The Amethyst Initiative
 

Let them drink. Keep them out of the bars, there are crowded with enough immature kids as it is.

When I went through school, everybody had a fake ID to drink. The result is that not only was the drinking law not respected, but also a more serious crime like forgery of government documents became commonplace.

Because of this, I support a reexamination.

The good points at restricting the drinking age:

Teen years and pre age 4 are the two times when the human brain is the most susceptible to altering substances. It makes sense to be very careful about your intake at these times.

Teen's aren't very wise at times. They are smart, but not wise. A lot of the stupid stuff done with alcohol is done by teens.

Increasing the drinking age lowered the amount of accidents in america by a lot. A lot of 21 people.

A lot of bad stuff is done by alcohol use, most people who don't start drinking until they are >21 never abuse alcohol.

Bad points about restricting the drinking age:

They do it anyway. Having defacto law breaking is never a good thing. Then people decide it is OK to break the law (same issue with speeding).

They are adults, they should be able to choose things for themselves.

I remember thinking that there were three points here, but can't remember the third right now.

Jon Miller

The fact that people break the law is NOT a reason to change the law. If there are reasons to change the law other than that, do (like with speeding, where speed limits are often too low); but not simply because they break the law.

I'm against it, because SOME people don't break the law and drink young, and I think those people are helped by the extra three years. I also think it would become a similar problem, just a few years younger; people are more likely to drink at 19 or 20 than at 16 or 17 at the moment, in some part due to the age being 21; this would be less the case if it were lowered. Finally, I'm all for protecting the people who actually follow the law, and don't give a **** about those who don't care to.

If we wanted to enforce this law, we could and would; certain college towns have become quite successful at doing so.

There are good reasons you can't... as I referred to in my post.

I personally think it should stay at 21, although I have given alcohol to minors a time or two.

JM

It's 18 in Alberta and 19 in the rest of Canada and we're just fine.

It's 18 in the UK too and their consumption is higher yet their drunk driving rate is far below that of the USA also.

Originally posted by snoopy369
The fact that people break the law is NOT a reason to change the law. I don't agree. Setting laws that everybody breaks erodes respect for the law overall.

I don't agree. Setting laws that everybody breaks erodes respect for the law overall. I have to agree on that.

Originally posted by Method
18 in quebec too, which makes gatineau a popular location for 18th birthday celebrations http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/smile.gif Quebec is not in Canada, it is its own nation that simply receives foreign aid from Canada, not unlike third world countries.

Originally posted by snoopy369
Dan/Rah: The way you deal with 'everyone breaking the law' if it is a good/just law is, you enforce the law. It doesn't take long before people start taking you seriously, and stop breaking it. Clearly, you are correct.

Is it 4:20 yet?

Originally posted by snoopy369

Dan/Rah: The way you deal with 'everyone breaking the law' if it is a good/just law is, you enforce the law. It doesn't take long before people start taking you seriously, and stop breaking it.
If it's a good law. That's the kicker. If people perceive it as a bad law, additional enforcement reduces respect even farther. Trying to eliminate booze at colleges is silly.

That's pretty obviously false.

Anyway, if the problems are binge drinking and drunk driving, combat those things. Trying to ban pre-21 yr olds from drinking won't work (in large part b/c a substantial portion of the population thinks the law is bullshit).

-Arrian

Originally posted by Arrian
That's pretty obviously false. Excuse me, but are you trying to tell us that you waited until you were 21 to drink? http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...s/rolleyes.gif

As a

If I don't rob houses or have any inclination to do so than a law against robbing houses doesn't affect me. That's what I mean.

Unless that law deters someone else from robbing your house...

Lower the drinking age to 18 and raise the driving age to 21.

The real problem is not the legal drinking age - but your drinking culture.

NZ has a drinking age of 18 currently - it was lowered from 20 about 5 years ago.

The real problem was not 18 year olds getting booze for the first time - they already could get it. The real problem is the binge drinking culture amoungst young people in NZ.

This was suddenly un-ignorable anymore as it was now happening in bars/clubs rather than private homes.

I suspect the same would be true for many parts of the US.

However in many parts of Europe this binge drinking culture does not exist. It quite possibly has to do with the fact that children are given watered down wine with meals, and alcohol is treated as an every day/nothing special kind of thing.

Originally posted by Kidicious


I'm strongly anti-DP and strong punishment in general. Ok...

But you appear to be arguing that people only respect laws that affect them if there is a harsh punishment attached. Ergo, the DP (harshest possible punishment) would result in more respect for laws against murder. This is a key pro-DP argument. I don't really buy it, but it seems you do.

-Arrian

Originally posted by Arrian


Ok...

But you appear to be arguing that people only respect laws that affect them if there is a harsh punishment attached. Ergo, the DP (harshest possible punishment) would result in more respect for laws against murder. This is a key pro-DP argument. I don't really buy it, but it seems you do.

-Arrian In this context I mean "respect" like Stalin or Hitler were respected by their people.

Originally posted by Thoth
Lower the drinking age to 18 and raise the driving age to 21. They arleady hvae to lwoer it to 14 in some places because people need cars in the US to get to work.

JM