Should the drinking age be lowered to 18?

[mburmei1]

I would like to ask members of law enforcement to give me their opinions on whether or not the current drinking age should be raised (to something like 23), remain the same (at 21) or be lowered (to 18 or 19). The reason why I target law enforcement for this question is because you all see the worst when it comes to alcohol abuse and drunk driving.

I personally feel it should be lowered. I don't believe the current laws are working. Alcohol is a reality for 18-20 year olds whether we like it or not. Aside from that, 18-20 year olds are full adults in almost every other aspect except alcohol. We've all heard before how young adults can vote, pay taxes, get married, raise a child, are required to sign up for the draft registry, and die for their country. Yet alcohol is put on a higher pedestal, even higher than electing our president.

Some quick points to consider:

Instead of going to a local tavern, lounge, or restaurant, young adults are being forced underground to drink. In basements and house parties where drinking is inexpensive, there is no supervision, social norms, no formal education, and no limit to the amount they drink. In these settings binge drinking greatly increases, not to mention a bar tender is more likely to cut you off than a drunk friend.

The 21 year old drinking age makes alcohol a forbidden fruit. It is something they cannot get on their own so when they get access to it, they will overindulge to get the most out of the situation.

21 also breeds disrespect for the law. They are tax paying adults and maybe even a soldier yet they are judged not by their actions as an individual, but merely by their age when it is otherwise legal. This seemingly unjust law causes more uncontrolled drinking simply out of rebellion.

There are many other aspects as to what is wrong with a 21 year old drinking age. We can discuss this as questions, experiences, or opinions are raised. Please let me know your thoughts not only as police officers but as citizens of the U.S. and even potentially as a parent.

[txinvestigator1]

Blah, blah.

Are of your arguments are bunk, and some are used by the 'legalize drugs" crowd.

It is fact that the percentage of fatalities in auto wreck by those under 21 decreased when age 21 laws were passed.

Allowing 18 year olds into bars will not cut down on binge drinking and party drinking.

Forbidden fruit? Please. :rolleyes: Lower the age to 18 and it becomes the "forbidden fruit" to 15 year olds. no thanks

The disrespect for the law argument fails too. Society places age restrictions on MANY things. You can't drive till 16 in most states, vote until 18, rent a car until 25 (not a law, but a social limit nonetheless) Run for President until 35. See how silly it is to apply your argument to those issues?

And I'll make a special mention of the military; the old, worn out argument, "if he can go to war and die for his country he should be able to drink" fails horribly. In the military everything he does is supervised and controlled. And most 18 year olds can drink, just under the supervision of the legally named person such as a parent, spouse or adult guardian.

Facts from the US Gov; Since the early 1980s, alcohol-related traffic deaths per population have been cut in half with the greatest proportional declines among persons 16-20 years old. • In the 1980s, several states established laws for zero alcohol tolerance for drivers under the age of 21. Research funded by NIH established the effectiveness of this approach which led to the passage of Zero Tolerance Laws in all 50 States by the late 1990s. • The number of alcohol-related traffic deaths among 16 to 20 year-olds in the U.S. decreased from 5,244 in 1982 to 2,115 in 2004 in large measure because of the legal drinking age of 21 and Zero Tolerance Laws.

The numbers of drivers 15 to 20 years old involved in fatal crashes who had a BAC
of 0.08 g/dl or higher dropped by 6 percent between 1993 and 2003.

[mburmei1]

Blah, blah.

Are of your arguments are bunk, and some are used by the 'legalize drugs" crowd.

It is fact that the percentage of fatalities in auto wreck by those under 21 decreased when age 21 laws were passed.

Allowing 18 year olds into bars will not cut down on binge drinking and party drinking.

Forbidden fruit? Please. :rolleyes: Lower the age to 18 and it becomes the "forbidden fruit" to 15 year olds. no thanks

The disrespect for the law argument fails too. Society places age restrictions on MANY things. You can't drive till 16 in most states, vote until 18, rent a car until 25 (not a law, but a social limit nonetheless) Run for President until 35. See how silly it is to apply your argument to those issues?

And I'll make a special mention of the military; the old, worn out argument, "if he can go to war and die for his country he should be able to drink" fails horribly. In the military everything he does is supervised and controlled. And most 18 year olds can drink, just under the supervision of the legally named person such as a parent, spouse or adult guardian.

Facts from the US Gov; Since the early 1980s, alcohol-related traffic deaths per population have been cut in half with the greatest proportional declines among persons 16-20 years old. • In the 1980s, several states established laws for zero alcohol tolerance for drivers under the age of 21. Research funded by NIH established the effectiveness of this approach which led to the passage of Zero Tolerance Laws in all 50 States by the late 1990s. • The number of alcohol-related traffic deaths among 16 to 20 year-olds in the U.S. decreased from 5,244 in 1982 to 2,115 in 2004 in large measure because of the legal drinking age of 21 and Zero Tolerance Laws.

The numbers of drivers 15 to 20 years old involved in fatal crashes who had a BAC
of 0.08 g/dl or higher dropped by 6 percent between 1993 and 2003.

Alcohol is socially accepted and already legal to the general public, illegal drugs are....well illegal for everybody.

Actually DUI deaths started to decrease a few years before the 1984 minimum drinking age act was passed. Not to mention those statistics don't take into account concepts such as increased seat belt use and vehicle safety, increased awareness/enforcement, and the introduction of concepts such as Designated Driver. Also, in a study by researchers Peter Asch and David Levy, they found that the minimum 21 year old drinking age merely transferred lost lives from the 18-20 bracket to the 21-24 age group.

Public drinking is more appealing than drinking in a basement. Binge drinking increased behind closed doors as opposed to in a restaurant or tavern. I believe even MADD agrees with this.

15 year olds aren't legal adults. They haven't reached the age of majority, therefore they don't have access to the rights that come with it. You can roll your eyes all you wish but holding alcohol over an age groups head does add a sexyness/mysteriousness to it. When you get your hands on it, the more, the better. When you finally become of age to buy, alcohol isn't a big deal anymore (at least after the first week or so).

18 year olds are allowed to run for public office, although in particular not for president. Voting is irrelevant because it goes hand in hand with the age of majority, and if you ask me a college graduate starting his career who can't rent a car is a ridiculous concept as well and should be changed.

I'm afraid your point against the military happens to fail. Everything a soldier does is supervised until he hits the battlefield. A young medic recently had a parade held in her name when she got home. Her unit was hit by a roadside bomb and went under fire. Instead of holding position she ran into the open to help six wounded soldiers. There was no supervisor pointing her in the right direction on that battlefield. She was too young to have champagne at her parade.

Many states don't even allow drinking in the household, which is the most important classroom at all. In fact, in Missouri anyone under 21 who takes out the trash with empty alcoholic containers visible through the bag can be charged with illegal possession. Even if your parents told you to take it out.

Referring to your next paragraph, again deaths saved by awareness, increased seat belt use, designated drivers, and other concepts are unfairly and incorrectly attributed to the drinking age. You have to remember that we used to laugh at the driver who could barely put his key in the ignition, now we scorn drunk drivers and hope they get arrested. Not to mention that many lives lost are simply transferred from the 18-20 to the 21+ age bracket.
That's not even touching the concept that underage deaths by alcohol off the roads (1000 lives a year) is going up due to underground, unsupervised, and unedcuated drinking.

90% of drunk drivers are over age 21. This is despite the fact that (I believe it was) 1 out of every 5 drinks sold in the U.S. is sold to a minor. This is also not to mention that 90% of the alcohol consumed by 18-20 year-olds is consumed when the individual is engaged in a episode of heavy drinking (away from public). They are unnecessarily drinking more, and it seems that they aren't the one's with the problem regarding drinking and driving.

[GoDirectly2Jail]

Why do you want to know whether LEOs want the drinking age reduced? I wish to know because you seem to be using Ask a Cop as a debate forum, which it isn't.

LEOs are paid to enforce laws, regardless of our personal beliefs in their merits. If you want a law repealed, contact your legislature.

Thank you for your interest in RealPolice.net.

[mburmei1]

Why do you want to know whether LEOs want the drinking age reduced?

Police officers have seen the alcohol abuse at it's worst. I want to know what different cops would think if the age were lowered. I also want to know if cops think the minimum drinking age of 21 is even working, while considering the points brought up and using your own experience.

[GoDirectly2Jail]

Police officers have seen the alcohol abuse at it's worst. I want to know what different cops would think if the age were lowered. I also want to know if cops think the minimum drinking age of 21 is even working, while considering the points brought up and using your own experience.

I smell a school project. :rolleyes:

[ChesCopPodz]

And 21 percent of all statistics are made up.

Personally, I agree with the military argument. I think if you can fight and die for your country, you should be able to drink. I also think that the vast vast majority of 18-20 year olds are nowhere near responsible enough that they should be legally drinking. There has to be a line somewhere. I agree with the 16 license limit. I agree with the 25 year old rental limit (even though I could have used a rental a couple of times when I was under it). It's a known fact that below 25 drivers are more likely to be in a crash. That's just the rental companies protecting their assets. I was 18 and I went to college. I think that just the fact that "binge drinking" is done by that age group shows that the 21 age is appropriate. Binge drinking has nothing to do with not being able to drink legally, or having to do it in basements etc. Binge drinking shows that the age group isn't responsible enough to be able to handle alcohol.

[mburmei1]

I smell a school project. :rolleyes:

Your nose deceives you. I'm a volunteer for ( no posting of links until you have more posts under your belt)
I'm also naturally passionate about the topic.

[GoDirectly2Jail]

Your nose deceives you. I'm a volunteer

I'm also naturally passionate about the topic.

Ah, even worse than a school project. You are coming here to promote your youth-alcohol agenda under the guise of discourse.

[Big Sexy]

If you're asking for officers opinions, then wait for the opinions. Don't attempt a point counter point after every post.

Then it just seems as if you're seeking debates, as has already been pointed out and not opinion.

[MP_Steve]

Alcohol is a reality for 18-20 year olds whether we like it or not.

No, it's a choice. I'm 22 years old and I damn well avoided drinking, drugs, crime, ect., and lost friends because of it because I knew I wanted to be a cop someday.

We've all heard before how young adults can vote, get married, raise a child, are required to sign up for the draft registry, and die for their country. Yet alcohol is put on a higher pedestal, even higher than electing our president.

Voting is a choice. Getting married is a choice. Having a child as a teenager and probably throw away your future in the process is again a choice.

Our President has to be a 35 year-old U.S. citizen. Should his/her age requirement be lowered to 18? No. Why? Because it takes responsibility to be President of the United States.

Additional replies embedded in quote above.

I think the drinking age should be higher. For the record, as a general rule, I don't drink. I don't have a problem with drinking socially but know your limit. Guns don't kill people, People Kill People. Beer by itself isn't a problem, it's the people who aren't responsible that are the problem.

I haven't been involved in law enforcement very long, so I'll leave it to the members on here who have umpteen-plus years experience. But I will point out that alcohol is a major factor in every arrest I've had as of yet and I feel strongly that if there was no alcohol, they would have had common sense and good judgement and probably would have had the ability to control their behavior, thus not being placed in the in hand cuffs and spending a night in jail.

I should also point out that in addition to being a police officer, I'm a Soldier in the U.S. Army Reserve, and for the first three years of my service - I couldn't drink - and was very well aware of the fact that I could be called up to go to war and die for my country.

[chewy]

There's too many morons already driving drunk. I think the drinking age should be raised to 25 and it should be a felony to drive drunk with mandatory jail time for first offense.

[Mike Romeo]

Many years ago :rolleyes: when I was a teenager growing up in Louisiana, the legal drinking age was 18. I turned 18 during my Senior year in High School. So, picture that....legally purchasing alcohol while I was still in High School. Lucky for me I had hard nosed parents that taught me responsibility because I otherwise could have gotten into a lot of trouble.

The state subsequently ended up raising the drinking age to 21 a year at a time a few years later because of all the teenage alchohol related traffic accidents. That's also around the time that NHTSA began establishing field testing standards. It just makes sense to keep the drinking age where it's at...or even raise it.

[mburmei1]

If you're asking for officers opinions, then wait for the opinions. Don't attempt a point counter point after every post.

Then it just seems as if you're seeking debates, as has already been pointed out and not opinion.

He analyzed my opinions point for point so I did the same. I'm not starting anything, all I wanted was opinions of people who have seen the worst. I'm also not coming to you guys with any expectation of changing the law. It's simply learning from the enforcers. I'm getting some hostile responses (not necessarily form this user). Lets just stick to getting opinions. If someone draws out statistics I'm going to ask questions.

[MP_Steve]

I'm afraid your point against the military happens to fail. Everything a soldier does is supervised until he hits the battlefield. A young medic recently had a parade held in her name when she got home. Her unit was hit by a roadside bomb and went under fire. Instead of holding position she ran into the open to help six wounded soldiers. There was no supervisor pointing her in the right direction on that battlefield. She was too young to have champagne at her parade.

As a general rule, the government just can't assume everyone is going to be responsible and thus we have laws. The line has to be drawn somewhere. You could be the most responsible person in the world, and only 14 years old. Am I going to allow your age group to have alcohol? No, because I believe the mast majority of 14 year olds are not responsible enough to begin with.

I'm sure that there are plenty of under 21's who are more responsible than over 21's. But unfortunately the line has to be drawn. And society must assume as a general rule that you aren't ready to be entrusted with such responsibility.