drinking age should be 18

[Numbers]

WHAT? The drinking age IS 18! :S
Unless you live in America... In which case... HAHA! (I know, totally not needed)
In Scotland the drinking age is 13... Unofficially... I think that's why a lot of people in this Country are alcoholics haha.
Officially it's 18 though. And if you look under 25 you have to provide I.D :)

 

[Captain Hobo.]

No, I think it should be 21. Because teens would get killed in car wreaks more.

 

[Livewire]

No, I think it should be 21. Because teens would get killed in car wreaks more.

And they could also just as easily be killed when they turn 21. :/ The age doesn't matter. Still dead.

If you want to drink at 18, go right ahead, its your life. If you're an 18 year old driving, voting, tax-paying citizen of this country, I think you already are old enough to handle drinking. Also, if im old enough to get shipped off to Afghanistan or Iraq, I should be able to drink when i please.

Im an adult in the eyes of the state at 18- I'd appreciate the ability to act as such.

 

[Yuoaman]

No, I think it should be 21. Because teens would get killed in car wreaks more.

The reason so many teens get killed in car wreaks is that they drink illegally and unsupervised, if it were made legal for them to drink they would drink in bars where they wouldn't be allowed to drive after consuming a large amount of alcohol.

 

[Waffle-San]

Well where I live the legal age is 18 but I've thought that it could be bumped up a year to 19 like some of Canada's other provinces. But even with the age limit, most kids I know started drinking around 15 when they entered High School (some a year earlier). I've admittadely drank with my parents before I swore off alcohol (except when cooked with). When grad roles around in June, half the grade 12 population is already 18, because of it many of the after grads sell alcohol. They have to check for ID but it matters little, you don't have to buy a drink to actually drink it.

I hear kids, in grade 10, talking about drinking,basically cause they're bored. I've also heard them talk about how they dated hot "chicks" before they, "knew what to do with them." Which quickly was followed by a scoff of, "well the booze makes that easier." Things like that disgust me, I knew the one kid back in Junior High too. He used to wear clothes that fit and was a pretty cool guy to talk too, glad that didn't change. /sarcasm

The reason I say 19 is mainly so you can keep alcohol out of High Schools a little better though I don't see much changing. 21 at least makes it out of reach of more High Schoolers, but kids find ways. =/

 

[Ruto]

Whatever the drinking age, kids/young adults are still going to find a way to drink. Just look back to when alcohol was banned completely... There were still people drinking it because they really, really wanted to. There isn't all too much anyone can do about it in all honesty.

 

[Yuoaman]

Well where I live the legal age is 18 but I've thought that it could be bumped up a year to 19 like some of Canada's other provinces. But even with the age limit, most kids I know started drinking around 15 when they entered High School (some a year earlier). I've admittadely drank with my parents before I swore off alcohol (except when cooked with). When grad roles around in June, half the grade 12 population is already 18, because of it many of the after grads sell alcohol. They have to check for ID but it matters little, you don't have to buy a drink to actually drink it.

I hear kids, in grade 10, talking about drinking,basically cause they're bored. I've also heard them talk about how they dated hot "chicks" before they, "knew what to do with them." Which quickly was followed by a scoff of, "well the booze makes that easier." Things like that disgust me, I knew the one kid back in Junior High too. He used to wear clothes that fit and was a pretty cool guy to talk too, glad that didn't change. /sarcasm

The reason I say 19 is mainly so you can keep alcohol out of High Schools a little better though I don't see much changing. 21 at least makes it out of reach of more High Schoolers, but kids find ways. =/

The thing is, with a lower age limit kids won't have to buy from unscrupulous men wearing trench coats and sunglasses behind the liquor store, and it can be better regulated. Believe it or not making it legal would decrease the amount of drinking overall in teenagers.

 

[Ruto]

The thing is, with a lower age limit kids won't have to buy from unscrupulous men wearing trench coats and sunglasses behind the liquor store, and it can be better regulated. Believe it or not making it legal would decrease the amount of drinking overall in teenagers.

At first I think it'd actually have adverse effects. It would take some time to see the numbers you expect in my opinion.

 

[Zet]

I don't know why someone would want the drinking age to be lowered, alcohol tastes horrible, might as well just keep the age limit where it is in whatever country you belong to.

And even if underage kids did get their hands on alcohol, they still shouldn't drink it, they need every last brain cell they have to get through school.

 

[Aloetakura]

The drinking age IS 18... Unless you're living in USA. Too bad for you. Or for those who are scared of alcohol, good for you that it's 21!

In my country the limit for drinking and buying alcohol in bars is 18, but for buying it in stores, it's 20. That's a good system, I think. People can't suddenly go all frenzy and buy a lot as soon as they turn 18, but they get slowly (more or less...) used to it by going out instead. And they can't buy too much since it's really costly in bars.

So, I guess yeah. The drinking age should be 18... the reason it isn't is maybe that american teenagers are considered so immature that they couldn't handle it...? ;)
(no offense, jk)

 

[Dawn]

The thing is, with a lower age limit kids won't have to buy from unscrupulous men wearing trench coats and sunglasses behind the liquor store, and it can be better regulated. Believe it or not making it legal would decrease the amount of drinking overall in teenagers.

I think I've heard this argument before. >_>;

First of all, alcohol is very harmful to the body and is famous for causing harm to innocents due to abuse, as well as the drinkers themselves. This drug is not to be taken lightly. This is not <insert less harmful drug here>. This is alcohol. Alcohol hurts and ruins countless lives every year.

Quite frankly, in a perfect world this drug would be very illegal, and we should be striving to get the closest to this that our human imperfections will allow within reason.

Furthermore... alcohol is clearly very addictive, and the legality plays no part in it. I don't see any reason why making it legal would do squat to reduce the number of drinkers. It won't be more expensive. It won't be less addictive. In fact, making it legal would essentially make it less of a hassle to get ahold of the stuff!

Oh.. and quite frankly, if kids are going to weird people in trench coats for illegal alcohol, well...

I certainly won't be missing them in the gene pool. They might as well start getting hooked on Russian Roulette while they're at it.

So, I guess yeah. The drinking age should be 18... the reason it isn't is maybe that american teenagers are considered so immature that they couldn't handle it...?

Maturity; drinking poison for the lulz. True-fact, if your liver wasn't there to filter 90+% of the alcohol you drink, you'd probably die from your average drink.

At first I think it'd actually have adverse effects. It would take some time to see the numbers you expect in my opinion.

Judging by the adult population and drinking habits there doesn't seem to be any reason to believe the numbers will go down, ever. Unless I'm missing something.

 

[donavannj]

So, I guess yeah. The drinking age should be 18... the reason it isn't is maybe that american teenagers are considered so immature that they couldn't handle it...? ;)
(no offense, jk)

It isn't 18 anymore because of traffic-safety related concerns (meaning the high percentage of fatal alcohol related accidents involving drunk drivers under the age of 21).

 

[Ruto]

Judging by the adult population and drinking habits there doesn't seem to be any reason to believe the numbers will go down, ever. Unless I'm missing something.

Well whether they'll admit to it or not, a majority of the underage drinkers drink because they aren't supposed to. It's their way of being rebellious. Take away that thrill, and a lot of alcohol's appeal vanishes. If you lower the drinking age, sure possibly even more previously underagers will drink, but eventually that initial flare it had will be no more, because hey, it's legal now. No one cares that you are drinking...

 

[bna_li]

Well whether they'll admit to it or not, a majority of the underage drinkers drink because they aren't supposed to.

That sounds about right. I know a lot of people smoke to make them seem cooler, and older than they really are. Might be the same for drinking.

 

[killerdonut012]

here is the thing. we dont live in 3rd world country, so guns and cars are common. we cannot afford to have people get drunk and do crazy stuff. it's not about how bad alcohol is to your body, its about how you can hurt many when you are drunk.

people probably can type an essay of how they can control themselves. but lets face it, how many people do know how to control themselves?

 

[Captain Fabio]

No, I think it should be 21. Because teens would get killed in car wreaks more.

As tragic as the case is, that is a rubbish point. 21 year olds die in DD crashes a lot as well as teenagers, that point is invalid.

Being from the UK, we can drink and smoke at 18. If it was 21 then the University lifestyle would be horribly changed. Freshers week wouldn't really exist. (Get drunk and get to know everyone). I am glad we have it at 18, but it wouldn't bother me too much, because, at the end of the day, if I want beer, I can easily get it, which goes for most people these days.

 

[Dawn]

Well whether they'll admit to it or not, a majority of the underage drinkers drink because they aren't supposed to. It's their way of being rebellious. Take away that thrill, and a lot of alcohol's appeal vanishes. If you lower the drinking age, sure possibly even more previously underagers will drink, but eventually that initial flare it had will be no more, because hey, it's legal now. No one cares that you are drinking...

That sounds about right. I know a lot of people smoke to make them seem cooler, and older than they really are. Might be the same for drinking.

The reason it's cool is not because it's illegal but because all the adults do it. It will still be "cool" whether the age limit is lowered or not. =/

Once again, alcohol is not <insert different drug here> *cough*marijuana*choke* it's a very different case.


Quite frankly, the legal ages are fine where they are.

if I want beer, I can easily get it, which goes for most people these days.

And to emphasis my point before, he's right. Kids are generally not going to dealers to get their alcohol. Most kids that get illegal alcohol get it in much safer, more clever ways. (Disregarding that it's not legally safe.)

 

[twocows]

As tragic as the case is, that is a rubbish point. 21 year olds die in DD crashes a lot as well as teenagers, that point is invalid.

Being from the UK, we can drink and smoke at 18. If it was 21 then the University lifestyle would be horribly changed. Freshers week wouldn't really exist. (Get drunk and get to know everyone). I am glad we have it at 18, but it wouldn't bother me too much, because, at the end of the day, if I want beer, I can easily get it, which goes for most people these days.

Eighteen year-olds tend to be more prone to drinking and driving than 21 year-olds. I have a proposition: you can either have a license to drink or a license to drive before you are 30. The age limit on either is 15. I would have far fewer problems with this system. Drunk drivers kill over 10,000 people each year, and anything that can shrink that number even slightly is worth our time.

 

[bna_li]

The reason it's cool is not because it's illegal but because all the adults do it. It will still be "cool" whether the age limit is lowered or not. =/

That is true, but only to a certain extent.

At some point in time, some teenagers go through a phase where they like to do things that they're not supposed to, to "stick it to the man." Parents suddenly seem more unreasonable than they used to be, and authority figures immediately become objects of loathing. Suddenly, breaking the rules seem like a lot of fun, and with it comes the feeling of freedom.

That is not to say that people who are 21 years of age don't have the same mentality. It just seems more prevalent in teenagers.

 

[Captain Fabio]

Eighteen year-olds tend to be more prone to drinking and driving than 21 year-olds. I have a proposition: you can either have a license to drink or a license to drive before you are 30. The age limit on either is 15. I would have far fewer problems with this system. Drunk drivers kill over 10,000 people each year, and anything that can shrink that number even slightly is worth our time.

I honestly think that would cause more 'illegal' drinking. People need to drive as a way of life. Yes, you don't NEED to drink, but with no opinion there, it is like the government are treating us like kids.

Why not just increase the severity of the punishment for drink driving? Much like breaching copyright, an unlimited fine and maximum of 10 years in jail. However, the prisions are already at capacity.