Legal drinking age. Your opinion?

[PrincessHades]

Well, it seems that most countries have an legal drinking age in place. What do you think of this? Here in America, you have to be 21 to drink. Most countries are around that frame: 18-21. I believe a few European countries where drinking alcohol is as acceptable as drinking water, there is a legal drinking age, but there is an unwritten rule so to speak where bartenders will illegally serve minors alcohol if they look mature and are behaving maturely. I believe it is like this in France. It might be legal for anyone to drink in Italy.

I believe that it should work this way:

An age should be designated where it is technically safe to drink- probably like 13 or something. At that age, a minor should be permitted to drink (but not buy) with parental supervision. Then, at 18, people should be allowed to drink alcohol as they please. My reasoning behind this may confuse people, but I think that if someone can have alcohol under the supervision of their parents for a few years, when they turn the legal age, the excitement of drinking with have worn off, and binge drinking on whatever birthday is the legal age won't happen. Granted, kids will drink illegally, but if society changes its attitude towards this kind if stuff, kids will not try to rebel as much by drinking. Also, by giving kids the chance to drink, you are lessening the chance that they might turn to either illegal drugs (many of which I think should be legal), or to something like inhalants, which stupid kids like me do. I am 15. I have no interest in binge drinking, but sure, I want to drink. (And smoke marijuana)

Now, there is a big problem with my reasoning:

How can you enforce such a thing? There isn't a good way to enforce that parent supervise their drinking 13-18 year olds. I think the philosophy behind my opinion is correct, but in the real world, something like that would not work out. What would work would be society changing its attitude on alcohol. Most kids my age who drink do it because they think it is "cool".The reason they think this is because their parents do not want them drinking alcohol.

Sorry if my post seems slightly run-on, but...

Discuss what you think about minors and alcohol here.

 

[CiG]

Here in Australia the legal age is 18. Any higher than that and you lose me, 21 is bullshit.
You can serve in the military before you're allowed to drink booze? You can drive a car before you can drink booze? That's bizarre.
In the U.K. there are laws that say a 16 year old is allowed to drink mead or cider if they're with an adult in a pub, I think you have to have them with a dinner meal though. But that's pretty cool.

Marijuana is different to me though, we're only really starting to understand just how bad marijuana exposure can be to a young brain.

 

[PrincessHades]

Here in Australia the legal age is 18. Any higher than that and you lose me, 21 is bullshit.
You can serve in the military before you're allowed to drink booze? You can drive a car before you can drink booze? That's bizarre.
In the U.K. there are laws that say a 16 year old is allowed to drink mead or cider if they're with an adult in a pub, I think you have to have them with a dinner meal though. But that's pretty cool.

Marijuana is different to me though, we're only really starting to understand just how bad marijuana exposure can be to a young brain.

You make a great point about driving before drinking. More people are killed in cars (by not drinking) than by drinking alone. Places in Europe probably have less issues with people getting drunk too much because their attitude towards it is different.

21 in America is absurd. I also believe in marijuana legalization, but for people over a certain age. 16 or 18, something like that. Driving is far more dangerous than marijuana. The same goes for guns.

 

[CiG]

You make a great point about driving before drinking. More people are killed in cars (by not drinking) than by drinking alone. Places in Europe probably have less issues with people getting drunk too much because their attitude towards it is different.

21 in America is absurd. I also believe in marijuana legalization, but for people over a certain age. 16 or 18, something like that. Driving is far more dangerous than marijuana. The same goes for guns.

I think marijuana if legalised should be limited to whatever the drinking age is in each country. But the argument that it's a "soft drug" is slowly becoming a hard one to maintain, due to all the data we're recently finding.

 

[PrincessHades]

I think marijuana is legalised should be limited to whatever the drinking age is in each country. But the argument that it's a "soft drug" is slowly becoming a hard one to maintain, due to all the data we're recently finding.

Marijuana is a soft drug. I am divided on the legalisation of hard drugs as well.

 

[CiG]

Marijuana is a soft drug. I am divided on the legalisation of hard drugs as well.

Define soft drug.

 

[End of Glory]

Stick to your soda

 

[PrincessHades]

Define soft drug.

A drug that is a plant. (or directly from one)

Examples:

Marijuana
Tobacco
Mushrooms
Opium

Hard drugs can come from plants, but they are a pure chemical:

Cocaine
Heroin (usually included because of its danger, it is plant based)
Methamphetamine
Methadone

There are a few definitions for hard and soft drugs.

 

[GanShi]

Drugs are bad.
Drugs are good.

These two statements can be easily and immediately supported.
The fact that this is true is central to the issue of regulation.

If there were a clear leaning one way or the other, the question of what should be regulated and in what manner would be much easier to comprehend. As it stands, this endeavor is difficult if not impossible.

Perhaps a good place to start is to attempt to determine a minimum age.
Although determining an age may seem like the final product and not the starting point, I think we may be able to quickly find some points of agreement and go from there.

To Start:
I think everyone would agree that there is a minimum age - even if we can agree on exactly what that age is.
For instance, I think most everyone would agree that
1) One years old is too young
2) One hundred years is older than whatever the maximum age should be.

So, regardless of the reasoning behind it, what are your min/max ages?

 

[Proceedwithcaution]

From what I've noticed alcohol does a lot more damage than marijuana. I think the 21 rule is excessive. I feel marijuana should be at least decriminalized and the age for alcohol should be 18. I've known 19 year old people who would never touch the alcohol and the friends i do have that go to party and whatnot never get drunk to where they can't drive, and make sure to have a designated driver always. I've seen 30 year old fathers and mothers drive home drunk. The whole maturity thing doesn't click with me because there's mistakes everyone can make under the influence, 15 or 45.

 

[CiG]

Majority of my friends are near zombified retards because of marijuana. Can't think properly, cravings constantly, can't hold a conversation.
If "soft" and "hard" is merely plants vs man-made I can agree with that definition.
But I don't think campaigners mean it that way when they say it, they mean it in some "oh it's pretty much harmless" fashion, even with all the data showing that marijuana can and does have massive effects on the brain. I'd just like some honesty, I'm pro-decriminalisation anyway it's just that some if not most of the propaganda and rhetoric spewed by campaigners is Reefer Madness level bullshit just from the other side.

 

[Crank]

Here in Australia the legal drinking age is 18.
Although it's not hard for those in the youth community to gain access to alcohol via their friends who are over 18 or have a fake ID.
Drugs are an issue here in Australia, especially the cities in music festivals.
The other day we had a politician (not word for word but from what I remember) say something about shutting down music festivals if they don't sort out the drug issue.

 

[Bastard Child 3.0]

I've traveled to France when I was 17, and we were allowed to buy beer, but no hard liquor. People here told us that it was acceptable at the age of 16. It was really easy to find drugs too. First day in Anecy and we were already able to find H to the next convinient store haha.

Well my point of view on that is we should educate children to drink responsably at a certain age ( the youthest, the better I think), beacuz there are a lot of dumasses out there who juste like to party like there is no tommorow, and then shit happen like car accident, fighthing, murder, etc.

Oh and I have to admit that I have lost my driver's license last year cuz of the booze. Nothing extreme happened, no civil or infrastructures damages. Just me looking like a dumass. And it's a real pain in the ass.... Fees are hardcore eh.

 

[Gargamel Bojangles]

I believe 18 states have legalized marijuana. I believe it should be legalized in all states because it cost more money than its worth to put people in jail for a harmless drug

 

[The Butt]

Here the legal drinking age is 19. I don't think that really matters as people drink underage anyways. I know I did before I turned 19.

Marijuana and other soft drugs should be handled the exact same way alcohol is. Legalized and taxed. Aside from hard drugs, the government should have literally NO SAY as to what I put into my own body.

 

[CiG]

a harmless drug

This is demonstrably false. Read some recent studies that aren't sponsored by special interest groups.

 

[Dan Bass]

Well, it seems that most countries have an legal drinking age in place. What do you think of this? Here in America, you have to be 21 to drink. Most countries are around that frame: 18-21. I believe a few European countries where drinking alcohol is as acceptable as drinking water, there is a legal drinking age, but there is an unwritten rule so to speak where bartenders will illegally serve minors alcohol if they look mature and are behaving maturely. I believe it is like this in France. It might be legal for anyone to drink in Italy.

I believe that it should work this way:

An age should be designated where it is technically safe to drink- probably like 13 or something. At that age, a minor should be permitted to drink (but not buy) with parental supervision. Then, at 18, people should be allowed to drink alcohol as they please. My reasoning behind this may confuse people, but I think that if someone can have alcohol under the supervision of their parents for a few years, when they turn the legal age, the excitement of drinking with have worn off, and binge drinking on whatever birthday is the legal age won't happen. Granted, kids will drink illegally, but if society changes its attitude towards this kind if stuff, kids will not try to rebel as much by drinking. Also, by giving kids the chance to drink, you are lessening the chance that they might turn to either illegal drugs (many of which I think should be legal), or to something like inhalants, which stupid kids like me do. I am 15. I have no interest in binge drinking, but sure, I want to drink. (And smoke marijuana)

Now, there is a big problem with my reasoning:

How can you enforce such a thing? There isn't a good way to enforce that parent supervise their drinking 13-18 year olds. I think the philosophy behind my opinion is correct, but in the real world, something like that would not work out. What would work would be society changing its attitude on alcohol. Most kids my age who drink do it because they think it is "cool".The reason they think this is because their parents do not want them drinking alcohol.

Sorry if my post seems slightly run-on, but...

Discuss what you think about minors and alcohol here.

IMO, I think all people handle it differently, there's old and young people that can't handle it and old and young people that can. Everyone should be tested on it for a period of time to see if they can handle it driving and doing other things, if they pass they can have a special driver license and be legal to drink when they want at the ages of 18 and up. That's just my opinion, and there wouldn't be any horrible dumb idiot drunk driving accidents anymore or DWI's and DUI's to ruin peoples lives.

 

[Haddock666]

In Finland at age 18 you can buy max 22% alcohol products, of course in bars you can order anything. And when you are 20 you can buy any alcohol products you want.

 

[Zonfar]

For health reasons I think it shouldn't be legal until age 25, which is around the time your brain is fully developed. However, that isn't realistic. So I would hope for more education in the both and good of drugs like alcohol and make it legal at 16, so perhaps younger adults could get some experience drinking with their parents to see and talk about the different effects it has on them/makes them feel.

 

[Daimoth_]

I think if you're old enough to die for your country, you're old enough to enjoy a beer in it.

That said, alcohol is a drug of foolishness. I wish information about alcohol made available to young people was more along the lines of the trip reports you see at erowid. Don't try to scare them, they'll ignore you if you do that. Give them real, honest information.