Do You Think The Drinking Age in the US Should Be Lowered?

[elyzia]

Just thought I'd try & start some discussion here. I can't stand how dead this subforum is.

Anyway, do you think the drinking age in the United States should be lowered? Why or why not?

 

[Synical Dreamer]

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No it should really not be lowered. There's enough drunk people in America and we don't need younger, less responsible people getting into that stuff.
There's enough teenagers that drink illegally xp
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[Lord Esuritio]

Ϧʊɍɳ Ϧʊɍɳ ʈɧɛ Ϩʈαɨʈɨʘɳ
ϖɛ’ɭɭ Ϧʊɍɳ ɨʈ ɖʘϖɳ

Personally, as the legal drinking age is 21 over here too, I believe it should be lowered to 18. In the U.K, once you turn 18, you are legally an adult. If you are legally an adult once you're 18, why are you not allowed to drink in a bar until you're 21? It's pretty pathetic.

ʄʘɍ ʊϨ, ʄʘɍ ʈɧɛɱ, ʄʘɍ Ɏʘʊ

 

[--Untoten Kase--]

Glammed up fabulous...

I could care less.... actually... It's not like I'll be drinking any time soon xD My taste buds are weak....I can't handle anything strong or rich tasting or i would gag, cough, or anything like that xD (Yeah... this is the reason i don't like dark chocolate o.o) But maybe it would be best to stay as it is... cause I was told once (I'm not sure if this is right but imma say it anyway) that something in the alcohol isn't good for kids.... yeah, i took a couple sips from my dads drinks... i have since a young age.. did i ever like it? No... but i did it O-o anyway.. so yeah.... (blabbering again 3nodding )

I heard the drinking age in Germany is 13 >. > Not sure if that's true.... But I heard it somewhere.... xP

...Lookin' hot, dangerous.

 

[elyzia]

ll-Frantic-ll

I just figure that if you want to drink you can wait or do it illegally like everyone else. It's not the greatest thing ever or the worst,

Well, it's not like the reason that there's a law saying you have to be a certain age to buy alcohol is because the government doesn't want younger kids having fun or anything. It's obviously not a matter relating to accommodating the desires of teenagers or anything, so I'm kind of confused as to the relevance of those remarks.

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their shouldn't be a huge debate over it.

& there isn't one.

Quote:

The age was set that way for some reason why not just leave it there?

So you're just assuming that any reason behind the creation of any law simply must have been completely valid & accurate, & that laws never need to be changed?
Wow O_O

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There are only a few years between 18 and 21 anyway, it's not that hard to wait.

You know that the drinking age law is all about "keeping people safe"...  

[faretheewell]

If you are old enough to get drafted and die for your country, you are old enough to drink alcohol.

Just sayin'  

[ecopper12]

No.

If you're brain is still not fully formed at 18, you don't want to ******** up the process by drinking.

You can wait 3 more years.  

[Hester Peche]

Either raise the enlistment age and voting age...or lower the drinking age.

If you can vote and die for your country, you should be able to get s**t-faced before you do it.  

[elyzia]

ecopper12

No.

If you're brain is still not fully formed at 18, you don't want to ******** up the process by drinking.

You can wait 3 more years.

People's brains on average have reached adult maturity by the age of 16...  

[Hester Peche]

elyzia

ecopper12

No.

If you're brain is still not fully formed at 18, you don't want to ******** up the process by drinking.

You can wait 3 more years.

People's brains on average have reached adult maturity by the age of 16...

Actually, that's not true. The brain goes through significant changes and development up until the mid-20s. Most people don't reach full adult maturitiy of the brain until about 25.

That's why teenagers often have such bad reactions to things like anti-depressants and young people tend to do very stupid things. The part pd their brain that controls inhibition and rational thought isn't fully developed yet and won't be developed until their 20s.  

[elyzia]

Hester Peche

elyzia

ecopper12

No.

If you're brain is still not fully formed at 18, you don't want to ******** up the process by drinking.

You can wait 3 more years.

People's brains on average have reached adult maturity by the age of 16...

Actually, that's not true. The brain goes through significant changes and development up until the mid-20s. Most people don't reach full adult maturitiy of the brain until about 25.

That's why teenagers often have such bad reactions to things like anti-depressants and young people tend to do very stupid things. The part pd their brain that controls inhibition and rational thought isn't fully developed yet and won't be developed until their 20s.

I too have heard that 25 is the age that many of the most recent studies are citing as the age at which a person's brain as finally matured... But some recent studies are also saying 35, & some are saying 12. Over the past century, there have been TONS & tons of studies conducted on that same exact topic; & the overwhelming majority of the studies conducted throughout the past decades in nearly every country in the world have concluded that the human brain has for the most part fully matured at the age of 16. That said, the majority of studies have also concluded that the brain undergos minor developments for a couple years (or perhaps more) past the age of 16, but that after 16 the ways in which the brain develops are just that: minor, & pretty much irrelevant to their ability to function cognitively at a completely mature & adult level.

&, people of every age sometimes have bad reactions to anti-depressants. & people who are 16 & over honestly don't necessarily make less stupid decisions than adults. & to the extent that they do, it's in such a way that seems to directly point to a lack of experience with life & acquired knowledge, as opposed to a lack of psychological cognitive maturity.  

[Hester Peche]

elyzia

Hester Peche

elyzia

ecopper12

No.

If you're brain is still not fully formed at 18, you don't want to ******** up the process by drinking.

You can wait 3 more years.

People's brains on average have reached adult maturity by the age of 16...

Actually, that's not true. The brain goes through significant changes and development up until the mid-20s. Most people don't reach full adult maturitiy of the brain until about 25.

That's why teenagers often have such bad reactions to things like anti-depressants and young people tend to do very stupid things. The part pd their brain that controls inhibition and rational thought isn't fully developed yet and won't be developed until their 20s.

I too have heard that 25 is the age that many of the most recent studies are citing as the age at which a person's brain as finally matured... But some recent studies are also saying 35, & some are saying 12. Over the past century, there have been TONS & tons of studies conducted on that same exact topic; & the overwhelming majority of the studies conducted throughout the past decades in nearly every country in the world have concluded that the human brain has for the most part fully matured at the age of 16. That said, the majority of studies have also concluded that the brain undergos minor developments for a couple years (or perhaps more) past the age of 16, but that after 16 the ways in which the brain develops are just that: minor, & pretty much irrelevant to their ability to function cognitively at a completely mature & adult level.

&, people of every age sometimes have bad reactions to anti-depressants. & people who are 16 & over honestly don't necessarily make less stupid decisions than adults. & to the extent that they do, it's in such a way that seems to directly point to a lack of experience with life & acquired knowledge, as opposed to a lack of psychological cognitive maturity.

Well, recent studies at that have been researching the brain over the teenage years have concluded that the brain goes under significant changes, particularly after 18. The human frontal-lobe--which is the part of the brain which controls rational thought, distinguishing between good and bad and proper social behaviour--isn't fully developed until the mid-20s. So, actually some decisions made when young can be attributed to that. Particularly the ones where self-control are involved.

Also, some studies have shown that people who drink at a younger age are more likely to develop things like depression later in life.  

[Centipedes In Utero]

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If anything, they should raise the age to enlist and drive.

 

[elyzia]

Centipedes In Utero

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If anything, they should raise the age to enlist and drive.

AGREED heart