The drinking age in the US has been 21 for more than 20 years.
Today, we all take the drinking age for granted, but should we? In fact, the US is one of only four countries in the world with a drinking age as high as 21—the other three are Indonesia, Mongolia and Palau.
Is the policy working to reduce health and safety issues related to youthful alchohol abuse? Is enforcing the drinking age the best use of scarce public resources? What are the unintended consequences of alcohol prohibition for 18-20 year olds?
Organizations such as Mother Against Drunk Driving (MADD) argue that the drinking age is an effective policy and that the answer to ongoing alcohol related problems for 18-20 year olds is more education and better enforcement.
John McCardell, president of Choose Responsibility, and 135 university presidents and chancellors across the country believe it's time to take a fresh look at the drinking age. The former president of Middlebury College and the new head of Sewanee/University of the South, McCardell says our current system encourages unsupervised binge drinking.
Reason.tv went to the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin to get a first-hand look at the war on underage drinking.
Produced and hosted by Paul Feine; shot and edited by Alex Manning. Approximately 10 minutes long. Go to Reason.tv for downloadable iPod, HD and audio versions of this and all our videos. Subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube page and receive automatic notification when new material goes live.
show http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qQzYUZ_MNU&feature=player_embedded
Most states in the nation adopted a minimum drinking age of 21 soon after federal passage of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, which required states to maintain a minimum drinking age of 21. Under the Federal Aid Highway Act, States were required to enforce the minimum drinking age of 18 in order to avoid a 10% reduction in federal highway funds. The original intention of the law was to reduce the incidents of alcohol-related accidents among people under 21. But since passage of this legislation, and the raising of the drinking age in many states, the percentage of people who drink between the ages of 18 to 20 has skyrocketed. Many say the prohibitions have actually encouraged secretive binge drinking , more dangerous behavior, and less educational programming targeting this age group. Respected law enforcement officials and university presidents have recently called for changes in the federal law to permit states to lower the drinking age.
At age 18, people are legal adults. As much as their parents may think otherwise, they are no longer children . They have the right to vote and help choose the President of the United States. They can go to war to defend our country, and they can legally purchase guns and cigarettes . It is absolutely absurd that they cannot have a beer or glass of wine without fear of possible arrest and prosecution.
It's time for the nation to repeal these Prohibition-era laws and adopt a more intelligent, progressive, and educational approach to drinking among younger adults. These laws simply don't work , they aren't enforceable any longer, and if anything they are counterproductive. Literally millions of responsible young adults are already consuming alcohol and that's not going to change . What we need to do is stop wasting the taxpayers money chasing, charging and prosecuting responsible young adults who want to have a beer, and start putting the money where it ought to be, in promoting smart education about responsible drinking, and in pursuing far more serious criminals, including those at all ages who drive under the influence of alcohol and drugs .
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Eric Paine
President & Founder
Drink At 18
http://drinkat18.com
I remain neutral on this issue. But where I do have a problem with it is for those individuals who serve in the military . If these young individuals are allowed to step up and take a bullet, surely they can have a beer or two before they do so.
I don't really pay attention either, but I agree with lowering the drinking age .. I think it should be between 14 & 16.
But As for the military boys, why should we trust someone who scored a 32 on the ASVAB over a Harvard student ?
Make me giggle a little when I thought of the talking points that would come from the right if Democrats and Obama legalized drinking for 18-39 yr olds with military IDs. Probably something about bribes and a mention or two of "Hitler Youth" or something. It's no longer about what they will oppose from the adminstration, it is only now a matter of *how* they oppose anything that comes out of a "liberal" mouth. /rant
The reasons I would trust a Marine, Soldier, Sailor or Airman over a Harvard student with drinking .
1. They are more disciplined than the Harvard student.
2. If the military members get in trouble they face double jeapordy; they will not only be punished by civilian laws , but with military laws also.
3. If the military members get in trouble, typically mommy and daddy won't be there to bail them out.. A lot of kids join the military because college financially isn't an option and the military will pay for it. So they don't have the same sense of entitlement as most Harvard students .
Insinuating the only people who go into the military are dumb makes you sound like a bigot..
I contest that your first point is false with regards to actions while intoxicated. I lived in Savannah, GA. That city is home to two bases and many colleges with SCAD being the main school . I can assure you that the military boys were far more irresponsible and roudy when drinking than the college kids .
The rest of your post is interesting.
However, I need to defend myself on your last point. That military recruits are all dumb was not my point. My point was that the military accepts people that dumb and it wouldn't be reasonable to conclude that service to the country should grant one any more rights to drink than a college student . I certainly do not think that joining the military is dumb or that only dumb people do it.
In my defense I offer that my father was an enlisted Air Force sargeant, his father was Navy pilot and flew in Korea and that I attempted to join the navy as an enlisted man when I was 18 but didn't get in because of my hearing problem in my right ear. My father achieved a 91 on his ASVAB and I a 92. (yes, I'm gloating over my father :), sue me lol)
I'm not going to argue what happens in your home town..
I'm a former Marine and I come from a military family too.. I was an Arabic Linguist (99 ASVAB). Brag on you and your dad.. Anything over an 85 is outstanding. That sucks about your hearing.. My color blindness kept me from being a helicopter pilot, so I feel you on that one.
I was stationed all up and down the west coast.. The military guys for sure got into more fights and were a bit more rowdy.. But that's not what I'm talking about in regards to discipline ..
If you put the statistics side by side with college students next to the military.. College students win hands down with deaths relating to binge drinking , sexual assaults, rapes, DUIs and disorderly conduct..
The reasons are.. The military is under supervision when they are back on base.. And the majority of them end up back on base. They have to be at work Monday thru Friday, some weekends too. They can't "cut duty" or they'll get brought up on charges . They can't show up to work drunk or they'll be brought up on "dereliction of duty charges." For those reasons alone, it reduces the number of incidents.
As a Marine, we policed each other, if someone was messing up, we'd let him know and try to stop him. The other 3 branches fall short of our standards.. but they do police each other too.
I misinterpreted what you said with your final point. Now that I have an understanding, I'm going to disagree with it. I feel if someone is willing to lay their life on the line for the country, they should be allowed to drink.
One thing a lot of people don't realize is.. Military members overseas are allowed to drink at whatever age the country they are in allows drinking at.. Most countries the age is a loose 18. So military members in the U.S. can't drink while their brothers in arms across the pond can.
There are thousands of service members who were killed in action that were never allowed to legally have a drink in their home country.. That's sad.
I feel there should be no alcohol prohibition at all.. But since there is.. With at least our military members, let the 18-20 year olds drink legally on base at the Enlisted Club.. This would result in much fewer incidents out in town too.
I'm curious, why do you disagree with that?
That's what I was trying to say. I was simply saying that the legal drinking shouldn't be lowered for ONLY military . The confusion here is that you aren't thinking within the very narrow scope with which I was referring. In the wider scope of things, I am with you all the way. I absolutely of the opinion that anyone who can fight for this country should be allowed to drink alcohol .
As I stated before, I think the drinking age should be around 14 or so but at least 18.
Although, to add your perspective, I would agree that alcohol prohibition should be done away with. My call for a 14 yr old age limit is only under the condition that prohibition is the given.
I never pass a comment that you have written because if nothing else it is entertaining.
But this last paragraph just confused the hell out of me. Even with the correction.
The last paragraph was me pondering about what republicans would say if the current congress proposed legalizing alcohol for service members only at the age of 18 years old, while leaving the civilian population to drink at 21 and over.
if a Republican presented a bill and Obama or Congress just agreed with it, the republicans would vote against it.
But in connection with the subject at hand I have never been able to understand the difference in the age for military service and the age to drink. And then there is that whole other thing about the age of consent. We could really get some people buzzing if that was discussed for a change in age.