Drinking age in the United States.

[Steve bennet]

Here's an issue that has always bugged me but it's never brought up. I think we are closer to getting marijuana finally legalized/decriminalized than getting the drinking age lowered.

My buddy's daughter of 20 has recently been given an MIP [[Minor In Possession) charge for drinking. What I don't get is how an ADULT can be charged with a crime categorized as "MINOR in Possession." You're either an adult or a minor, you can't be both at the same time [[at least from a legal perspective). I wonder if an attorney has even gotten that kind of charge thrown out on that technically alone?

What does everyone else think of the drinking age issue?

I can see both sides of the argument with the 18/21 debate, but the most logical conclusion I can think of is you have to either raise the age of legal adulthood to 21, or lower the drinking age to 18. Pick your poison I guess.

[gazhekwe]

As PF Sloan wrote, "Yer old enough to kill but not fer votin'" or drinking as it happens. Silly regulations. If you can enlist [[or be drafted), you should be old enough for all adult activities.

[Meddle]

So raise the enlist/draft age to 21.

[Meddle]

You're either an adult or a minor, you can't be both at the same time [[at least from a legal perspective).

Sure you can. In some states girls can get married at 16, but can't legally have 'relations' until 18.

[jackie5275]

I remember when it got raised back from 18 to 21 right before I entered high school, well over 30 yrs ago. I thought it was dumb then, & I maintain my position. At age 18, you can vote, get married, serve in the military, enter into legal contracts [[think credit cards), decide your own healthcare treatment, but you can't have a beer. I don't think it's done anything to curb underage drinking by high schoolers either.

[Steve bennet]

What are the actual arguments for keeping the drinking age at 21? I don;t think I have ever encountered anyone who takes that position. Was it originally meant to curb underage drinking [[under 18)?

Makes you wonder if all that money Windsor makes from 19-year-olds could be kept in Detroit if the age were lowered.

[Patrick]

I dunno...I don't think many 19/20 year olds are going over to Windsor these days with all the bullshit you have to go through at the border

[Ray1936]

Chances are good that if you end up facing any kind of court proceedings for drinking when you are 20 years of age that you did something else kind of dumb to draw attraction to yourself.

That said, I'm 74, so what the flake do I care about this topic?

[mjs]

First, I agree that the drinking age should be 18. One reason that was given for raising it was that it allowed some high schoolers access to it essentially giving easy access to all. Another was the disproportionate rate of drunk driving deaths in under 21 year olds. Irony of that reasoning is that, due to front loading, the data showed that the underage death rate actually increased after laws making it 21 took affect.

Real reason, of course, that all the states did it rather than a select few was that the Feds took away highway funding of those that didn't.

I like the response my old law school teacher had for the whole old enough trip die for country, but not drink. Maybe they ask you about military service at a time when you think you're invincible and know everything, but don't actually know anything.

[Jimaz]

We had a really cool chemistry teacher in high school. She taught us all how to make rum. It was only for educational purposes so we couldn't drink what we made.

But after that we all knew how to make it at home!

She let me drive her 'vette too.

[Bigb23]

Interesting take on laws in Europe. They know how to raise responsible drinkers.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age#Europe

[Bigb23]

She let me drive her 'vette too.

Is that ALL, Jimaz?

[Gistok]

Let's see we can get behind the wheel of a car at 16 in the USA... [[15 in some instances) but in much of Europe the legal driving age is 18.

And then we have our legal drinking age at 21... whereas in Europe it's mostly 18.

Strange world....

[Papasito]

does anyone ever wait until 21 to have thier first drink?

[Detroitnerd]

Let's see we can get behind the wheel of a car at 16 in the USA... [[15 in some instances) but in much of Europe the legal driving age is 18.

And then we have our legal drinking age at 21... whereas in Europe it's mostly 18.

Strange world....

It makes sense to me. Europeans start drinking early, with dinner, with the family. They have mass transportation, live in cities where you can get around without a car. In the United States, we don't have a whole lot of mass transportation and we've built out our environment to practically require a car. Note how the driving age and the legal working age match up well here.

[canuck]

Is that ALL, Jimaz?

I think we both hope for a Cameron Diaz lookalike for this story to have a happy end...

[sumas]

Just when I turned 18 michigan changed the law to 18. When I turned 21 they changed it back to twenty one. Made no difference since I had fake id. Came in handy when I moved briefly out of state. The state laws are all strange. When I lived in New Mexico minors could drink if their parents were with them. Had a beer with a 12 yr old.

My parents were no drinkers but every Sunday we had a glass of wine with dinner

[Bigb23]

Funny, Sumas - we're about the same age. When I was camping in Canada about 1971, I found a company ID for an Esso employee. He was 32, 5'8", 230#, and black hair. I was 16, 6'4", 190#, and blond hair.

I never had a problem with only that picture ID in bars.