Lower Drinking Age? Options

[Supersprynt]

As far as the gun thing goes, yes you can by a rifle at 18, not a handgun, its kinda hard to walk down the middle of the street with a rifle in your hands with out gettting the cops called on you. Handguns are 21.

To buy is 21, to possess is 18.

[D-Man]

The drinking age is fine where it is, at 21. It does suck for those of us who are under 21, like me... However i think they should change some of the rules that are around it.

Parents who let their kids(and other kids) stay at their house, supervising shouldn't get in any trobule, that is silly. Kids will be kids, we will get booze and drugs, you just can't avoid it, and thinking you can is just naive. So why are we punishing the parents who are actively doing something to make sure that their kids are drinking in a controlled situation. Key word is parents(or legal guardians)

We give permits to drive, that require you to have a parent or someone older than 21(depending on states) so that the kid can learn to drive with someone who has been there before. Yet when it comes to drinking we punish the older people, I understand that it is breaking the law, and thats what they should change. Not the age. We all do stupid stuff but I think that if we change the laws that would allow for parents to supervise their kids they would be less likely to drink and drive, less likely to drink way to much, and less of chance for girls to get raped and guys to get in fights.

As a parent myself; i have to admit that that'd be a great way of doing things. But here in texas (atleast when i was a kid) it is/was legal to give your kid alcohol on your own property. I hope that hasen't and dosen't change.

[Nial]

In the UK you can drink at 16 and buy at 18....we have a huge drink related problem with violence....binge drinking (drinking huge amounts in a short period) and alcohol related illnesses......do you really want the same problems?

[96bluevert]

I think 21 is the right age for someone to be legal to drink. Most people are not responsible enouph at the age of 16-18 imo to have the right to buy and drink alcohol and be safe about it. I know if I was able to buy alcohol at 16, it wouldn't have been good. lol. Even at 21, some people aren't ready for the responsibilty just yet (but I believe the majority are).

[Supersprynt]

You shouldn't be able to buy at 16, but here in the states we also have a problem when college kids go away to school and start drinking. Nobody waits until they're 21 when they are in college; alcohol is so easy to get.

[GriffGirl]

In the UK you can drink at 16 and buy at 18....we have a huge drink related problem with violence....binge drinking (drinking huge amounts in a short period) and alcohol related illnesses......do you really want the same problems?

That's in the UK though, not all of Europe, that problem, right? I think it would be a similar phenomenon here... in regions that are similar to the UK like here where I am in the Pacific Northwest, I think there would be more alcohol related problems with kids than maybe in California, or anywhere from the middle to the southern thirds of the country, where it's not so gray and rainy for so many months of the year. I actually think a lot of that is weather related in how it affects your mood.

I also want to go on record as saying that I am completely 100% in favor of legalizing marijuana. I know that's not the topic here, but it's been brought up so I thought I'd touch on it too. I don't personally use it much at all, maybe once a year on average. I just don't care much about it either way. But I have no objection to it being legalized - it's absolutely true that you see FAR fewer marijuana related accidents and illnesses than you do with alcohol. You never hear about some pot head beating his wife up or going on a shooting rampage at a McDonald's.

As for the legal age of using it however, I think it should be consistent with whatever the legal drinking age is. If there was a massive government-funded campaign to educate, I mean really EDUCATE and not use fear-mongering tactics, kids and adults about alcohol use, and destigmatize it, I think there could be the possibility for a healthy respect for alcohol and the age limit could be lowered. Same for marijuana. I very firmly believe that if alcohol and pot wasn't made to be so alluring by putting tight restrictions on it, and not talking openly about it, it'd be far less of an issue.

[RickJamesBish]

The biggest problem here is that kids can't control themselves...it's been said in this thread that the system is backwards, and I agree. You should be able to drink before you can drive, so that you know how you react under alcohol (not that I'm saying you should drink and drive), but being thrown into a situation where you can drink publicly at 21 might cause people to think they're okay to drive. Now, my parents (and parents in general in Europe) taught me and my brother that if we were going to drink, to not overdo it and to not be stupid about it. Over there, we also had more public transportation, so getting home wasn't really a problem. My mom always told me that it was okay for me to come home drunk, she'd rather have me home than outside somewhere were I can't be held responsible for my actions. I don't know the statistics, but if you looked it up I'm sure there's more fatalities due to alcohol here than in Europe, or areas with similar laws and views.

This post has been edited by RickJamesBish: Dec 16, 2008 - 4:50 PM

[GriffGirl]

The biggest problem here is that kids can't control myself

Well that's odd...

[D-Man]

The biggest problem here is that kids can't control myself

You're drunk right now, Aren't you?

Or do you swear to Drunk that you're not god?

This post has been edited by D-Man: Dec 16, 2008 - 4:10 PM

[96bluevert]

^^ I think he means "When I was a kid, I couldn't control myself when I drank"


This post has been edited by 96bluevert: Dec 16, 2008 - 4:14 PM

[D-Man]

^^ I think he means "When I was a kid, I couldn't control myself when I drank"

I don't care. I still think he's drunk right now.


...lucky...

[saleeka]

in regions that are similar to the UK like here where I am in the Pacific Northwest, I think there would be more alcohol related problems with kids than maybe in California, or anywhere from the middle to the southern thirds of the country, where it's not so gray and rainy for so many months of the year. I actually think a lot of that is weather related in how it affects your mood.

I very firmly believe that if alcohol and pot wasn't made to be so alluring by putting tight restrictions on it, and not talking openly about it, it'd be far less of an issue.

I totally agree 100% with what you are saying here. Living here in MN and dealing with winter can be downright depressing for us, and drinking is how many people get through it all. People I’ve met who never grew up around here have been borderline shocked to learn about the consumption habits average Joe has (I’d also like to point out that our DUI / DWI laws are some of the most lenient in the country...). In my opinion it's not so much the age of the person using being the problem, but the reason why they choose to use. With that said, I used to go out to bars and nightclubs when I was underage MUCH more than I do now. Looking back, it was for the fact that it felt exciting to be able to do something relatively exclusive for a person my age. If any 18 year old could do the same, I highly doubt I would have been as interested…

[RickJamesBish]

Edited for you OCD people, gimme me a break, it's midterm week.

[D-Man]

And that's the reason i used to walk around with a pocket full of the substances i had back in highschool.

EDIT: Mind you that now i realize that this made me a dumbsh!t; but back in the day it was "cool" Damn we were stupid as kids

This post has been edited by D-Man: Dec 16, 2008 - 5:00 PM

[RickJamesBish]

Edited for you OCD people, gimme me a break, it's midterm week.

[FreddyTheOthaMea...]

The way it was explained to me was that your brain doesnt fully develop/reach full maturity until about 21-25 years of age (Depending on the person) so when you drink you thin your blood out and induce dehydration which essentially starves your, not fully developed, brain. its been a while since ive been in school so I could be slightly off but yea..

[D-Man]

Then why is it that after a few beers, i find myself as the smartest person in the world?

[FreddyTheOthaMea...]

Then why is it that after a few beers, i find myself as the smartest person in the world?

I know huh? Hit the bar and after a few drinks everyones a philosophical juggernaut that has every political issue resolved, good times lol

[FreddyTheOthaMea...]

Bwahahahahaha

[D-Man]

^^^ that's one intimidating looking bird ^^^