The Amethyst Initiative
| Author | Message |
|---|---|
| Jesse Lacey; Awake and Unafraid  Age: 28 Gender: Female Posts: 12077 | Kill the Protestor:I think that's a very good way to do it, having the drinking age before the driving age. A study I looked at once for a report said that when we (the United States) raised the drinking age to 21, the accident-related deaths of people ages 16-20 shot way down, but the deaths of people aged 21-25 went higher than they'd ever been. |
| hunteri heroici. Always Born a Crime  Age: 30 Gender: - Posts: 6926 | In Greece, the legal age of drinking, smoking is 18 when you're an adult and you can vote. But, an underage person can drink alcohol if they're with an adult. Not just a member of their family, ANY ADULT. In my short life, I've seen a lot, done a lot, DRUNK a lot. And you know what? I've gotten drunk lots of times, and it made me realize that from now on, i'll never get drunk again, I know when to stop drinking and I don't drink every night. What I am trying to say is, that lowering the drinking age is a rather good idea. Teenagers will be aware of what drinking alcohol causes and when they're adults, they'll know how to react towards alcohol. Plus, it's not about age, it's about responsibility. And responsibility comes when you've taken your lesson. |
| iheartthrobsy Killjoy  Age: 31 Gender: Female Posts: 14 | in australia the legal age is 18, i think it works fine, does two years really make much difference? whether the person is 21 or 18 i don't think they'd act any differently. i go to parties where there are underagers drinking responsibly and 21+ year olds getting smashed... it really depends on the individual. |
| thank fsm. In The Murder Scene  Age: 36 Gender: Female Posts: 20564 | The legal drinking age really doesn't matter to me. The part of the OP's information that matters most in my eyes is that of "weigh[ing] all the consequences of current alcohol policies and invit[ing] new ideas on how best to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol use." I don't think American culture can handle it. I'm not so sure about other nations, but the US might need a little more than just - bam - lowering it. I don't know how one would go about that, but I think that if 21 year olds are still going nuts (I live in the city that hosts the University of Florida, one of the top 'party schools,' so I see it every night of the week), 18 year-olds will have the same troubles. There are exceptions to every rule, naturally, and I consider myself one of them, but that's one reason why the age matters naught to me. I drink a glass of wine with dinner now and then, or a few drinks at a social gathering, but alcohol is not important to me. I think that's a part of the issue. Here, alcohol is so important. People rely on it to have good parties in my town, and I bet most of yours too! I just think the focus needs to be on a culture change, if possible. I don't think PSA's and "education" can change culture in this case, but maybe they can. |
| thank fsm. In The Murder Scene Age: 36 Gender: Female Posts: 20564 | Bjork: This does seem interesting, and isn't Germany this way as well? I forgot. |
| Last.Night.On.Earth Bleeding on the Floor  Age: 30 Gender: Female Posts: 1564 | In Germany the legal age for beer and wine is 14 and spirits is 16. Or at least it was a year ago. |
| thank fsm. In The Murder Scene Age: 36 Gender: Female Posts: 20564 | I was there exactly a year ago, and the drinking age was 18 pretty much all around, and if you were 10 or older you could drink if you were with a legal guardian. |
| Last.Night.On.Earth Bleeding on the Floor Age: 30 Gender: Female Posts: 1564 | Huh? Maybe It's just in provincial towns then because when my school went there we were at the pub and just ordering booze and no one cared... |
| thank fsm. In The Murder Scene Age: 36 Gender: Female Posts: 20564 | Well, it's pretty lax, that's for sure, but the drinking age is countrywide; my boyfriend grew up in small villages there so I know it counts there as well as larger cities. |
| Last.Night.On.Earth Bleeding on the Floor Age: 30 Gender: Female Posts: 1564 | Okay cool. The bar owners had obviously never seen that many people in there before so w/e... |
| Sid Salute You in Your Grave  Age: 32 Gender: Female Posts: 2065 | Where I am (UK) our legal drinking age 18 and there are good sides and bad sides to this. On the plus side, I am at university where a lot of drinking goes on, but I know my limits and what I can and can't drink and how different types of alcohol affect me in different ways. I can tell when some one else has had too much and how to deal with it. Also, alcohol isn't a huge deal to me as much as it was when I was younger. It's more of a perk than a necessity and I think if I'd have had to wait til I was 21, I'd be acting like a 14 year old this age. On the negative side however, we, the UK, have a big booze culture here. For example, I was drinking regularly on nights out since I was 14/15 years old. To be honest, it doesn't matter about the age limit, because there are always going to be underage drinkers. If you raised the age up to 30, you'd still find 21 year olds drinking some how. It's called a fake ID and it's not hard to aquire. I personally think the attitude to drinking must change, not the age of the drinker. |
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