Whether an 18 yr old is mature enough to handle drinking responsibly is not a general thing that is universally applicable to all. What's missing in all this hype is that by making the drinking age 21, it keeps alcohol away from the 16 and 17 yr old high schoolers. It is far more likely to get into their hands from an 18 yr old who could possibly still be in HS, than from a 21 yr old who has moved past the high school stage.

yeah...in response to the comment above, I was a 16 year old in HS and let me tell you, I consumed and saw more alcohol and drunkeness in high school than I did my first year of college. keeping the age at 21 doesnt affect that aspect at ALL

Yes, of course the drinking age should be lowered to 18. You can vote and join the military but not legally take a drink? Pathetic. I'm a Canadian living in the US now and I've never seen anything to indicate a lower drinking age would do anything other than stop the hiden drinking that goes on now as well as stopping young people from needlessly getting in trouble with the law.

Let's be fair and raise the age to enlist, drive, and vote to 21. Apparently our society has determined a citizen is not an adult until reaching the age of 21.

Seriously the age to drive should be a few years higher then the age to drink.

I believe they should lower the drinking age to 18. like everyone said you are leagally considered an adult at 18 so what is the difference..they need to lower the drinking age and deffinately raise the driving limit age to 21 we would have more responsable drivers on the road. and by the kids having two years of drinking under thier belt then the'yd be more responsable behind the wheel of a car at 21..VS having the right to do both at the same time

I believe they should lower the drinking age to 18. like everyone said you are leagally considered an adult at 18 so what is the difference..they need to lower the drinking age and deffinately raise the driving limit age to 21 we would have more responsable drivers on the road. and by the kids having two years of drinking under thier belt then the'yd be more responsable behind the wheel of a car at 21..VS having the right to do both at the same time

I believe they should lower the drinking age to 18. like everyone said you are leagally considered an adult at 18 so what is the difference..they need to lower the drinking age and deffinately raise the driving limit age to 21 we would have more responsable drivers on the road. and by the kids having two years of drinking under thier belt then the'yd be more responsable behind the wheel of a car at 21..VS having the right to do both at the same time

Why, so there can possibly be more DUI's? I believe if we change the drinking age to 18, these numbers will increase. I don't know about you, but I do not want to be driving home @ 4am on a Friday night, knowing the guy next to me that was drinking, is just 19. I know its going to happen anyway, but lets not increase these chances by giving our consent!

Just look at Europe as proof: The drinking age is basically "if you can see over the counter, you can buy" and their incidents of DUI's and alcohol related crimes are FAR less. Why? It's not the "forbidden fruit" if it's just another beverage and not treated as such an evil.

I'm from Australia where the drinking age has been 18 for my entire lifetime... and it seems to work just fine for them. It really does seem a bit ridiculous to me that people who are legally considered adults in every other fashion (and who are allowed to take control of a 4-wheeled deadly weapon from the age of 15) have to be 'protected' from the evils of alcohol until they turn 21.

As an Englishman living here, I see no benefit to the 21 year rule.With regard to the DUI situation, it's totally irrelevant to this argument as most drunk drivers are middle aged men. Anyway the biggest group of impaired drivers are all the old folk high on prescription drugs.

Personally, I don't think the legal "drinking age" matters at all. Kids below the legal age will always find a way to get their hands on alcohol anyway. In this country, the problem is in attitude toward drinking. In most countries of Europe, the legal drinking age is 18 and even that isn't really enforced. Somehow, though, we don't have problems with "binge drinking" and kids drinking themselves to death once they leave their parents' home and go to college. Drinking is just not a big deal. If alcohol is not a taboo subject, there's no point in showing off who can drink more at one sitting and remain conscious.
Point in case: if you want to entice a teenager to do something - forbid it.

Personally, I don't think the legal "drinking age" matters at all. Kids below the legal age will always find a way to get their hands on alcohol anyway. In this country, the problem is in attitude toward drinking. In most countries of Europe, the legal drinking age is 18 and even that isn't really enforced. Somehow, though, we don't have problems with "binge drinking" and kids drinking themselves to death once they leave their parents' home and go to college. Drinking is just not a big deal. If alcohol is not a taboo subject, there's no point in showing off who can drink more at one sitting and remain conscious.
Point in case: if you want to entice a teenager to do something - forbid it.

Europe allows beer & wine at 16 and hard liquor at 18. They have severe penalties for drinking & driving, also. I just finished with college, and I can tell you that underage kids DO DRINK. Highschoolers DO DRINK. They'd drink more responsibly if their parents had SOME say in it early on. Highschoolers and new college kids often drink the worst things, too--girls drinking the "hunch punch" etc. That's neither healthy nor good for society as a whole. Illegal things are not really taboo in today's culture, and you'd be doing your kids a favor by teaching them something about alcohol (not abstinence-only either) before they leave for college. Let them try some sips of wine and gain some class & pride, before they're pressured into beer bongs and tequila shots. Unless you think Europeans are just more mature as a society, there's no reason why we shouldn't have the same alcohol laws.

Europe allows beer & wine at 16 and hard liquor at 18. They have severe penalties for drinking & driving, also.

I just finished with college, and I can tell you that underage kids DO DRINK, and I was a total outsider for NOT having a fake ID. Hell, I was an anomaly because I didn't smoke/do drugs, either, but that's besides the point. Illegal things are not really taboo in today's culture, and you'd be doing your kids a favor by teaching them something about alcohol (not abstinence-only either) before they leave for college. Drinking is legal after some arbitrary age...that magically falls in the middle of college... that's ridiculous!

Highschoolers DO DRINK. My parents didn't drink, I was a straight-A student, and I still had some alcohol in high school! It didn't ruin me forever like some people think it will. Of course I never drove after having alcohol, but that was just me.

Kids would drink more responsibly if their parents had SOME say in it early on. Highschoolers and new college kids often drink the worst things, too--girls drinking the strong "hunch punch" etc. That's neither healthy nor good for society as a whole. Let them try some sips of wine and gain some class & pride, before they're pressured into beer bongs and tequila shots.

Unless you think Europeans are just more mature as a society, there's no reason why we shouldn't have the same alcohol laws.

The drinking age should absolutely be lowered to 18. If you're old enough to lose your legs in Iraq, you're old enough to buy a bottle of Bacardi.

Kids are drinking at the age of 18 anyway, whether we want to believe it or not. Why not make it legal and honest...

It was tried once before and it was a huge mistake. Making the most addictive and destructive drug readily available to kids is just stupid.
I can see lowering the drinking age for military personnel to 18 but for the general population no way.

Lois, here's something to look at, beyond the juvenile comments above (heck, when I was 16, I wished for a lower drinking age, too). "According to Monitoring the Future, an ongoing research project at the University of Michigan, binge drinking has not risen since 1988, when 21 became the minimum drinking age throughout the country. Among college students and other college-age Americans, the rate is lower today than it was then, and the decline has been even bigger among high-school students."

Reference for above: http://reason.com/news/show/128200.html - this is the kind of reporting the SunSentinel won't do anymore, no knock on you personally, Lois.

Personally, i think the drinking age limit for consuming alchohol should be 35, for various reasons. One, i think these young lads are too irresponsible and think they are invinsible. Secondly drinking is way to overrated and terrible. Its forbbiden in my family like a forbbiden fruit flavor. I love playing baseball with my kids and love every minute of my life, alcohol free. Some people say i am a loser for a parent and i have to agree with them, but for the sake of people, drinking is terrible and should never be allowed. Or wait till your 35.... Thank you have a wonderful drug free life!!!!!!

Personally, i think the drinking age limit for consuming alchohol should be 35, for various reasons. One, i think these young lads are too irresponsible and think they are invinsible. Secondly drinking is way to overrated and terrible. Its forbbiden in my family like a forbbiden fruit flavor. I love playing baseball with my kids and love every minute of my life, alcohol free. Some people say i am a loser for a parent and i have to agree with them, but for the sake of people, drinking is terrible and should never be allowed. Or wait till your 35.... Thank you have a wonderful drug free life!!!!!!

Personally, i think the drinking age limit for consuming alchohol should be 35, for various reasons. One, i think these young lads are too irresponsible and think they are invinsible. Secondly drinking is way to overrated and terrible. Its forbbiden in my family like a forbbiden fruit flavor. I love playing baseball with my kids and love every minute of my life, alcohol free. Some people say i am a loser for a parent and i have to agree with them, but for the sake of people, drinking is terrible and should never be allowed. Or wait till your 35.... Thank you have a wonderful drug free life!!!!!!

IF anything, lowering the drinking age to 18 would lower the amount of drunk driving related deaths would lower, because the person would no longer fear calling someone to drive them home. and once again, if you can vote to decide the next leader of the greatest country on this earth, you should be able to decide wether or not to toss back a beer.

i think if you can enlist in the military at 18 you should be able to drink at 18 i mean your holding a gun and shooting at people and you could die. if your old enough to enlist than you should be old enough to go have a beer or two before they go out and get killed. im in high school and i can say that there is a lot of underage drinking and people that turn 18 are consirdered a adult they should be able to go have a beer

make it 15 its my life

make it 15 its my life

make it 15 its my life

well, seriously it's bad if your 19 or 20, ur gettin married, but u can't have champagne at ur own wedding? it's not right, if your really an adult what's the problem, u can't pop in and out of adulthood. Why is the government giving people 18-20 adult responsibilities, yet still treating them like children?

well, seriously it's bad if your 19 or 20, ur gettin married, but u can't have champagne at ur own wedding? it's not right, if your really an adult what's the problem, u can't pop in and out of adulthood. Why is the government giving people 18-20 adult responsibilities, yet still treating them like children?

well, seriously it's bad if your 19 or 20, ur gettin married, but u can't have champagne at ur own wedding? it's not right, if your really an adult what's the problem, u can't pop in and out of adulthood. Why is the government giving people 18-20 adult responsibilities, yet still treating them like children?

To me i feel that they should not move the age limit back to 18 because some kids wil do just more then drinking..... kids now and days are just crazy and acting like they aint got no got dam mind to use so they act in any way they can