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Why not lower the legal drinking age to 18?

by on Mar. 12, 2010, under Health, Life, Politics

Seems to me that if a young man or woman can serve in the military (starting at age 18), and give their life for this country, then he or she should be allowed to drink alcohol (if they choose to) at the same age.

Reaching adulthood means that you can legally sign a contract at age 18, buy cigarettes from a store, vote for favorite candidates in the primary and general elections, serve on a jury and decide the fate of a fellow citizen.

18 year olds can also sign marriage contracts and get married without parental consent, if they choose. And drive a car or motorcycle usually before age 18. And at 18 you can sign that informed consent form for medical procedures, and assume the risk of surgeries.

While visiting Australia and New Zealand a few years ago, my then 18 year old son was allowed to drink alcohol. Most European, South American, and African countries allow young people to drink alcohol before or at age 18. See wikipedia link, click here. As for our closest neighbors, Canada sets their legal drinking age at 18 or 19 depending on the Province, and Mexico is at 18.

So why not allow our 18, 19, and 20 year old young adults to drink alcohol as well? I am advocating the CHOICE of being able to drink alcohol, which can be done in moderation in the privacy of one’s home, or not at all– if you choose not to drink for religious or health reasons. And I don’t think anyone should drink over the legal limit & drive a motor vehicle.

It would certainly eliminate the sneaking around and binge drinking that American college students go through to drink alcohol for 3 years before they turn 21.

Let me know what you think, readers.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 7:48 am and is filed under Health, Life, Politics. Tags for this post: , , , , , , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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  • Randy L

    Why not outlaw alcohol and eliminate all the disease and death it promotes?

    Oh yeah, money trumps that.

    • Mark

      What a boring life you must live…

      • isaac schmitt

        i agree

    • Becca

      They tried that in the 20′s and it failed miserably. Everything actually got a lot worse, and it would do the same thing if they were to outlaw it now. You should brush up on your history.

      • Carolyn Classen

        But haven’t the times changed since 1920?  It’s 2010, and attitudes towards adulthood have changed too.

    • otscon

      no man. alcohol doesnt kill ppl.  ppl kill ppl

    • trb

      ur bound to die anyway so whats the point of taking every precaution in life , alchohol is a luxury enjoy it  :)

      • Carolyn Classen

        Yes, alcohol is a luxury “drug” and in moderation, is very enjoyable with other people, in a social setting.  But driving drunk (and hurting yourself & others) is not acceptable.

    • Felix Figueroa

      That would only lead to illegal beer trafficking just like all the illegal drugs.

  • Carolyn Classen

    The United States tried to ban alcohol from 1920 to 1933  (See Prohibiton: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_States). And several Middle Eastern countries consider sale or drinking of any alcohol illegal.

  • tiponeill

    A group of College Presidents tried lobbying for this a couple of years ago and were viciously attacked – esp. by MADD.
    States used to set drinking ages (my stepson chose to go to Tulane in New Orleans specifically because it was legal to drink) but now the Federal government has forced all the states to raise the drinking age to 21.
    (Although you won’t hear any of the “states right” anti-”big government” conservatives ranting about this – as long as 18 year olds can pack heat they are fine )
    At bottom, the problem remains our deeply Puritan culture and voters who believe that people’s lives need to be regulated, pleasure should be illegal, and punishment should be meted out at every opportunity.
     

    • Ferraribubba

      Has anyone else seen that documentary about all the people that have jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge?
      Since the Tipster signed off for the last time in March, and said that we “won’t have me to kick around anymore,” I just wonder if the guy that I saw doing the swan dive off the bridge in the documentary, wearing the tee-shirt with Tip’s flag printed on both the front and back, was in fact, our very own Tipster?
      If it was, the dive ended up just like must of his posts did. One big belly-flop! <g>
      Yer pal, Ferrari Bubba

  • John Davis

    What does MADD stand for?  Mother of Alcoholic Drunk Drivers!
    This is a stupid law and needs to be changed.  We take kids to court and declare them as adults so that we could try them for crimes and send them to kill other human beings at the age 18, but when it comes to drinking, we act stupid by passing stupid laws.
    Before you get on my case, I want you to know that I Do Not drink alcohol whatsoever by choice but find the law to be stupid.

  • Carolyn Classen

    Thanks tiponeill and John Davis for your comments.  My point is that is does seem illogical to ask an 18 year old to serve in the military and die for his/her country, or have the legal ability to get married/have kids, etc. and yet not be able to buy alcohol (if they choose) and drink it…even in moderation.

  • Mark B. Evans

    Why not raise the voting age, military service qualification and drinking age to 21?

    • Carolyn Classen

      Not sure parents  would want to be legal guardians of their child(ren) for 3 more years past 18.  When my son turned 18 years old I handed him the Selective Service registration Card, his voter registration form, and wished him a lot of luck as an adult.

    • tiponeill

      Why not raise it to 65, for that matter ;)

    • BJ Rees

      Arizona tried lowering the drinking age to 19 about 30 years ago.  It was disasterous.

      • azmouse

        I was a legal drinker at 19, then it switched  to 21….probably around 1982-83?
        Luckily, I was ‘grandfathered’ in.

        If my teen years are any example, the legal drinking age doesn’t matter because booze is easy for kids to get.

        I started drinking when I was 15 at boonie-parties in the desert. There were kegs and usually lots of tequila.
        The good thing about turning 19 then was that I could get out of the boonies and go to an establishment and get away from the dust, lol

    • http://tucsoncitizen.com/community/2010/03/12/why-not-lower-the-legal-drinking-age-to-18/ Brianna

      well because people are adults at the age of 18 they should have a right to drink

  • Alexander

    legalize marijuana!

  • leftfield

    In the interest of full disclosure I must admit that I am not a fan of either alcohol or the American military – industrial complex.  As drugs go, alcohol leads people to do stupid things; things they would not otherwise do if they were not under its influence.  As institutions go, the American military leads people to do stupid things; things they would not otherwise do if they were not under its influence. 

    They tried this experiment in my home state during the American war in Vietnam.  For the same reasons you state, the drinking age was changed to 18.  The result was an increase in alcohol-related accidents and incidents that led to a reversal of the law after the end of the war.  People of that age are prone to poor decisions because they are easily influenced and lack the ability to foresee the consequences of their choices.  Perhaps this is why they are so prized by recruiters.

  • Carolyn Classen

    Thanks for all your comments.  Alcohol is a socially accepted drink in many cultures and wine is often the only drink offered at art receptions that we frequent.  The only other choices are usually soda and mineral water.  We (as a society) need to teach our young people to drink (if they choose to) with moderation and to practice responsible behavior  so they don’t drive drunk and hurt themselves or others.

  • http://www.drinkat18.com Eric Paine

    Most states in the nation adopted a minimum drinking age of 21 soon after federal passage of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, which required states to maintain a minimum drinking age of 21. Under the Federal Aid Highway Act,  States were required to enforce the minimum drinking age of 18 in order to avoid a 10% reduction in federal highway funds. The original intention of the law was to reduce the incidents of alcohol-related accidents among people under 21. But since passage of this legislation, and the raising of the drinking age in many states, the percentage of people who drink between the ages of 18 to 20 has skyrocketed. Many say the prohibitions have actually encouraged secretive binge drinking, more dangerous behavior, and less educational programming targeting this age group. Respected law enforcement officials and university presidents have recently called for changes in the federal law to permit states to lower the drinking age.
     
    At age 18, people are legal adults. As much as their parents may think otherwise, they are no longer children. They have the right to vote and help choose the President of the United States. They can go to war to defend our country, and they can legally purchase guns and cigarettes. It is absolutely absurd that they cannot have a beer or glass of wine without fear of possible arrest and prosecution.
     
    It’s time for the nation to repeal these Prohibition-era laws and adopt a more intelligent, progressive, and educational approach to drinking among younger adults. These laws simply don’t work, they aren’t enforceable any longer, and if anything they are counterproductive. Literally millions of responsible young adults are already consuming alcohol and that’s not going to change. What we need to do is stop wasting the taxpayers money chasing, charging and prosecuting responsible young adults who want to have a beer, and start putting the money where it ought to be, in promoting smart education about responsible drinking, and in pursuing far more serious criminals, including those at all ages who drive under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
     
    –
    Eric Paine
    President & Founder
    Drink At 18
    http://drinkat18.com/

  • Carolyn Classen

    Many thanks Eric for sharing your Drink at 18 website and information. As I said above 18 is the legal age for most everything else and it would just make sense to make it all uniform.

  • http://www.azlegislation.com AZLegislation.com

    I don’t think the age at which you’re allowed to drink really matters… Kids of all ages drink whether it’s legal or not. What does matter is that people need to talk to their kids about responsible drinking and not driving after having “just a couple of drinks.”
    In Arizona, the DUI laws are very strict, yet the number of DUI violations keep rising. Maybe we need to teach everyone (not just kids) about responsible drinking!
    Join the conversation at http://www.AZLegislation.com!

  • blackieparadise

    We (as a society) need to teach our young people to drink (if they choose to) with moderation and to practice responsible behavior  so they don’t drive drunk and hurt themselves or others.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Teach our young people these skills?  Of course,  since adults are so good at it.  Answer me this….What is to be gained by lowering the drinking age?   I was 17 when I got my draft notice.  I wasn’t allowed to drink.  Funny, it never bothered me.
     

  • Marty

    Well, i know that in switzerland the drinking age is 16 for wine and beer and 18 for spirits. although i don’t live there, i have good friends who do, and according to them, with the drinking age set where it is, society is able to excercise restraint and drink in moderation. if that’s not proof then i don’t want to know what is…

  • Carolyn Classen

    Yes Marty, thanks for commenting.  From the website I linked above Switzerland distinguishes between beer/wine and harder alcohol: “16 (for beer, wine and cider), 18 (for spirits, liquor and alcopops).”   I was not even sure what “alcopops ” are but I just googled it to find out.

  • http://tucsoncitizen.com/community/2010/03/12/why-not-lower-the-legal-drinking-age-to-18/ anna.

    hello .
    Im doing an assingment on the drinking age in australia.
    The Aus goverment wants to raise the drinking age from 18 to 21.
    Ofcourse as a teen im all against it.
    I’ve done some research and read other peoples experiance with alcohol at a young age, and found that raising the drinking age to 21 is not the answer we are looking for to stop crime and violence on streets.
    Infact the problem is that as teens we are not educated anough about alcohol. We learn in yr 7 – 9 that it is bad for our health and all the damages it causes. BUT when we are at a highter year level and starting to develop our independance and join groups we are no longer getting the education from our schools or goverment. i believe that is the main source of the problem.
    thanks :)

    • Carolyn Classen

      Anna, I would use the same arguments I proposed above about why the legal drinking age in Australia should stay at 18.  Military service seems to me the best reason to allow young people to drink responsibly because as a NZ restaurant owner told my son, “If you’re old enough to die for your country serving in the military, you should be able to drink alcohol at a restaurant/bar”.  Good luck with your paper/assignment. And yes, young people can be taught to drink in moderation or not at all.

  • Brittney

    If we lower the age to drinking than it would eliminate the sneaking for 18,19, and 20 yrs olds but what about the younger generation the young the age is the easier it is for the youth to partake like your a senior in highschool most of us are at 18 your junior high school friends will come and ask for a bottle what do you do? I believe the drinking age should in fact  be raised to 26-27 along with the army and everything else one’s mind( brain) is not fully developed until that point so knowing that we are unable to make really good chooses..

  • Daniel

    I agree with Brittney. 15, 16, 17 yr old kids will be the new 18,19,20 yr olds. 18 year old kids in America are not mature enough to handle the responsibilities that go along with alcohol.  Lets face it, we do stupid sh*t when we’re young. We all have to admit that their sense of reasoning is terrible. Im only 23 and I have seen the stupidity of these young kids. They don’t think before they act, bottom line. Those wanting the drinking age to drop to 18 just don’t think about the consequences of it. Prepare for more drunk driving fatalities each year. Plus, whats the hurry to drink anyways??? Anyone one that really wants to drink that is under 21 will find a way to get it anyways…

    • tom

      i dont think the 15, 16, 17 year olds would be as affected by it as we 18, 19, 20 year olds are. personally it is easy for someone like us to find a way to get alcohol. being that we have matured since our 15s and 16s, we can now drive and are out of the house more often than we were at a younger age. along with maturity comes wisdom and whit. you learn that people can be blinded and hiding alcohol isnt as hard as you would have thought when you were younger. i think the younger kids would have a lesser time hiding their drink which yould make it easier to “bust” them and crack down on, what would be, underage drinking.

  • Carolyn Classen

    Glad to see that my March blog is still generating discussion about the legal drinking age.  I’ve met many 18, 19, 20 year olds who could drink responsibly if allowed to do so.

  • fred

    f— all of u the drinking age should be lowered if u can die for this country then u can drink end of story

    • Carolyn Classen

      Fred, I don’t allow swear words on my blogsite, so I censored your comment but I appreciate your thoughts, based on what I said in my blog.

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