Lowering Drinking age?

[kite]

people need to stop bringing binge drinking into pop culture. all teens that i know love to feel like their older and thus love to drink... at 14...
drinking in moderation is one thing, but drinking to get drunk is just retarded. i learned this when i was 15 and i got drunk my first and last time. it affected me so bad that every time i smelled vodka from that point on it would make me sick.

[Kip]

Originally Posted by Lukie

Leading you to feel isolated and anti-social if you don't drink.

I'll take feeling isolated and anti-social(Though, it wouldn't make much of a difference because I consider myself isolated and anti-social anyways) any day versus the alternative, which is a visit to the hospital and my parents being extremely pissed.

[Ganymede]

The smoking argument is pretty much the most obvious reason why it should be lowered.

I say lower it to 18. Besides I can wait a year anyway haha.

[Valentine]

I find it funny that these College Presidents aren't encouraging the enforcement of law, instead of trying to change the law so they don't have to worry about their students breaking the law.

Right now many of these college towns have laws that allow 19 year olds into the bars, but they aren't supposed to drink. That's a laugh. Way back when I was a college student, I was over 21, and probably the only person in the bar that was, other than the staff. If these college presidents would push the towns to not allow under age students into bars and help the police enforce the laws, then the binge drinking would be reduced.

my

[Fire2box]

I always wondered why I could do EVERYTHING at the age of 18 aside become president of the US but I couldn't buy a bottle of coconut rum to mix with coca-cola.

[fifigal]

I am not advocating the use of alcohol,but from a practical view,in my opinion,the age limit should be lowered to 18.Those who are under 21,but still want alcohol,can and are able to obtain it.If at 18,society deems you responcible enough to join the armed service and defend your country,choose your government representatives,and operate a motor vehicle on the public roadways,then you should be able to decide wether or not you wish to imbibe an alcoholic beverage without any legal restrictions.

[d4l]

Originally Posted by fifigal

operate a motor vehicle on the public roadways,then you should be able to decide wether or not you wish to imbibe an alcoholic beverage without any legal restrictions.

Well you can get a drivers license at 14 years 9 months in michigan

But other than that valid points.

[Peachy]

I like the way it's here:
16 for beer and wine, so you can get a feel for how much you can drink, and 18 for spirits, which obviously make you drunk faster and more "effectively". Gives people the chance to experiment before they get to do dangerous stuff while drunk, like driving (driving age is 18).

Personally, I think 21 is way too old for drinking. Let people get completely wasted a few times in their lives and wake up with a raging headache and the remains of the previous day's dinner flowing around their midsection in a half-digested state. It's an experience everyone has to make on their own - like touching the hot stove. No education program or restriction will teach people their limits as well as getting completely f*cked up on booze. And the sooner they make that experience, the sooner they can learn how to properly handle alcohol (unless they're British - Brits have a gene for binge drinking!).

Peachy

[WildThing121675]

Me, I live in a college town and the local police blotter always has underage students being arrested by the local cops for underage consumption both on the campus and downtown at the bars.

I see it all the time, and all it does is cause civil disobedience in my town. I see it in the streets, in the papers, and on the news about how some stupid 18 year old college kid decided to get so drunk and go about causing trouble downtown. Personally, I think they should keep it the way it is, and then just have more cops on the streets, and on the campus.

The university here where I live, has been marred by incidents because of kids being idiots and turkeys. I get sick and tired of it, every year when the kids come back finding empty beer cans, beer bottles all over the place.

I will admit I drink, but I am in my 30s, at age 32, and I will admit I did drink before I was 21, but I was 19 when I had my first beer.

WildThing121675

[Kenshin Himura]

I say if your old enought to take a bullet for your country, you should be able to drink.