Divided on drinking
Reactions to lowering the legal drinking age
Sarah Sole
Issue date: 6/14/07 Section: News
Students and others are divided about whether a proposed law to lower the drinking age to 18 would positively affect alcohol abuse.
Founder and director of www.chooseresponsibility.org, a website promoting the proposed law, John McCardell Jr. said the current drinking age of 21 creates the least safest environment.
"They're drinking abusively because they can't drink out in the open," McCardell said, of underage youth.
People can either enforce the law or ignore it, McCardell said. "The law really poses two impossible choices." Enforcing the drinking age often forces underage drinkers to go underground, McCardell said, adding that the environment is an invitation to binge drinking. "All you're really doing is transplanting the problem."
As brand new legal adults, 18-year-olds find that one of the few rights they lack is buying beer. "This is the exception," said McCardell.
College students are not the only ones affected. Other individuals such as young people in the military or those supporting families are also adults.
Education would be an important component of lowering the drinking age.
Alcohol education could begin at age 14, continue at ages 16 and 18, and be part of the curriculum for senior year of high school, McCardell said. Additionally, there could be graduation course options.
After high school, students would complete a course that would involve victims of alcohol abuse. "It would be a very serious and thorough education program," he said.
The current law does not allow legal guardians to play their parental roles, McCardell said, but new policy could change that.
Before 18-year-olds graduate from high school, they would only be allowed to drink at their homes in the presence of parents, McCardell said, like the behind-the-wheel training of drivers' education.
The new privileges would not come without penalties.
Individuals that violate drinking laws in their youth forfeit eligibility for the educational program, McCardell said. If they drink illegally during the program, they could flunk out.
Founder and director of www.chooseresponsibility.org, a website promoting the proposed law, John McCardell Jr. said the current drinking age of 21 creates the least safest environment.
"They're drinking abusively because they can't drink out in the open," McCardell said, of underage youth.
People can either enforce the law or ignore it, McCardell said. "The law really poses two impossible choices." Enforcing the drinking age often forces underage drinkers to go underground, McCardell said, adding that the environment is an invitation to binge drinking. "All you're really doing is transplanting the problem."
As brand new legal adults, 18-year-olds find that one of the few rights they lack is buying beer. "This is the exception," said McCardell.
College students are not the only ones affected. Other individuals such as young people in the military or those supporting families are also adults.
Education would be an important component of lowering the drinking age.
Alcohol education could begin at age 14, continue at ages 16 and 18, and be part of the curriculum for senior year of high school, McCardell said. Additionally, there could be graduation course options.
After high school, students would complete a course that would involve victims of alcohol abuse. "It would be a very serious and thorough education program," he said.
The current law does not allow legal guardians to play their parental roles, McCardell said, but new policy could change that.
Before 18-year-olds graduate from high school, they would only be allowed to drink at their homes in the presence of parents, McCardell said, like the behind-the-wheel training of drivers' education.
The new privileges would not come without penalties.
Individuals that violate drinking laws in their youth forfeit eligibility for the educational program, McCardell said. If they drink illegally during the program, they could flunk out.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Robert P Kaldunski
posted 6/14/07 @ 10:06 AM EST
I believe that changing the Law to allow 19 year old individuals to drink is the right way to go, but, I also believe that they should not be allowed to purchase alcohol from any store until 21 years of age hopefully by then they will know better than to buy for underage persons
David J Robinson
posted 6/14/07 @ 1:11 PM EST
It's been done before. Once before (sometimes in the 1970s or 1980s, as I recall) the drinking age was lowered to 18, and the wave of highway carnage was so horrible that the legislature quickly raised the age to 21 again. (Continued…)
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