Drinking age

[Jasmine]

Yes, I do realize. But lots of people tend to abuse it. There are certain circumstances that drinking is appropriate, like ceremonies. But regular consumption of drinks can be avoided. In my household I was taught that you should never drink, unless you're at a wedding or something. It's what I believe and it's what I'm standing my opinion for.

Yes and as I pointed out, the abuse is likely linked to psychological issues that they have no control over.

Now refusing to get treatment when you know you have a problem is a different story; we're not talking about that. We're talking about people who have a problem, just like depression or any other psychological condition.

Everyone is raised differently. I don't think any alcoholic picked up some alcohol and thought, "Oh one day, I'm going to need to go to rehab." Stuff happens, life happens. People deal with those issues differently. It's not up to us to judge why they're abusing something - I don't care what it is. You don't know their story, their pain, or what happened to them. All you can do is offer to help them if you can; if your offer is refused, then go on with life. But surely don't judge and say that alcohol can be "avoided". Maybe that's true for you, but it isn't true for everyone. Psychological-wise, alcohol abuse is no different than any other type of addiction. Unless you've experienced an addiction yourself or you've seen one first hand, you can't say that someone can avoid something. Psychology is an interesting medical field. I'd suggest you look into it (along with neuroscience, since medicine seems to be an interest of yours).

 

[WHO]

i saw its better to lower the age and ACTUALLY teach responsibility.
in school most of the drug and alcohol discussions dont really teach me anything, just if you drink and drive you can kill someone.

i learned more from my parents allowing me to drink in a controlled area. I learned how much I can drink and I could tell that if I drink I could not function well.
now when i drink i make sure i have a ride home, i dont even take my car out to begin with.

i know this might not work for everyone, but parents need to take responsibility in something.

I think another problem is with "Red Ribbon Week" etc. It's very "Don't do drugs, you'll die." Which really isn't the case with alcohol and some other drugs.

 

[karkat]

i saw its better to lower the age and ACTUALLY teach responsibility.
in school most of the drug and alcohol discussions dont really teach me anything, just if you drink and drive you can kill someone.

i learned more from my parents allowing me to drink in a controlled area. I learned how much I can drink and I could tell that if I drink I could not function well.
now when i drink i make sure i have a ride home, i dont even take my car out to begin with.

i know this might not work for everyone, but parents need to take responsibility in something.

I think another problem is with "Red Ribbon Week" etc. It's very "Don't do drugs, you'll die." Which really isn't the case with alcohol and some other drugs.

agreed, there needs to be more tolerance with these thigns, because demonization just leads to kids more apt to trying it, but not knowing when to stop.
its like how the teen pregnancy rates are so high in areas where only abstinence is taught

 

[buttercuip]

i saw its better to lower the age and ACTUALLY teach responsibility.
in school most of the drug and alcohol discussions dont really teach me anything, just if you drink and drive you can kill someone.

i learned more from my parents allowing me to drink in a controlled area. I learned how much I can drink and I could tell that if I drink I could not function well.
now when i drink i make sure i have a ride home, i dont even take my car out to begin with.

i know this might not work for everyone, but parents need to take responsibility in something.

I think another problem is with "Red Ribbon Week" etc. It's very "Don't do drugs, you'll die." Which really isn't the case with alcohol and some other drugs.

Exactly. Yes, worse case scenario you or someone else dies. But you cant prevent something world wide, teach us how to handle it better instead of scaring us.

 

[Kirito]

Yes and as I pointed out, the abuse is likely linked to psychological issues that they have no control over.

Now refusing to get treatment when you know you have a problem is a different story; we're not talking about that. We're talking about people who have a problem, just like depression or any other psychological condition.

Everyone is raised differently. I don't think any alcoholic picked up some alcohol and thought, "Oh one day, I'm going to need to go to rehab." Stuff happens, life happens. People deal with those issues differently. It's not up to us to judge why they're abusing something - I don't care what it is. You don't know their story, their pain, or what happened to them. All you can do is offer to help them if you can; if your offer is refused, then go on with life. But surely don't judge and say that alcohol can be "avoided". Maybe that's true for you, but it isn't true for everyone. Psychological-wise, alcohol abuse is no different than any other type of addiction. Unless you've experienced an addiction yourself or you've seen one first hand, you can't say that someone can avoid something. Psychology is an interesting medical field. I'd suggest you look into it (along with neuroscience, since medicine seems to be an interest of yours).

Okay since this thread is about drinking age, I'll talk about that real quick then stop posting because I'm getting out of hand. I think that under-aged drinking is bad. It's a law, so follow it. If you wan't to take the chance to harm yourself, go ahead. It's not my decision. But I'm going to do my best to stay away from that stuff!

 

[WHO]

Yes and as I pointed out, the abuse is likely linked to psychological issues that they have no control over.

Now refusing to get treatment when you know you have a problem is a different story; we're not talking about that. We're talking about people who have a problem, just like depression or any other psychological condition.

Everyone is raised differently. I don't think any alcoholic picked up some alcohol and thought, "Oh one day, I'm going to need to go to rehab." Stuff happens, life happens. People deal with those issues differently. It's not up to us to judge why they're abusing something - I don't care what it is. You don't know their story, their pain, or what happened to them. All you can do is offer to help them if you can; if your offer is refused, then go on with life. But surely don't judge and say that alcohol can be "avoided". Maybe that's true for you, but it isn't true for everyone. Psychological-wise, alcohol abuse is no different than any other type of addiction. Unless you've experienced an addiction yourself or you've seen one first hand, you can't say that someone can avoid something. Psychology is an interesting medical field. I'd suggest you look into it (along with neuroscience, since medicine seems to be an interest of yours).

Okay since this thread is about drinking age, I'll talk about that real quick then stop posting because I'm getting out of hand. I think that under-aged drinking is bad. It's a law, so follow it. If you wan't to take the chance to harm yourself, go ahead. It's not my decision. But I'm going to do my best to stay away from that stuff!

You're really not getting the point of the debate are you?

 

[Kirito]

Yes and as I pointed out, the abuse is likely linked to psychological issues that they have no control over.

Now refusing to get treatment when you know you have a problem is a different story; we're not talking about that. We're talking about people who have a problem, just like depression or any other psychological condition.

Everyone is raised differently. I don't think any alcoholic picked up some alcohol and thought, "Oh one day, I'm going to need to go to rehab." Stuff happens, life happens. People deal with those issues differently. It's not up to us to judge why they're abusing something - I don't care what it is. You don't know their story, their pain, or what happened to them. All you can do is offer to help them if you can; if your offer is refused, then go on with life. But surely don't judge and say that alcohol can be "avoided". Maybe that's true for you, but it isn't true for everyone. Psychological-wise, alcohol abuse is no different than any other type of addiction. Unless you've experienced an addiction yourself or you've seen one first hand, you can't say that someone can avoid something. Psychology is an interesting medical field. I'd suggest you look into it (along with neuroscience, since medicine seems to be an interest of yours).

Okay since this thread is about drinking age, I'll talk about that real quick then stop posting because I'm getting out of hand. I think that under-aged drinking is bad. It's a law, so follow it. If you wan't to take the chance to harm yourself, go ahead. It's not my decision. But I'm going to do my best to stay away from that stuff!

You're really not getting the point of the debate are you?

I'm trying to get myself out of the debate.. it's the wiser thing for me to do /).(\

I've said what I wanted to say, so I don't need to be a part of this anymore.

 

[WHO]

Yes and as I pointed out, the abuse is likely linked to psychological issues that they have no control over.

Now refusing to get treatment when you know you have a problem is a different story; we're not talking about that. We're talking about people who have a problem, just like depression or any other psychological condition.

Everyone is raised differently. I don't think any alcoholic picked up some alcohol and thought, "Oh one day, I'm going to need to go to rehab." Stuff happens, life happens. People deal with those issues differently. It's not up to us to judge why they're abusing something - I don't care what it is. You don't know their story, their pain, or what happened to them. All you can do is offer to help them if you can; if your offer is refused, then go on with life. But surely don't judge and say that alcohol can be "avoided". Maybe that's true for you, but it isn't true for everyone. Psychological-wise, alcohol abuse is no different than any other type of addiction. Unless you've experienced an addiction yourself or you've seen one first hand, you can't say that someone can avoid something. Psychology is an interesting medical field. I'd suggest you look into it (along with neuroscience, since medicine seems to be an interest of yours).

Okay since this thread is about drinking age, I'll talk about that real quick then stop posting because I'm getting out of hand. I think that under-aged drinking is bad. It's a law, so follow it. If you wan't to take the chance to harm yourself, go ahead. It's not my decision. But I'm going to do my best to stay away from that stuff!

You're really not getting the point of the debate are you?

I'm trying to get myself out of the debate.. it's the wiser thing for me to do /).(\

I've said what I wanted to say, so I don't need to be a part of this anymore.

Then don't comment anymore. You can't just make a statement and not expect a rebuttal.

 

[Kirito]

Then don't comment anymore. You can't just make a statement and not expect a rebuttal.

If you didn't say
"You're really not getting the point of the debate are you?"
I would've stopped commenting

 

[Andrew]

There are better ways to relieve stress, like drinking water. Why does one drink have more power over the other? A drink is a drink, so why not drink something that's good for you! That can relieve stress as well?

You do realize drinking isn't about drinking? There are almost always psychological issues behind it (habitual drinking).

Yes, I do realize. But lots of people tend to abuse it. There are certain circumstances that drinking is appropriate, like ceremonies. But regular consumption of drinks can be avoided. In my household I was taught that you should never drink, unless you're at a wedding or something. It's what I believe and it's what I'm standing my opinion for.

I don't want to change what you were taught but I want to point out that drinking does not always equal abuse. You say you were told to only drink at ceremonies like weddings...but you can easily abuse alcohol there (drink too much, get rambunctious, cause a scene).

When you first begin drinking, usually you will test your limits. After drinking for a while, you know your limits. You know how much you can drink to be satisfied or happy.

From what I've learned, drinking is a part of socialization. When you're in high school or college, you drink when your with friends. You do it because your friends are and you're having a good time. You'll always find people who drink to get drunk, but that's not everybody.

After college, you drink to meet new people. You go to bars (or possibly clubs if you choose) to meet people and have a good time.

When you're older (past your twenties/thirties), you drink when you're at a party, bar, or some social event with your neighborhood friends.

This is not representative of everyone, but from what I have seen and heard this is generally the ways in which socialization happens (yes, it can happen in many other ways, but this is one way where it happens frequently).

 

[philitup]

I have an idea lets let 13 year olds drink alcohol legally


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Yeah, what could go wrong???

But really, it's a bad idea. We already have enough people drinking and driving, and they're well over 21, what good could come from lowering it?

 

[WHO]

Then don't comment anymore. You can't just make a statement and not expect a rebuttal.

If you didn't say
"You're really not getting the point of the debate are you?"
I would've stopped commenting

Because the debate isn't about if Alcohol is bad or not. It's about if the age should be lowered. We're debating the law and you said "it's the law! you have to obey it!" Well obviously it's the law hence the thread debating if it should be changed.

 

[Andrew]

I have an idea lets let 13 year olds drink alcohol legally


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Yeah, what could go wrong???

But really, it's a bad idea. We already have enough people drinking and driving, and they're well over 21, what good could come from lowering it?

Not all adults are smarter than underage people. Someone eighteen years old may be smarter or wiser than someone who is fifty years old (in terms of handling alcohol).

 

[Thrill]

I have an idea lets let 13 year olds drink alcohol legally


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Yeah, what could go wrong???

But really, it's a bad idea. We already have enough people drinking and driving, and they're well over 21, what good could come from lowering it?

Not all adults are smarter than underage people. Someone eighteen years old may be smarter or wiser than someone who is fifty years old (in terms of handling alcohol).

On average, adults are a whole lot more mature.

 

[Valkyrie]

Personally, I feel that the drinking age should stay where it's at. Teenagers are irresponsible and it would be even worse for one to be under the influence of alcohol. Not to mention the fact that it would be much easier access for younger kids to get some.

I second this.

 

[Chicknoodle]

Changing the drinking age isn't going to help younger kids get alcohol... I don't see where the reasoning in that statement is. If they're going to drink underage, the legal age won't make much difference.

I think it would.

Underage drinking happens when underage people have access to 21 year olds willing to buy for them. Thus, underage drinking happens more in college, where the 21 year olds are. Drop the age to 18, and now seniors in high school can buy for high school students.

Not that underage drinking isn't happening in high school as well, it just isn't as common as it is in college. Drop the age, and it might get more common.


I think a key difference the US has over other countries is terrible public transportation. This is a bit speculative, I will admit, but I think drinking and driving isn't so much of a concern in Europe because people don't drive like they do over here. Most people live in cities and walk, bus, etc. to where they need to go. Suburbs don't exist on the same level they do in the States, as far as I know.

I'm not sure which high school you went to but underage drinking in mine was about as common as college. The age limit should definitely be lowered, and as a person without much to gain from it (i turn 21 in couple months), i can assure most of you i'm not as biased. It's silly to think one of my friends left for england at 19 to be drinking, going to pubs and partying only to come back to the states and be barred from it til she turned 21.

 

[Kirito]

Now that I think of it, it should be lowered. People tend to do what they are told what not to do. So teens are going to want to do it because they're not supposed to do it. If it lowers, and they're allowed to do it, then they wouldn't do it as much. I'll use an example:

You tell a kid to stop slouching, and they slouch even more.
You tell a kid to sit up, and they sit up.

I know it's not always like that, but it would help.

 

[Noir]

I am about to go to bed, so I didn't have it in me to read through this entire thread, however I did skim over a few things in order to structure some type of response.

Okay so, I myself am a Canadian Citizen living in Canada. Our drinking age here is 19 (majority) and 18 at the lowest in a couple provinces. What I'm not quite understanding here, is why people are so against the age of 21 in the United States being dropped down a couple years like it is here in Canada. I looked into a few statistics and have discovered that the United States actually have MORE deaths per year related to alcohol than Canadians do, which means that it is invalid to say that this is age related, considering that Canadians have a lower age for legal alcohol consumption. Also, on average per year, the highest amount of alcohol related deaths happen during the "middle age", so somewhere between 35-55 years old, and the lowest death rate is, believe it or not, 19 and under (as well as the elderly years). With that being said. A lot of the major concerns I am seeing is that the age should not be dropped because it can cause more issues/deaths/reckless behaviour. Some of that may be true, however, dropping the age down a couple of years IS NOT likely to do much damage, if any at all. Just my two cents on the situation. Sorry if this sounds all jumbled....it's 2 am here and I'm half asleep haha!

Many people already are aware of how great Canada is as a country. We have less deaths per year relating to alcohol than Americans. So how can one argue against dropping the age of 21 down to 2 or 3 years when we seem to be doing just fine over here? We are proof that lowering the age is not going to ruin everything and make things worse.

EDIT** Also, for those saying that the "older the better" regarding legal alcohol consumption and being "mature enough". That's clearly not true from the statistics I have confirmed...Alcohol is a choice...it's not something that we are forced to drink as human beings. It's the same as smoking a cigarette, every time someone consumes alcohol to the point where it's no longer considered healthy, they are choosing to kill their body slowly. As a legal person in my country, I have chosen not to fall into the so-called "addiction" of alcohol. That was and is my choice. If people want to use alcohol as a means to get rid of pain or use as a distraction, or just to party, then they also have to be prepared for what consequences follow.

 

[allison]

I am about to go to bed, so I didn't have it in me to read through this entire thread, however I did skim over a few things in order to structure some type of response.

Okay so, I myself am a Canadian Citizen living in Canada. Our drinking age here is 19 (majority) and 18 at the lowest in a couple provinces. What I'm not quite understanding here, is why people are so against the age of 21 in the United States being dropped down a couple years like it is here in Canada. I looked into a few statistics and have discovered that the United States actually have MORE deaths per year related to alcohol than Canadians do, which means that it is invalid to say that this is age related, considering that Canadians have a lower age for legal alcohol consumption. Also, on average per year, the highest amount of alcohol related deaths happen during the "middle age", so somewhere between 35-55 years old, and the lowest death rate is, believe it or not, 19 and under (as well as the elderly years). With that being said. A lot of the major concerns I am seeing is that the age should not be dropped because it can cause more issues/deaths/reckless behaviour. Some of that may be true, however, dropping the age down a couple of years IS NOT likely to do much damage, if any at all. Just my two cents on the situation. Sorry if this sounds all jumbled....it's 2 am here and I'm half asleep haha!

Many people already are aware of how great Canada is as a country. We have less deaths per year relating to alcohol than Americans. So how can one argue against dropping the age of 21 down to 2 or 3 years when we seem to be doing just fine over here? We are proof that lowering the age is not going to ruin everything and make things worse.

EDIT** Also, for those saying that the "older the better" regarding legal alcohol consumption and being "mature enough". That's clearly not true from the statistics I have confirmed...Alcohol is a choice...it's not something that we are forced to drink as human beings. It's the same as smoking a cigarette, every time someone consumes alcohol to the point where it's no longer considered healthy, they are choosing to kill their body slowly. As a legal person in my country, I have chosen not to fall into the so-called "addiction" of alcohol. That was and is my choice. If people want to use alcohol as a means to get rid of pain or use as a distraction, or just to party, then they also have to be prepared for what consequences follow.

Are you looking at percentages or hardcore numbers? Because the US is a lot more populated than Canada. US has around 317 million people, and canada only has around 35 million people


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[Noir]

Are you looking at percentages or hardcore numbers? Because the US is a lot more populated than Canada. US has around 317 million people, and canada only has around 35 million people


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The percentages I looked into, on several reliable scales, have nothing to do with the number of people per country, it's rather a ratio of number of people in the country to deaths related to alcohol, which means its fair game, and mathematically works out the same.

So say, (this is just me making up numbers right now), the death rate related to alcohol in Canada to the number of people in Canada is 4000:35000000. So then if I wanted to say the same for the United States, in their case, their alcohol death ratio to country population would be more deaths to citizens living there. I hope that made sense haha! But yeah, again, I just made up those numbers there to help explain it.