What is your opinion on the minimum legal drinking age in the US?
By oldchem1
@oldchem1 (8132)
June 1, 2010 3:28am CST
The US have the highest drinking age throughout the world, with several other countries. They also have one of the worst drinking and driving rates throughout the developed world,this doesn't give a direct correlation between lower drinking age and decreased drunk driving incidences because there is no definite way to prove that, but you have to step back and assume that something they are doing is improving their rates. In my personal opinion, there has to be some sort of improvement due to being taught at a younger age the use and abuse of alcohol. If you catch your children when they are the most preceptive to what you have to say and desire to teach, while they are still young, then they have more opportunity to learn about limits, consumption, and the abuse of this substance. When they reach 21 they have the ability to begin consuming alcohol, but with the exception of maybe a few parties or maybe new years, they have no experience.
There are claims that underground binge drinking in the US may be one of the best reasons to change the minimum legal drinking age. On the other hand research suggests multiple crime categories have decreased since the change in the minimum legal drinking age back in the 1980s
What is your opinion on this?
Do you think the US should drop their age limit or other countries raise there's to match?
4 people like this
3 responses
@xfahctor (14113)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
2 Jun 10
Something that is important to understand is that the drinking age in the U.S. is not set by the U.S. government, they have no authority to do this actually it is completely out of it's area of authority. Each state sets it's own drinking age here, except for military bases, which are run by the federal government and where the drinking age is actually still 18.
It is only recently that all states have it set at 21. This is due partly to pressure from the federal government though, who bribe states with extra highway funds if they maintain a drinking age of 21 and partly as well due to private national lobby groups. I reached the age of 19 just as the state right next door to me (Vermont)went from 18 to 19, and unfortunately for me, just as my state (New Hampshire) raised it to 21. So I had to wait a few years before I could legally drink in my own state, but I live right in the Vermont border so it wasn't too difficult for me to just pop over the state line and go to bars there.
I used to think that we should go back to the age of 18. However, after a few decades of going to bars and witnessing the behavior of the kids (21 years old means "kids" to me now) that congregate and party there, and after watching those under 21 in my neighborhood and how they handle drinking... I am actually all for RAISING it to 25.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
2 Jun 10
I wish they would start a campaign againist drinking like they have smoking. I'm not going to get out & kill soemone because i's driving & smoking but it happens too often because people are drinking & driving.
@sid556 (30953)
• United States
1 Jun 10
Hi OldChem,
I really don't know the answer to this one but it is worth exploring. Teens do tend to try things that are forbidden to them. The problem though is that it doesn't just belong to the teens. There are so many adults that drink and drive. When I was a teen the drinking age was 18. I knew tons of kids under that age that drank also. Back then, not so many had vehicles of their own and that could factor into why the rate of dwi's is much higher now. I really don't know. great discussion!
