Drinking Age

[raggage]

I'd be interested to know your opinions on this. I think we've had a thread on this before, but I could't find it.

From my background, option 4 is for me. Not only would that be incredibly stupid to lower, in my opinion it would be a huge factor in an increasing road toll.

In my wife's homeland for example - the drinking age is 18, like in Mexico. The police there are having huge problems with drunken youths aged 14-17 who are able to procure alchohol from their 18 year old friends.

Not that this doesn't happen to some extent in the U.S, but a move like this would worsen it... Agree?

[Lunar]

States decide, and I would vote to lower it to 18 in my state.

[Harry]

when you're an adult, you're an adult and should be able to buy alcohol.  Lower it to 18 nationally.  It shouldn't be 18 to do everything else but 21 for alcohol.  Lower the gambling age to 18 also.  But have a very stiff penalty for driving drunk, or doing anything under the influence.  Perhaps better alcohol and drug education in schools.

[??????????]

If you are old enough to vote and to serve and possibly die for your country then you should be allowed to drink.

[Harry]

If you are old enough to vote and to serve and possibly die for your country then you should be allowed to drink.

exactly

[JohnFKennedy]

If you are old enough to vote and to serve and possibly die for your country then you should be allowed to drink.

exactly

^^

It is 18 here in the UK.

[Lunar]

It is 18 here in the UK.

Does the UK have different ages for different types of alcohol?  I know in Germany it's 16 for beer and 18 for hard liquor.

[JohnFKennedy]

It is 18 here in the UK.

Does the UK have different ages for different types of alcohol?  I know in Germany it's 16 for beer and 18 for hard liquor.

Nope, 18 across the board.

[© Tweed the Younger]

I favor lowering the drinking age to 18.

I heard that in Denmark you can buy alcohol at 16 but can't drink it until you're 18.  I may have it backwards, but I heard that somewhere.

[Keystone Phil]

No it should not be lowered. I believe NJ lowered it to 18 years old a few years ago and it failed, miserably. NJ's drinking age is now back at 21 years old.

[Wakie]

There should be one age of adulthood.  One age at which you can smoke, drink, vote, and serve in the military.

[frenger]

Here in Portugal it's 16.

[JohnFKennedy]

No it should not be lowered. I believe NJ lowered it to 18 years old a few years ago and it failed, miserably. NJ's drinking age is now back at 21 years old.

So say a nineteen year old can fight for his country, die for his country fighting in an unfamiliar land in a war he may not want to be in, but cannot enjoy an alcoholic beverage?

[Keystone Phil]

No it should not be lowered. I believe NJ lowered it to 18 years old a few years ago and it failed, miserably. NJ's drinking age is now back at 21 years old.

So say a nineteen year old can fight for his country, die for his country fighting in an unfamiliar land in a war he may not want to be in, but cannot enjoy an alcoholic beverage?

Like I said before, NJ lowered it to 18 and it was a complete failure. Now it is back to 21. Enough said.

[© Tweed the Younger]

Keystone Phil,

You think it should be legal for 18-year-olds to fight in a war, but illegal for them to drink?

[English]

It is 18 here in the UK.

Does the UK have different ages for different types of alcohol?  I know in Germany it's 16 for beer and 18 for hard liquor.

Nope, 18 across the board.

Actually I think you're incorrect. 18 is the legal age at which you can buy alcohol for yourself, but you can drink it in a restaurant or at home from age 14. In pratice the laws in the UK are extremely lax. I used to drink in bars when I was 16.

[Wrecking Ball and Chain]

Make it 19. That for the most part keeps it out of the high schools and solves the problems of 14-17 year olds getting it. It's not like 19 and 20 year olds have any problem at all getting alcohol now.

[MarkDel]

Of course it should be lowered to 18, though it should be handled on a state by state basis.

When I grew up in New York the drinking age was 18 and the world didn't exactly fall apart. In fact, I remember the move to 19 and eventually 21, and all that did was create a "forbidden fruit" nature to alcohol which led to MORE drinking among the people in my generation.

If a person can go to war and get shot at, or appear in a porno movie, or vote at age 18, why in the HELL should they have to wait until they are 21 to have a drink???

I have a funny story about that too. When I was 25, I started dating this girl who I met when she gave me a lapdance at one of my friends' bachelor parties. She was gorgeous and a really hot dancer, but on our first formal "date" I accidentally put her in an embarassing situation. After dinner I take her to this bar and she gets proofed, but she's only 19 so she can't get in the freakin' bar!!! And that struck me as incredibly ridiculous....that this girl could be engaging in an adult job like STRIPPER but was considered a non-adult when it came to drinking...that's ludicrous!

[JohnFKennedy]

It is 18 here in the UK.

Does the UK have different ages for different types of alcohol?  I know in Germany it's 16 for beer and 18 for hard liquor.

Nope, 18 across the board.

Actually I think you're incorrect. 18 is the legal age at which you can buy alcohol for yourself, but you can drink it in a restaurant or at home from age 14. In pratice the laws in the UK are extremely lax. I used to drink in bars when I was 16.

That is what I meant, 18 is the age for buying alcohol. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

At 14 you can drink a glass of wine in a restaurant with a meal, but I think it may be only with an adult.

[CARLHAYDEN]

No it should not be lowered. I believe NJ lowered it to 18 years old a few years ago and it failed, miserably. NJ's drinking age is now back at 21 years old.

Not sure about New Jersey, but I do know that in many states the age was raised to 21 from 18 or 19 soley because the federal government threatened to withhold federal funds from states that did not do what the federal government wanted.

The feds did the same thing with DUI laws. The feds forced the states to accept a very low definition of DUI.

[MarkDel]

No it should not be lowered. I believe NJ lowered it to 18 years old a few years ago and it failed, miserably. NJ's drinking age is now back at 21 years old.

Not sure about New Jersey, but I do know that in many states the age was raised to 21 from 18 or 19 soley because the federal government threatened to withhold federal funds from states that did not do what the federal government wanted.

The feds did the same thing with DUI laws. The feds forced the states to accept a very low definition of DUI.

Carl,

That is correct. They actually withheld Federal Highway Improvement Funds...gotta love those Democratic Congresses back in the 1980's!!!!

[Jim Valvano]

I don't like the idea of an age limit for alcohol whether it be 14, 16, 18, 21, or 36! I think the government should trust Americans to make the proper decisions regarding the substance.  I also think that common Americans do have enough sense to make these judgements. True, some people will always be alcoholics, but as a free nation with personal accountability we must not have the government trying to control someones' problems that their own bad judgement created.

P.S.  I also don't like having a voting age and driving age. There are plenty of underage teenagers mature enough to vote, there are plenty of kids over sixteen not mature enough to drive. Having one age doesn't work.

[Gustaf]

I favor lowering the drinking age to 18.

I heard that in Denmark you can buy alcohol at 16 but can't drink it until you're 18.  I may have it backwards, but I heard that somewhere.

That sounds like Swedish law...but the other way around. You can drink at 18, but IIRC you're allowed to buy at 20.

[JohnFKennedy]

In France the legal age for purchasing alcohol is 16 and in Spain I believe it is 14.

[Gustaf]

I don't like the idea of an age limit for alcohol whether it be 14, 16, 18, 21, or 36! I think the government should trust Americans to make the proper decisions regarding the substance.  I also think that common Americans do have enough sense to make these judgements. True, some people will always be alcoholics, but as a free nation with personal accountability we must not have the government trying to control someones' problems that their own bad judgement created.

P.S.  I also don't like having a voting age and driving age. There are plenty of underage teenagers mature enough to vote, there are plenty of kids over sixteen not mature enough to drive. Having one age doesn't work.

So 5-year olds should be allowed to vote? They'll probably all form their own opinions...