, she didn't become an alcoholic because of it.

Jason B. wrote:

Dan70 wrote:Allowing 18 year olds to legally drink would spike up the # of drunk driving crashes and fatalities. When I was younger I would have argued for lowering the drinking age, but I now see why it's 21. Adulthood comes in dribbles and drabs. Someone can't be a child for 17.9 years and then on their 18th birthday they're suddenly a fully functional adult, capable of handling full grown adult responsibility. The human brain doesn't reach full maturity until around age 22/23. Let someone grow a little further into their adulthood than 18 before we start allowing them to shrivel their liver.

I totally agree with this.

thepossiblepolice wrote:What if it weren't limited by the law at all and people could "teach" their kids to drink responsibly from childhood?

Yeah, the US seems to be really hung up on taking parental rights away from making these decisions about responsible consumption of alcohol.

While in Mexico with my grandson, I bought him a cervesa to celebrate his 16th B'day on Marzo 22, 2007.



(OMG the boy turns 20 hoy!) And, I would be arrested for buying him a beer for his 20th B'day in Miami.

Supernova wrote:

Jason B. wrote:


I totally agree with this.

People say raising the DRINKING age limit is going to solve part of the drinking and driving problem, why not raise the DRIVING age limit too? After all if they're not adults just because they're 18, they can't be trusted to be emotionally mature or to be responsible while they're behind the wheel of a 2,500 pound vehicle on the open road with other cars and pedestrians.

Chris wrote:What does everyone think about the magical number being "21?" Should it be lowered to eighteen, or stay as it is?

Impact wrote:Not at all. 21 years old is still a very young age, and a majority of young adults do not know how to handle their alcohol consumption.

Impact wrote:As has been already mentioned, lowering the drinking age to 18 will

a) increase the incidents of drunk driving.
b) increase incidents of underage drinking. Everyone knows that despite the law 18-19-20 year olds drink, but 21 year olds don't on average hang out with high school kids the way 18 year olds do. Hell, some are still in high school themselves.

It should remain 21.

captainbryce wrote:However, I will say that I think there should be a standard age at which the law determines that someone is either an adult or a child. So whatever age they determine that to be, whether it's 21 or 18, I think that the law should be consistent.

Supernova wrote:It would seem the drinking age being 2 years lower in Canada isn't doing them any harm, is it? So it's not the age that makes the bad driver or the incompetent drunk, would somebody like to guess again what it is and why we need our limit 3 years higher than the adult age?

Supernova wrote:And it's like I said before, the only people this is going to stop from drinking at 18 are law abiding citizens, but everyone else who doesn't give a damn about the law and will do whatever they want, they're going to drink anyway and still get behind the wheel of a car; and given that there seem to be quite a bit of the latter kind of teens today, I really can't see how much good the age limit is doing.

If I'd been allowed to drink at 18, I would've done it then like I do now, one or two small drinks and that's it, and I would never have driven afterwards, of course at 18 I wasn't driving anyway; and I'm well aware quite the opposite is true with most other teenagers, but I digress. I don't know what the answer is because I would like to think all or most teenagers DO know what risks are involved with drinking, and if they know it and don't care anyway, how CAN you make them care?

thepossiblepolice wrote:

Supernova wrote:And it's like I said before, the only people this is going to stop from drinking at 18 are law abiding citizens, but everyone else who doesn't give a damn about the law and will do whatever they want, they're going to drink anyway and still get behind the wheel of a car; and given that there seem to be quite a bit of the latter kind of teens today, I really can't see how much good the age limit is doing.

If I'd been allowed to drink at 18, I would've done it then like I do now, one or two small drinks and that's it, and I would never have driven afterwards, of course at 18 I wasn't driving anyway; and I'm well aware quite the opposite is true with most other teenagers, but I digress. I don't know what the answer is because I would like to think all or most teenagers DO know what risks are involved with drinking, and if they know it and don't care anyway, how CAN you make them care?

I don't think you can...I'm literally the only person that I know(IRL) who is an adult, who didn't drink and drive as a teenager. I'm still the most strict about it and always end up being the designated driver because of it.

-Teenage drunk driving kills eight teens every day.

In 2003, 31% of teen drivers who died in car accidents had been drinking.

40% of alcohol-related fatal car crashes involve teens.

60% of all teen deaths in car accidents are alcohol related.

A teenage boy with a blood alcohol concentration of just 0.05 (well below the amount considered “legally drunk” in most states) is 18 times more likely to suffer a single vehicle crash than his non-drinking counterparts. And a teenage girl is 54 times more likely to crash!

A study has found that roughly 16 percent of boys and 19 percent of girls may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive episodes, or substance abuse. Witnessing violence, physical abuse or sexual abuse significantly increased the risk of all three disorders.

A study has found that roughly 84 percent of boys and 81 percent of girls may NOT suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive episodes, or substance abuse. Witnessing violence, physical abuse or sexual abuse significantly increased the risk of all three disorders (but in a significant minority of children).

Impact wrote:http://www.learn-about-alcoholism.com/statistics-teenage-drunk-driving.html

-Teenage drunk driving kills eight teens every day.

In 2003, 31% of teen drivers who died in car accidents had been drinking.

40% of alcohol-related fatal car crashes involve teens.

60% of all teen deaths in car accidents are alcohol related.

A teenage boy with a blood alcohol concentration of just 0.05 (well below the amount considered “legally drunk” in most states) is 18 times more likely to suffer a single vehicle crash than his non-drinking counterparts. And a teenage girl is 54 times more likely to crash!

http://www.psychologytoday.com/rss/pto-20030805-000001.html

A study has found that roughly 16 percent of boys and 19 percent of girls may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive episodes, or substance abuse. Witnessing violence, physical abuse or sexual abuse significantly increased the risk of all three disorders.

So we've already got the stage set for disaster, let's add alcohol to the mix.


If we had to make a choice, I'd rather raise the age of enrollment in the army to 21 rather than dropping the drinking age to 18. However, being 18 years old and having the right to vote, join the military, etc., etc. are completely different from consuming a controlled substance. An 18 year old kid who joins the military is trained to be a solder. An 18 year old who votes is as free as a 40 year old to live on their own, and therefore has a right to voice an opinion about whose policies will help shape the society that he can exist in as an adult.

Alcohol affects your whole entire system: mind and body, and if handled improperly, it also weakens judgment. 18 year olds are in the final stages of adolescent development and on average are more naive, impetuous and immature than 21 year olds.

All the freedoms and responsibilities shouldn't hit a young adult at the same time. Try one out and get used to it, then try on another.

Impact wrote:
18 year olds are in the final stages of adolescent development and on average are more naive, impetuous and immature than 21 year olds.

All the freedoms and responsibilities shouldn't hit a young adult at the same time. Try one out and get used to it, then try on another.