Do you think the drinking age law should be lowered to 18 or 16 in the US?

Question

Why or why not?

Since many young people are irresponsible these days, my parents believe the drinking age law should rise to 25.

Answer 1

If people are adult enough to join the army at 18 and make the decision to put their lives on the line then shouldn't they be able to decide what to drink?

Answer 2

one reason i think it should NOT be lowered is that many teens have alot of emotional "drama" and coupled w/alcohol?  not good in my opinion.  plus they need to be sure they know what their values are and at that age they are just beginning to do things on their own.  so if they use alcohol, they can make mistakes that they may not have made.

Answer 3

I think is should stay just where it is. Before the federal government stepped in and made the mandatory minimum drinking age 21 it was well noted that states which had it set at 18 had far more fatal traffic accidents involving teenage drinkers than ones that had it set at 21.

As for raising it I see no benefits if someones still irresponsible at  age 21 I don't think they're going to me any more responsible at age 25. Beside that the liquor lobby would have a fit.

Answer 4

Alcohol ought to be classed as a controlled substance because it is a narcotic.

Answer 5

increasing it to 25 just means more people have to do it illegally, finding ways to get fake id's, stealing and such.  They say having it at age 21 saves 900 lives a year, personally i think thats a complete load of c**p.  I think if it were at 18, it would be no more tempting to do than cigarettes or p**n.  Making alcohol illegal until at age 21, it makes younger kids want it more and more.  Im 18, even if the drinking age was age 18 right now i would probably never drink, except special occasions.  But i have been to parties in high school, and college where its just out of control, and if it were legal it wouldnt be taken so far.

Answer 6

raise it to 25.  

Kids are beyong irresponsible these days, they are self indulgent and negligent.

When there are no longer record teen pregnancies, when drunk driving no longer one of the leading causes of death for teens, when the drop out rate is zero then I may be more receptive to this idea.

Answer 7

I agree.I think they should raise it to 25.No matter what if they want it bad enough they will get it and we have adults contributing to the delinquency of minors.I think you should go to a M.A.D.D.[mothers against drunk drivers] site ,check it out.Also usually if a child starts with alcohol it turns into worse drugs than that.Good luck.

Answer 8

People are CRAZY if they think that the drinking age should be lowered to 16. Age 18 is the bare minimum that people should be allowed to purchase alcohol.

What people do in their own homes are of no business of mine. If they want to let their children have a few tastes of alcohol, no problem with me. If they want to provide cases of beer for their children, fine. Whatever. It's their decision.

Maybe the Europeans have it right by introducing casual wine and champagne at dinner when the children are pre-teen/teens. It's proven that they have less alcoholism and alcohol abuse over there.

Answer 9

I think the age should be lowered for active duty military. I think if you are old enough to defend this country, you should be old enough to drink. Every one else should wait until at least 21.  

Answer 10

The drinking age should be 18. I mean no matter what people are going to do what they want.

It isn't the young peoples fault...bad parenting. I mean look at it back in the day when parents were allowed to beat their children as opposed to today where parents get in to all kinds of trouble for even laying a hand on their child...

THEY NEED DISCIPLINE!  

Answer 11

I agree with your parents.These college Presidents are just trying to skirt their responsibilities. They don't want to deal with it so they figure if it is made legal, they can say it isn't their fault.

Answer 12

there shouldn't even be a drinking age.......

people who are 'under aged' drink with friends because friends are able to get the alcohol......and that when you drink the most...since your having so much fun........

but if there wasn't a drinking age.....then a teen who wants to try alcohol can just get some themselves (no sharing because of $).......then drink alone......and when you drink alone....no peer pressure..........then they will learn to moderately drink.....instead of seeing who can take more.....

with the drinking age its become such a big deal to turn 21 or 18.....should put less focus on that period of time.........

Answer 13

.  18.  Do it today.

Answer 14

i think it should stay at 21 because, as much as i would love to be able to drink legally it's way safer to have people drinking and driving, which happens more often when you're a legal drinker, as a 5 year old driver than a new driver.