Lower the Legal Drinking Age?

In 1984, Congress passed a national act that raised the minimum age to purchase alcohol to 21. Most states were already at 21, but it meant the stragglers had to step in line with the rest of the U.S. When the act took effect, DWI and alcohol related fatalities went down – way down.

Why then, would a group of over 100 college/university presidents now advocate lowering the national drinking age to 18? Simple, they say: Binge drinking is so much more dangerous than moderate drinking. And binge drinkers are, by far, more plentiful in the under 21 crowd.

The college presidents insist they’re simply requesting a continual dialogue – not asking for the limit to be lowered immediately. And that is a rational approach.

There’s a part of me which wonders if this isn’t backasswards. I mean, moderating alcohol consumption by legalizing it for every American college student between their freshman and senior years? Seems a bit reversed, doesn’t it?

Since I work in this field, I’m all for anything which will make alcohol consumption safer for everyone. Could lowering the drinking age do this? Potentially, but it’d need much study and evaluation and a whole, WHOLE lot of social engineering first.

Now, let me talk from a parental standpoint. Day before yesterday, I dropped my stepson, Jordan, off at the University of Florida to begin his freshman year. He’s a great kid, so I don’t worry he’ll be a stupid binge drinker who’ll line up 20 shots at a house party and need his stomach pumped. Yet, with all the new things which will be coming his way over his first semester, I don’t really dig the idea he’d have full reign to sample every type of booze under the sun. Think about that… a college freshman moves out of the house with Mom & Dad. Big change, right? He starts a whole new educational process, a whole new living arrangement, a whole new environment, a whole different set of friends, etc. In fact, it’s gotta be the biggest change many of us ever face. Why then, would we think it’s a good idea to lower the drinking age to 18 and add that to the difficulties of adaptation to adult life?

Outside myself, I believe lowering the possession, purchase age to 18 would actually increase underage drinking significantly. Not in the 18-21 age range, but the under 18 age range.

See, when I was in high school, I hung out with high schoolers. Most high school students do. They don’t know a huge number of college students, and those they do probably aren’t 21. But if there’s a high school senior who sees 14 and 15 year old freshmen in the halls every day, what’s to prevent that relationship from forming and getting younger and younger teens to start drinking? It’s mucho easier to ask a senior to run into the liquor store to buy a bottle of hooch when you see him/her in the cafeteria every day, right?

Again, I’m always open for discussion for any idea to make drinking safer and healthier – I’m just unsure this is the way to get that result.