I’ve been hearing a lot of debate about lowering the legal drinking age to 18, and I can’t say I support that kind of move. Granted, underage alcohol consumption is a big problem, but I don’t see how lowering the legal drinking age would eliminate the underlying problems of underage drinking. Sure, it would make it legal for teenagers to drink, but that doesn’t do anything to solve the problems inherent with alcohol abuse. The issue of minors drinking alcohol isn’t so much the illegality of it, but moreso the responisiblity it carries. People over the legal drinking age have enough problems with alcohol and responsibilty which all tie into maturity and education. How in the world would a teenager be better equipped to deal with the heavy responsibility of alcohol consumption any better than those who are over the current legal drinking age?
Here’s the issue. As we grow up, we obtain certain responsibilities and rights with age, not necessarily maturity or ability to handle that responsibility. For example, how many of us see, on a regular basis, poeple behind the wheel who clearly shouldn’t be driving and ask the question “who the &%$# gave him a license?” At 16, in most states, we can get a license and drive. At 18, we can enroll in the miliarty and vote. Do all voters have a comprehensive, or even rudimentary knowledge of our governemnt and crutial issues on which we base our votes? I doubt it. Then, at 21, we get to drink alcohol (legally, at least). How many “just turned 21″ year olds have at least a decent undertsanding of the dangers of alcohol? For that matter, how many 25 year olds or 30 year olds have that knowledge?
I work in the addiction field and I see and hear about the numerous ways alcohol destroys lives every day. Furthermore, I used to be a bartender for several years and I’ve watched the 21 and 22 year olds come in and drink alcoholic beverage after alcoholic beverage (of the long island sort), trying to get as wasted as possible or classes are out for the semester so let’s get hammered. Going out with friends, drinking some alcohol and having fun is all good. Most of have done it and continue to do it in what I hope are responosible ways. However, the majority of youngsters I have seen in bars have this misconception that the more alcohol they drink, the better, thus the long islands (personally, I think they’re gross, but it’s a lot of alcohol in one drink so I guess that’s the appeal). I remember what it was like when I was 21 and finally got to start using my real ID, so I’m not knocking these kids. I understand. I’t’s exciting to be able to hang out in the clubs and drink alcohol with the “cool grown people”. I get it. The issue though, is that mentality is amazingly immature. It’s no one’s fault, it’s just part of a process called growing up. Drinking alcohol isn’t about fitting in or being like someone else. It’s a personal choice and with that choice comes a great deal of responisiblity, like being able to know when you’re in danger of alcohol poisoning. Let’s get that one clear off the bat. Alcohol poinsoning happens when you’re vomitting and end up passed out drunk from drinking alcohol. It’s not necessarily a trip to ER, although it ends up being just that for many. Granted, this considered to be a mild case of alcohol poisoning, but we all know what hangovers feel like and that’s the result.
It’s not enough for us to put kids through school and then give them free license to go have a free for alcohol binge just because it’s legal. Even at 21, kids aren’t educated on the dangers of alcohol abuse. I’d be willing to bet that less than 50% of kids know what it is that physically causes alcohol intoxication. Most probably think coffee is the antidote (since that’s what makes the characters in movies feel better), but newsflash - coffee further dehydrates the system, making alcohol intoxication worse. If there were programs and systems in place that actually educated kids on responsible alcohol consumption and the dangers of alcohol abuse, maybe that would further justify the potential of lowering the legal drinking age, but then we still have to be concerned with the mental capacity of teenagers to handle the responsibilty of alcohol. These kids have a mental disadvantage in comparison with adults. Our brains mature just as we do and at 18, I doubt the maturity is present and the brain is equipped to handle many things, including alcohol consumption. I don’t believe age should be the qualifier as to what we can and cannot do. It should go much deeper than that, in my opinion. We have to take a test to drive, we have to be qualified to hold a job, get an apartment, buy a car. But all we need to consume the most dangerous drug out there, is an ID that verifies our age. Alcohol is responsible for hundreds of thousands of fatal vehicular accidents, thousands of deaths due to acute alcohol poinsoning, and millions of shattered dreams caused by alcoholism. Taking all of that into mind, our current laws have absoltely no prerequisite to consume alcohol - only living for 21 years.
I propose a lot more be done about alcohol education for everyone, but especially youngsters. Those DUI classes so many of us are familiar with, should be required for kids before they can legally drink, not after they wrap their car around a pole because they excercised poor judgement in an alcoholic haze. Until we have provisions in place to ensure the safety of tomorrow’s drinkers, I think the current legal age for alcohol consumption is just fine. This still doesn’t change the fact that we need to do much, much more about drug and alcohol education in this country for all people, not just teenagers in danger of joining the grown up world too early.
