Thursday, 07 May 2009
-
Should The Legal Drinking Age Be Lowered to 18?
Should the legal drinking age be lowered to 18? Why or why not?
RecommendRelated Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to healthkicker's Healthkicker Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in healthkicker's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
Comments (118)
Nooo.
Obviously you haven't experienced the sight of a bunch of drunken 18 year olds. Most teenagers that age (and younger) already do it illegally, making it legal will just make things worse. Ha, definitely not a good idea.
Heck no; we've got enough problems with teens drinking already! Why would making it legal solve anything? It my opinion it would just make things worse because there would be more of them drinking and driving.
it's already 18 where i live
HA
it's kinda retarded really. highschoolers + going to bars?
but really. the thing is in american the voting age is 18, but the drinking age is 21. they should just raise the voting age or something, because most 18 year olds in america dont vote anyways. (sorry for the ones that do)
No! We don't need 18-year-olds out there drinking and driving! Talk about dangerous!
No. You can't even trust 21 year olds (and older) not to act impulsively stupid when drunk, let alone 18 year olds.
I know there's the whole argument about how if you can die for your country, you should be able to crack open a cold one, but I'm honestly not sold. 18 year olds are no more responsible with their lives than most of the populace 3 years older, regardless of the fact that they can be dragged to war.
No... enough illegal drinking goes on as is, why add to the mix? 18 year olds don't know what they're doing (heck, most 21 year olds don't...) so if it was allowed that they could drink... am I the only one picturing a grenade in the hands of a five year old? Dangerous combination.
No, it shouldn't be lowered.
Honestly, I don't think there should be a drinking age AT ALL.
I'm not encouraging toddlers to become alcoholics, understand--and yes, we all do need to work on setting and sticking to our limits when it comes to alcohol--but, like anything else, making drinking illegal has only driven it underground and, therefore, made it more dangerous.
We should be controlling the quality of the alcohol that's sold and better educating people on how to drink responsibly as opposed to the "don't drink" approach. (Think the sex-ed argument.)
If you can die for your country at eighteen, you should be able to drink. I don't drink, tried it when I was younger...didn't much like it, and I won't drink after 21 either. *shrugs*
Most of the time, kids do their worst shenanegins BECAUSE they're told they're not allowed to.
P.s. in case it's not clear I hold a stance similiar to the person above me. I don't believe in telling people how to live their lives. If they want to be idiots, it's not really our business to set them straight by force. Let them be idiots. If we must have a legal drinking age, let it be lowered to eighteen...unless we don't consider them legally adults now at that age? Do we? If so, why the heck are we letting them join the army? What the heck is up with that logic, guys?
Before I was 21, I would have said yes make it 18. But now that I am 22...not so much. Drunk driving is a huuuuuge problem in my state (WI), so it would cause more chaos on the roadways.
Nah, what's the point?
If an 18 year old wants to drink, they still will. More often than not, they won't get in trouble for it either.
what is the point of turning 18 and "becoming an adult" and making a big deal out of it if you don't really have full responsibility of yourself, drinking and otherwise?
i think that when you turn 18, you should have your life in your hands, play it wisely with your own disgression.
No. That would be the dumbest thing ever, plain and simple. It's atleast borderline difficult for them to get the alcohol now, I'd rather it stay that way. They're just getting their licenses, they're just now labeled as an adult, etc. I don't think they're mature enough to handle that at all, especially when I hear about 21 year olds acting like children by getting drunk and acting a fool.
I think it should definitely be lowered in the U.S
In Montreal where I live the drinking age already is 18 and I don't think it makes it any worse than any other city!
Let's all be honest here...teens / young adults will drink no matter what the legal drinking age is
I think drinking illegaly at 18 years old is MUCH more dangerous than drinking legally
When I was 18, I would tell my mom when / where I was drinking, how I was getting home, etc.
I think that helps open up dialogue about how to be safe and what to look out for
( my mom would always tell to never leave my drink, etc.)
just my opinion!
Only on milk and soda pop. You can die for your county at eighteen but that doesn't mean die on the side of Interstate 18.
yeah. maybe then people won't go crazy and drink every day when they're in college. its stupid.
and I think its funny that its way easier to get weed than it is to get alcohol. seriously, america? hahaha
Yes. The mere fact that they knocked it up to 21 in the first place was a blatant abuse of power. The federal government did that, when it is up to the states to manage that law. But they grabbed a hold of america's junk and that's what happens in our country. Just one more example of the government taking steps to strip us of ours rights.
No! We aren't mature enough at 21 to drink so there is no way we are mature enough to drink younger than that.
Yes. Or just get rid of it altogether. I don't even think there should be a drinking age. America is really stupid sometimes. I see comments from people saying we aren't even "mature enough" to drink at 21. Some people are more mature at 16 than they are at 26. Either way, the stupid people will cause problems whether they are of legal age or not. Why punish the responsible, simply because morons will be morons? Such is America.
It's apparent that people drink whether they are 16 or 21+. They typically only get in legal trouble if they cause problems by being drunk.
What would change by simply making it legal? Nothing. Except make it allowable for those who wouldn't abuse it anyway, which would be fine by me!!!
@misstephy@xanga - I agree with everything you said...
Um. I think there are a lot of people who underestimate the rationality of 18 year old's. Granted there are a ton of stupid 18 year old's but to think that we are doing society a favor by forcing sobriety upon citizens who are technically adults (draft, jury duty, voting, tried as an adult), one would think it counter productive.
Picture this classic scenario. A group of high school students just graduated from high school, so they rummage through their parents liquor cabinet and find a handle of smirnoff. Not knowing what they are doing, they grab shot glasses, a couple bottles of cranberry juice, and start pounding shots, taking enough time between each shot to call each other "Bitches" or "Pussies." One of them goes too far and OD's.
this is the result of stupidity and availability of liquor.
Now picture a flip scenario. These high school students are allowed to drink, because they are 18, and to celebrate, they head to a bar or a restaurant or a fancy place to celebrate. Let's just say they go to a local Bar, that serves up Bar food, and it's a local joint where college students frequent. Each Pitcher is $12, each mixed drink is $8, and each pint is $5. Between four friends, lets say they each get a pitcher, which is four pints each, give or take. Add on the food they can get, lets say a burger at $6.50, and pow, without risk of serious danger, they are each out $20.
I don't care who you are, at 18, $20 bucks is a lot.
So yea. I think it would be better to join THE REST OF THE FREAKING WORLD, and change the drinking age to 18. It just makes sense.
Yes. It should actually be even lower than 18 to prevent the binge-drinking phenomenon that happens in college. Have kids start drinking when they are under supervision of their parents so they can be responsible and it's no longer "cool" to drink.
no . but at the same time, kids are drinking anyways.
If you change it to 18, all the 18-year olds are gonna whine and say, "Aww man, now drinking isn't cool anymore!" They'll quit drinking and thus our problem is solved.
Of course I'm kidding. But the major issue I have with 18 years being the minimum age is the fact that some high schoolers turn 18 during their senior year (I didn't turn 18 until college freshman year). There might be a concern that these 18-year olds will mix with their younger peers in lower grades. Of course there are already high schoolers illegally drinking, but lowering the age might just make it easier to gain access to alcohol.
If the age should be lowered, I think it should be lowered to 19 or 20. In Japan, 20 is the age for pretty much everything--smoking, drinking, driving, etc. Even though their policy is much more lenient (I can buy alcohol at a convenience store without showing ID), it's because underage drinking and disobedience isn't as big of a problem as it is in the United States.
On a side note, I kind of like how I can spend most of my year in Japan at 20 drinking legally, and then return to the U.S., turn 21 and become a legal drinker again, lol. If I was a regular drinker it would matter, but I only drink on special occasions.