Poll: Drinking Age.

As a person who has always wanted to be a responsible drinker I would have liked the opportunity to get into the craft beer community at an earlier age, it might have even effected my schooling, but I'm also aware of many people who just don't care about drinking responsibly and they get access to alcohol no matter what the legal age is. So one part of me wants to say 18 and another wants to say 23 or 24, an age when people are starting to get into the work force and forced to have some responsibility. Not that people 23 and above don't abuse alcohol.

 

I don't think there should be a drinking age.... FOR BEER It's foolish. I know a lot of people who would have been better off going to college knowing what LIQUOR was and how to handle it.

If our society would just upfront about it, we'd be a lot better off. Especially if we treated it like a food pairing rather than a means to get drunk.

Make solutions greater than 6% or 8% limited to those of an older age. I think we'd be better off this way

 

The idea of raising the driving age to 21 has to be the worst thing I've heard.

Driving is about education. If more parents took driving and teaching driving seriously, we'd be better off. Changing the age limit isn't changing any of that

 

Civilians at age 18 cause many more fatalities than 19 yr olds. As for service men, I have not heard of many deaths caused by the use of alcohol.

 

I really think Denmark has it right, they allow drinking at pretty much any age. You can buy< 16.5% at the age of 16 but cannot be allowed into a bar to drink until 18 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age). I think this takes the stigma away from drinking and allows them to learn how to respect it. The other thing that comes into play is they can't get a drivers license until 18. So hopefully by that time they are smart with their decisions. Why this won't work in the states as our public transportation doesn't allow this to function like it does over there (great mass transit). We are just to flippin spread out. So we give our kids cars when they are 16 and they are irresponsible and they bide their time until they get away from us and start binge drinking. So has the law against drinking under 21 worked, yes it has, it has padded the coffers of many a police station in college towns. MIP (minor in possession) are handed out like leaflets in some of these towns. What is the solution, I don't know. But as mentioned in another post if we think you are responsible enough at 18 to take a gun and go overseas to protect my old fat ass, well I think you should be allowed to drink and I will be glad to buy you one if I ever see you in a bar.

 

I think it's rather silly to think they should have a lower drinking age for people in the service.

 

I voted for twenty-one. How many eighteen year olds do you know making responsible choices?

 

I made my first fruit wine at 13 and built a still at 16 I guess it depends

 

Here in Quebec, it's 18

 

They are trusted with the vote.

It is 18 in the UK , when I began beer drinking nobody really cared how old I was as long as I behaved.It was 16 for beer, cider and perry (this is like cider but made from pears) if drunk with a meal. I'm not sure whether that is still the case.
But in those days pubs were full of men who wouldn't tolerate noisy youngsters anyway.

 

Sometimes I wish 40 was the minimum age to be in a bar....

 

You are legally an adult at the age of 18. If you can be tried as an adult, you should be able to drink like an adult. If we keep treating adults like children, we're just going to wind up with more adult children.

Also, I don't understand how a country can ask a person to serve in the military at 18, but demand that the same person wait THREE MORE YEARS until he can legally drink an alcoholic beverage. Preposterous.

 

Being able to tried as an adult, isn't really a valid point.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/cri...orida-inmate-awaiting-trial-article-1.1161131

 

I believe that a 13 year old being tried as an adult is a travesty. I also believe that the legal age at which one becomes an adult is a valid point. Are you an adult at 18, or are you not? This is a debatable point, I'll grant you that, but at this point in American culture 18 is considered the age at which point one legally becomes an adult.

 

18 for all the arguments for it...if a man or woman can be asked to kill or die for his or her country, they damn sure better be able to have a good beer...

 

Growing up in Quebec, I second your statement. Drinking Age and traffic sign/lights are mere suggestions.

I voted 18. I'm a veteran and side with the service memeber argument.

 

Awesome writer...awesome concept...

 

I used to say 18 as well, mostly because kids are going to do it anyway and the whole military thing. But now that I'm older I actually like 21 better. Reason being (of course in my opinion) 18 year old kids are NOT responsible, go ahead and argue. But I don't want 18 year olds to be able to get hammered at bars and taking to the roads. I'm not saying this doesn't happen at 21 or over but I was 18 once too and... yea no.

 

I think this was the first time these words were put in this particular order...