America and drinking laws, what do you think?

At what age do you think people should be allowed to start drinking? Why?

21 is too old 22
21 is too young 13
age is just a number (no restrictions) 5
Help us keep this site organized and clean. Thanks!
[ Report Post ]
Comments ( 40 )
  • mathgeek

    The drinking age should be lowered to 18. If you are old enough to vote, drive, have sex, join the army or be arrested, why aren't you old enough to drink? Besides, adults between 18 and 20 will drink whether it's legal or not. But it's safe for them if they drink at a restaurant with family members than if they drink at an uncontrolled party. Prohibition doesn't work.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
  • shoka2322

    Prohibition! I'm sick of seeing everyone becoming alcoholics!!!

    Comment Hidden ( show )
      -
    • Analandy

      And seeing some drunk ass kill your loved ones in a car accident! By no means is prohibition the right answer don't need more ways for criminals to make money.

      Comment Hidden ( show )
  • RoseIsabella

    Where's the option for 21 is just fine, or 18 is good?

    Comment Hidden ( show )
      -
    • Good point... I feel like 21 is too young as children (and yound adults) tend to make poor decisions with or without alcohol. That being said, making the age higher will only make them want it more

      Comment Hidden ( show )
  • justbecause11

    It was actually easier to get a drink, for any age group, during prohibition. Most of the drinking laws come from religious influence, which is not supposed to affect legislation. If you do some research you will find that the drinking laws have tightened up even more in some states. The state in which I live just passed a bill to lower the legal limit from .08 to .05. We have to buy liquor at a state run liquor store and no one under the age of 21 is allowed in the store.

    Here's a debate I might not want to start here, but alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana and marijuana is illegal. Alcohol and heroin, I think heroin, are the only two substances that can actually cause death during detox.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
      -
    • Pseodonihm

      Damn, they won't let me give you more thumbs up.

      Comment Hidden ( show )
    • wigz

      No, heroin detox can't kill you...just make you wish you were dead. Benzodiazepine (xanax, etc) withdrawal can kill.

      Comment Hidden ( show )
        -
      • justbecause11

        Ah, yes. That's it. Like I said, I wasn't sure exactly and I was too lazy to do the research at the time.

        Comment Hidden ( show )
  • Tealights

    Minus all the health risk, and science backing why it's better at 21 than any lower age; in my opinion (as weird as it is), either they need to bring the age down to 18, or bring the age you can join the military to 21, because it doesn't make sense that at 18 I'm old enough to risk my life and possibly die, but can't enjoy a good glass of whiskey.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
  • samiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

    21 is okay.
    Children shouldn't drink they don't know right from wrong yet. If an adult however chooses to drink excessively its their own doing. Children are still developing, an adult can handle their drinks. Early exposer to alcohol from youth can lower life expectancy. Children shouldn't mix school and play their supposed to be learning in a sober environment. Cant do that while all hung over and beat either. Children are still learning the basics of social life.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
      -
    • mchoro20

      You sure about that? In Europe most countries allow drinking at 18 and it's even younger in some places. A German exchange student came to my school and said where they live it's just normal to drink alcohol for kids as young as 12. Younger kids should be trying it then when they are in their innocence so they can learn how it affects them and they can have parental supervision thought that process.

      Comment Hidden ( show )
        -
      • charli.m

        That's as may be, but there are studies that have shown that alcohol has a negative impact on brains that are still developing.

        There is some evidence than a small amount on odd occasions is harmless, but I do not recall what that amount is. I assume it would be a sip or two, but I am not 100%.

        Comment Hidden ( show )
          -
        • mchoro20

          The brain doesn't finish developing until the age of 25 so it either should be increased to accommodate that. Or what I think is it should be decreased to help kids who would drink later on anyways, learn how it affects them and what their physical limits are involving it

          Comment Hidden ( show )
            -
          • charli.m

            You were doing so well with the first part with the actual facts. I can only hope that your last sentence was a misguided attempt at being funny.

            Comment Hidden ( show )
    • Ha! I wish "adults" could handle their drinks, rather know their limits. I think I would be more inclined to a lower drinking age if american parents knew how to teach their children 'responsibility'.

      Comment Hidden ( show )
  • BambooWho

    21 is way too old. I live in Australia and we can legally start drinking at 18. It makes no sense that you can do a bunch of other things but you can't have a sip of alcohol?

    Comment Hidden ( show )
  • MangoTango

    They should be able to start drinking alcohol as soon as they're out of the womb.

    Joking!

    Oh, I don't know. I mean, refined sugar is a worse detriment to public health, yet it's still legal, so, why would alcohol be such a terrible thing for someone under 18 to drink? If that individual doesn't yet have a driver's license, even better.

    All in all though, I find alcohol sickening, can't stomach it, and cannot see the allure of it. Sorry if I'm a boring party pooper.

    If people can access alcohol all the time, it probably loses its charm. Once something is restricted, or made illegal, doesn't the substance become more interesting? Not sure.

    I'd rather people not become drunken alcoholics. That stuff destroys a person's liver.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
  • TheJesus

    Dad says that if people were supposed to escape reality than he would have just created substances that would accommodate this.... and if he did, he would probably not design in any sort of age restrictive properties into the accommodating substances.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
  • Fish-N-Chips

    Ah, the problems of a young adult. Really important issue.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
  • EccentricWeird

    I've never tried to drink an American law, so I wouldn't be the right person to ask.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
      -
    • Lol

      Comment Hidden ( show )
  • dirtybirdy

    I just wish my state had beer and or booze in your every day type of store. We don't. We have liquor stores, or bars where you can get package goods (beer) after liquor store hours.

    When I travel south, there's at least beer in every store . Wtf my state!?!?!?

    Comment Hidden ( show )
      -
    • charli.m

      We have drive through bottle shops.

      Comment Hidden ( show )
        -
      • dirtybirdy

        We had one a long time time ago. It was an old car wash turned into a drive through liquor store. I think they only had beer though...i was like 16 at the time and whoever we were with went though occasionally. Good times...

        Comment Hidden ( show )
      • https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thrillist.com/amphtml/travel/nation/10-of-america-s-best-drive-thru-liquor-stores

        Comment Hidden ( show )
          -
        • charli.m

          Hah. All Americans usually act like it's insane (it is) that we have them, so I had no idea.

          Thanks.

          Edit: oh god...liquor and guns store...fuck me...you win haha.

          Comment Hidden ( show )
            -
          • wigz

            I had never seen one (or even imagined they could exist) until I moved south. I had seen drive-thru convenience stores and smoke shops when I lived in Oklahoma for a while and that was a shock to me too but I had never seen a liquor store like that until KY. There's a lot of drive thru business in the south and once I had seen it I was like...well, NY (where I grew up) has garbage weather for so much of the year, why is nobody doing this up there?? If one convenience store in town got on the idea, they'd get all the business in bad weather. It happens for the full service gas pumps, I'm sure it would work for the stores too.

            Comment Hidden ( show )
              -
            • charli.m

              So weird. My personal experience of the US is basically just the south...and the laws there seem so strict. No Sunday package stores etc. But then, I don't drink, so I don't even pay attention to the availability in stores like Walmart or whatever on a Sunday.

              But I do know that if I try to walk through the check out with my boyfriend if he were to attempt to buy beer, he would not be allowed because I do not have ID on me (cos I don't carry my passport daily...). If his friends have one of their kids with them and try to buy beer, it's a no. Can't buy booze if you've got a minor with you...

              I'm rambling. I have no idea if this even makes sense in the context of your post. I'm so fucking tired right now.

              Comment Hidden ( show )
            • dirtybirdy

              You were from upstate ny, ya? Or something like that.. I recall about 9 years ago I went with my parents to see family in PA and they have weird ass rules. Like nothing at all on Sundays or some crap. Made the trip even worse cus the cousins drank a lot of beer that I brought to share......

              We just have liquor stores open from 10a to 10p every day. Or strictly beer from a bar until 2am. I'm always so amazed when I travel that I can buy beer in a 711 if I want to...

              Comment Hidden ( show )
    • wigz

      It's better than dry counties! When I first moved here to KY about 4 years ago I went to the gas station for some beer but there was none. OK, some stores choose not to sell beer, right? So I ask what store nearby sells it and that's when I found out no package sales were allowed whatsoever in the entire county. They just voted to allow it early last year. They finally started selling beer a few months after that and it wasn't until Nov/Dec of 20fucking16 that the liquor store finally opened.

      The neighboring counties that aren't dry only just went wet literally months before I moved here. Before that, people here had to drive hours to the closest booze emporium and back.

      Comment Hidden ( show )
  • yasss

    16 is a better age in my opinion, like what the laws are in my country.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
      -
    • Where is that?

      Comment Hidden ( show )
        -
      • yasss

        Germany, moved at a young age.

        Comment Hidden ( show )