Old Enough to Drink?

This is a topic we’ve covered on our radio show a couple of times, but there is a video available over at Town Hall with an open forum for comments where the debate over the drinking age continues. I’ll share a few of my own observations, but first some of the early comments from readers for you to consider.

First, jfb1138 is squarely against it.

The problem is that young adults (17-20) alcohol cars is a deadly equation. Every spring, papers across the country are filled with the stories of the new HS grad totaling the car, killing all the young passengers. And alcohol is always a contributing factor. How about giving that age sector a choice: you can have a drinking license or a driving license, not both.

Michael sees things a different way.

If you are not mature enough to make the decision to drink at 18, then you are not mature enough to vote or join the military, etc. Either lower the drinking age, or raise to 21 the age to: vote, enlist, marry, and give consent. Lets have a truly “uniform age“

From my own ponderings and research, I tend to come down more on Michael’s side. I strongly agree with the specific point he’s making about defining the age when you are an “adult” and can do this or that, but there’s a lot more to the question. Reader jfb1138 raises a valid point which is of concern to many people. Teens have far less experience at driving in these or other complicating situations. But what gets left out of that argument is that they also have a lot less experience drinking.

If we imagine some hypothetical world where young adults between the ages of 18 and 21 were not getting access to alcohol, the first time they go out driving after their 21st birthday likely won’t turn out much differently than it would at 18. And let’s face it… a car full of drunken 21 year olds doing a header into an oak tree at 60 miles per hour isn’t far down the tragedy scale from a car full of 18 year olds. If you’re going to drink, it takes time before you really develop a sense for exactly how impaired your judgment and motor functions are following a given amount of consumption.

On the bell curve of drinking, there will always be extremes. Some young people, either through religious or family values (or perhaps a bad early experience) will decide straight away that they’re simply not going to be drinkers. Some other small portion will immediately decide that alcohol is the best thing since sliced bread and set out upon a lifetime of perpetual hangovers and praying for scientists to perfect that pig liver transplant procedure. The majority, of course, will do some early experimentation and then decide when and where it is appropriate and desirable for them to consume alcohol.

Study after study have shown us that Europe experiences lower rates of alcoholism, alcohol related diseases and drunken driving incidents. People are exposed to alcohol at a far earlier age there. One practical effect of this seems to be the removal of that forbidden fruit aspect of alcohol. When you take a teenager and tell them, “You can’t do this!” – particularly in combination with, “… but those people three years older than you can,” – the result is predictable. Early exposure and proper adult supervision and discussion may well take away the fascination.

But even with all of those more nuanced discussion points, I still find myself coming back to the point Michael was making in the beginning. If you’re old enough to put on a uniform and go die for your country… if you’re old enough to get married and spawn new children of your own… you’re probably old enough to have a beer.