Drinking age - 18 or 21?

[isuckathalo1]

i think the age is fine where its at they have tried to lower the drinking age in the US before because of the argument im 18 i serve my country why cant i have a drink? Shortly after that there was a spike in alcohol related car wrecks/deaths that is why its back up to 21 and should stay there

 

[Andymcc]

i think the age is fine where its at they have tried to lower the drinking age in the US before because of the argument im 18 i serve my country why cant i have a drink? Shortly after that there was a spike in alcohol related car wrecks/deaths that is why its back up to 21 and should stay there

this. look at your AVERAGE high school senior who is 18 and now consider the few thousand 18 yr olds in the armed forces. how many of those high school students would you want drinking and doing stupid shit in public?

 

[Romperin]

If you're talking physically then technically you're not "mature" until the age of 24. If you're talking about mentally, three years of difference is not enough to significantly alter the accumulation of 18 years of maturity (unless something absolutely drastic happens in their life).

I work with a lot of teenagers and kids at my job. I've seen MANY mature 16+ year olds, and most 18 year olds I've met are no less mature than 21+y/o, more so in a lot of cases.

An age difference of three years near the end of childhood growth is not significant enough in my opinion-- shared amongst a good portion of physicians. Also, most American kids drink before they're 21 anyway. Reduce the drinking age, and it will keep more 18+ y/o's from clogging up the jail system. Government will spend that much less on the criminal system.

You have a good point, though I question where you live. I'm down in AK, a lot of 18 year old people drink, hell even younger kids drink, AK is depressing. A lot of kids smoke pot and drink all the time. Though, from the age of 18 to 21, that 3 years is a 6th or a 7th or their lives, things do change for some people, not all sure, but some. 18 y/o's clog up jails due to the fact of how they drink, not the fact they are drinking. (Usually will get a ticket for being caught drinking).
I'm just a kid though, what do I know?

 

[Stormstruck]

^
true you get heavy fines for drinking in public. Don't know about US but in Australia you can legally drink in your own house - but that's changing in Victoria soon.

I would hate to wait until 21 to go out and drink. 18 seems more appropriate to me, finished high School at 17, leave home/start uni/get a job between 17-19 (most people hopefully) you should be able to buy your own drinks.

That being said there is a teenage binge drinking issue in Australia and alcohol is getting taxed more and more. On the other hand 25-30 year olds seem to cause bigger fights and damage than teens who just get drunk and pass out.

 

[mexistaniX]

Hey, I'm from Ireland, and here it's 18. We are infamous around the world for drinking heavily and i think it's a bit of a strange stereotype.Truth is, for most people here anyway, we don't drink that much. I'm 18 and I've been drinking for about 2 years,. Although the drinking age is 18, people tend to start around 16. I know that may sound young but the thing is, at this age I can already A) handle my drink and B) I know my limits. People are always going to drink before the legal age, I'd say take the legal age in your country and minus it 1 or 2 years, and thats roughly when people start. I'm in an exam year, so I won't drink until after june, but before my exams got serious i was drinking once a week, with friends never alone, and I haven't been overly drunk or done anything stupid in about a year and a half. I dunno how much the average people drink on a night out in other countries but here in ireland I might bring 7 500ml cans of 5% beer, which would get me nice and drunk, but I am still very much awake :L. How does that compare to other countries?

Alcohol resistance is obviously not good, it is very unhealthy and your body is adjusting to handling poison very well, which I suppose is helpful if someone forced you to drink alcohol.
On a side note, if you look at those links that I have posted, you will all see statistical data as well as a report of the situation in France which has become bleak for the teenagers that drink.

If you argue that we should lower, you simply ignore the fact that legalizing it will actually INCREASE the amount of students that consume it. You remain ignorant to the fact that once you decrease limitation, consumption of x goes up.

Here are graphs and statistics backing that:

http://www.albany.edu/~wm731882/future1_final.html

I don't like to be a downer, but fact of the matter is that you do not want the homicide rate to go up (homicide rate went up/was up after/before prohibition, respectively). Biased opinions result in one ignoring the data and stating all the gilded opportunities.
Fact of the matter is, no matter how you put it, is that 16 years old is much less mature than than 18 years old, and 21 mature to an extent moreso than 18 years old. I have gone to highschool and am in college, and I am currently experiencing the different levels of maturity, even related to alcohol.

 

[MohtasaUnique]

You have a good point, though I question where you live. I'm down in AK, a lot of 18 year old people drink, hell even younger kids drink, AK is depressing. A lot of kids smoke pot and drink all the time. Though, from the age of 18 to 21, that 3 years is a 6th or a 7th or their lives, things do change for some people, not all sure, but some. 18 y/o's clog up jails due to the fact of how they drink, not the fact they are drinking. (Usually will get a ticket for being caught drinking).
I'm just a kid though, what do I know?

It's often that you don't just get a fine when given an MIP. In a lot of states, the courts have to put you through some sort of rehab or alcohol anonymous class, and there's always the potential for jailtime. Alternatively, if you're caught driving, that's for-sure jailtime, plus mandatory AA meetings, plus mandatory Victim's Panel

 

[Romperin]

It's often that you don't just get a fine when given an MIP. In a lot of states, the courts have to put you through some sort of rehab or alcohol anonymous class, and there's always the potential for jailtime. Alternatively, if you're caught driving, that's for-sure jailtime, plus mandatory AA meetings, plus mandatory Victim's Panel

I'll state it right now, I'm not sure about most states, but in AK, you don't really go for jail when drinking underage.

Also, a lot of people that posted her claimed. "It should be 18, so I can drink!", that shows that they're not ready to drink. (In my opinion). And, it's not always for-sure jail time if you get caught drinkinng and driving, My uncle was caught twice while under the influence and driving, and the third time he went to jail.

 

[mexistaniX]

My uncle was an illegal immigrant that got caught drunk driving and he didn't go to jail. Shows how much of a great job the cops are doing.

 

[MohtasaUnique]

I'll state it right now, I'm not sure about most states, but in AK, you don't really go for jail when drinking underage.

Also, a lot of people that posted her claimed. "It should be 18, so I can drink!", that shows that they're not ready to drink. (In my opinion). And, it's not always for-sure jail time if you get caught drinkinng and driving, My uncle was caught twice while under the influence and driving, and the third time he went to jail.

The people posting here are also a small and potentially biased sample, but yes. There's definitely a lot of 18 year olds who wouldn't be able to handle their alcohol, but there's also a lot of 21+ year olds who can't either. It's odd that your uncle spent no time in jail. It's federal law to book all those who're suspect to DUIs-- usually overnight. At the very least, it's protocol to bring them back to the station for booking and sobriety tests (ordinarily the police conduct preliminary tests at the scene, then second tests at the station)

 

[Lolsrsly]

16 in the Netherlands

 

[HEHEGGG]

21 should be the age until u can drink

 

[lomboro]

Imho, people over 21 will say 21, while people under 21 will say 18.

 

[wizardzgame]

At the end of the day, what difference is it going to make? Marijuana is illegal and that hasn't stopped 42% of Americans from trying it, (source: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1821697,00.html) nor has alcohol laws effectively stopped minors from drinking.

 

[Braveheart]

It really depends on where the legal age of consent is... in some countries it's 16, others 21.

Prior to my own experience, I tried my first booze when I was grade 9, it was a smirknoff I think that's how it was spelt, the cloudy white liquid, I also have been to recent parties the past few months and most of them drank vodka and all that.

 

[ooooburn]

21 year olds can barely handle it...18 would be crazy.

 

[NiceNorway]

21 is good, people should be a bit more mature at that age than 18.

 

[poopy2177]

The age in the US is generally 14 however legally you have to be 21 /= which it used to be 18 for light beer and 21 for hard liquor but that was back when there was less DUI's and deaths by alcahol poisoning so it was smart to change it.....I dont get government

 

[Romperin]

The people posting here are also a small and potentially biased sample, but yes. There's definitely a lot of 18 year olds who wouldn't be able to handle their alcohol, but there's also a lot of 21+ year olds who can't either. It's odd that your uncle spent no time in jail. It's federal law to book all those who're suspect to DUIs-- usually overnight. At the very least, it's protocol to bring them back to the station for booking and sobriety tests (ordinarily the police conduct preliminary tests at the scene, then second tests at the station)

The fact is though, between the years, there is a significant change in behavior, whether something drastically large happens in life, or if they live the normal life.

Imho, people over 21 will say 21, while people under 21 will say 18.

You're judging people by your own standards. -1.

 

[Musical Impressions]

21 for alcohol, legalize pot.

 

[Manpons unite]

I like the german system for this. They allow drinking years before german's are able to obtain a drivers licence. The idea is, that before the time they can drive, they have already learned how to handle their liquor.

Seems like the best way to do it for me. The age for drinking is EXTREMELY hard to enforce anyway. Driving on the other hand, would be very easy. If you ask me it's pretty easy to guess what age someone is simply by their looks and how they would be driving. Not like saying you cant drink till 21 is stopping anyone.

The germans system has proven to work. But i believe if your old enough to go and die for your country you should be able to drink, so 18.