The Debate On Lowering The Drinking Age

60 Minutes: Some Say Age Should Be Lowered To 18, But MADD And Others Strongly Disagree

(CBS)  Chuck Hurley of MADD says the answer is not lowering the age to 18. That, he contends, would just increase the availability of alcohol to even younger adults. "Guess what's gonna happen in high school? Literally the trickle down approach."

"So what you’re saying is 18 year-olds today get 21 year-olds to go get them liquor. You're saying 15 year-olds would get the 18 year-olds to do that?" Stahl asked.

"Yeah, that is what we're saying," Hurley replied.

"If the age were 18, would it be easier to enforce? Then you'd have 17 year-olds. You'd have to enforce it against them," Stahl said. "Is it your goal to eliminate all drinking among people under 21?"

"Yes," he said.

Asked if that's realistic, Hurley said no. "Well, our goal really would be in an ideal world to eliminate underage drinking."

But he acknowledged that that's a difficult goal to achieve.

John McCardell thinks even aiming for abstinence is impractical. And besides, he thinks the real problem is alcohol abuse - excessive and binge drinking.

And so he has a proposal that accompanies his plan to lower the age to 18. "Alcohol education is what we need and that is a very important part of our proposal. And by that I don't mean temperance lectures and I don't mean prohibition, nor do I mean encouragement to drink," he told Stahl.

What he does mean is mandatory classes in high school that would include the chemistry of alcohol, the physical consequences of abuse, and sitting in on AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) sessions. Passing an exam would result in a license to drink.

"So what you're saying is alcohol education would be like driving education," Stahl remarked.

"That's a good analogy," McCardell replied.

"You'd have to take the course, there'd be a test, you'd get the license. If you violate it, the license is taken away?" Stahl asked.

"Right away, that's right," McCardell said. "And think about that analogy. It would never occur to us to say to a young person once they reach driving age, 'Here are the keys. Good luck. Go figure it out.'"

McCardell thinks this idea - testing and licensing - is better than leaving things the way they are. Given the vast opposition to lowering the age, his chances of succeeding are slim, but as a history professor he says it comes down to what we already know.

"We have lived through prohibition. We know prohibition doesn't work," he said. "We know that on our college campuses. We know that in our households. We know that in the military. We know that in non-college America as well. Legal age 21 seeks to impose prohibition on young adults. And that's the way, and in my view, the only way to look at this question."

[chels10]

so we all know that people under the age of 21 drink. It is a way for high school to act stupid and think that it makes them feel older. But i dont think that lower the drinking age will solve anything. Say it gets lowered to 18 then you still have the 15-17 year range group drinking. I understand that they are more supervised now living at home but also you can get away with alot more and hidding things. Also if my friend is drunk and tries to drive hell no would i feel confortable calling the police that is just asking to go to jail and get introuble. no matter what the drinking age is you will still have underage drinking but if it stays the way it is it just makes it alittle bit harder to get it and sometimes you cant. Not everyone has the maturity level to drink alcohol and know how to handle a potential life and death situation. you can say that some 21 year old people dont but at least they could be with people who do

[gingerschnapps]

I can't agree with you on this one. I've chosen this topic for my English debate term paper and I've seen firsthand and have been involved in situations with excessive drinking. Kids drink because teenagers are by nature, defiant. We've been caught in the mix between being a kid and being an adult, and naturally we're attracted to the image of being or acting older. "Older," to a 17 or 18 year old means being 21 and going to a bar and enjoying an ice cold brew. And clearly since we cannot do this because of the legal set age for drinking, we've been drinking excessively underground and behind closed doors which is probably the most dangerous thing to do. If one was to drink at home with their parents, they could teach them at a young age the values of moderation, and if things did happen to get out of hand, an ambulance could be called. Young kids at parties don't call ambulances for someone who has passed out for fear of being caught drinking underage.
I suppose the moral of my story is that if you can die for your country, you should at least be able to enjoy an ice cold brewski before doing so.

[JRestemayer]

heres my problem when you turn 18 you can legally buy tobacco and lottery tickets. you can adopt a child, you can vote and you can serve and die to protect out country but you cant buy yourself a beer... this doesnt make any sense to me.

[timao11]

21 is rediculous... im in favor of 18 and to be honest, im in favor of not enforcing it at all... im in favor of enforcing drinking and driving policies. the problem is not drinking, but wut u do when u drink and where u drink. seriously, how many ppl actually like hard liquor? not many, they do it because its illegal, its "cool". im from a country where drinking age is 18, but no one cares if u r a minor and u consume alcohol. however, in my country there is zero tolerance on drinking and driving, not even the 0.8 content that america enforces. honestly, if u didnt hav a beer before u were 21, u r ether lying or u didnt hav a life. im tired of running from getting caught and getting an mip.

[hhudson14]

So if kids in high school now or college and have parties and there is someone there who is to wasted to stand on their own feet then they just leave them somewhere and dont check to see if they are ok or call 911 then why would they do if or when the drinking age is lowered why would they change their ways of helpping someone who is so drunk that they cant stand.

[Okami0719]

If I was in college and under the drinking age and drunk I would not call 911 and have cops show up. I would'v done the same thing and waited till the morning when I was sober. Now if the drinking age was 18 I would not of hasted to call 911 because I am doing nothing illeagle.

[Sparrow52606]

So the way I see it....... They should keep the 21 drinking age, and yes the under agers are still going to get alcohol but who cares we can at least make it harder for them to get it. A good reason why it should stay at 21 is because the younger you are when you drink, the more dependent you become of alcohol. It's as simple as that. Most people don't even know that, so kids who obtain alcohol, and even parents who give their kids alcohol, are ignorantly drinking themselves into a future hell of sickness and limited control of their own body in a sense that, your body is still growing and if you give it a substantial amount of alcohol (or any drug for that fact) during that time, you teach your body to function with it and then it becomes a part of you and eventually your body will know nothing else. And if this particular drug (including alcohol) is not there, your body will attack itself and torment you into giving it what it "needs" to function. And obviously it's going to affect your relationships, careers, and just your life overall. And the only reason kids are going out and binge drinking is because that's the only way they've learned how to do it. Any story involving alcohol comprises of how a person passed out, doesn't remember, did something crazy, and/or how much they've consumed (which is always a rather large amount). And these stories unfortuneately are not just kept between adults, our children hear these stories, they SEE their parents endlessly downing one right after the other, and sadly sometimes even joining in with them. If the government would make a mandatory Alcohol Education Class through schools, organizations, etc. etc..... and TEACH children the health risks involved, what a safe and responsible amount is to consume, and that the reason for a get-together is not just about getting wasted. Instead it's to simply spend time with family, friends, or getting to know new people. And they should really be shown how stupid they would look if they decided to embark on the life of binge drinking (because it really does damage the appearance of your intelligence level to an open minded, informed individual)......... They might find that binge drinking may very well decline quite significantly. And hopefully alcoholism will eventually fade out with it. So the higher drinking age is not in place to be unfair, it's in place to save you from yourself.

[repb_kory]

you are a ******* idiot. its those communist ideas that will ruin this country yet. continue spreading your trash. we all see through it mr. stalin

[DRINKINGAGEDOWN]

shut the hell up...ur stupid..research before u comment...ur completely wrong...if you allow kids to be exposed to alcohol at a younger age, they wouldnt use it irresponsibly. look at the european countries. they dont have a problem because theyre kids can drink at like 8 years old...its ppl like u that ruin this country...and another thing...ITS A FREE COUNTRY!!! it isnt right now though because all these stupid laws

[justbyluck13]

I think the real advantage of lowering the drinking age is that it pushes back the age of those who would be interested to an age where they can supervised. When you're out on your own for the first time at eighteen, the allure of alcohol is strong, and the fact that it's illegal makes it stronger. When you're 16 or 17 and still under some parental supervision, it at least keeps you from abusing it to the extent that young college kids do.

[yame12345]

Just read the 14th amendment. If you are against following the constitution, common sense should do it. Go to your local community college and take a statistics class, then take a second look at the claims that MADD makes.

[collegeopinion13]

This article has an excellent point. You cannot stop underaged teens from drinking, it is simply unfeasible. The United States has one of the highest legal drinking ages in the world and to be honest there I don't really see how we are benefiting from it.

Oddly enough, high school students in much of the rest of the developed world ? where lower drinking ages and laxer enforcement reign ? do considerably better than U.S. students on standardized tests. So that is obviously not the reason.

Many base their opinions on the fact that the human brain continues developing beyond the age of 21 yet these assertions reek of junk science. They're extrapolated from a study on lab mice, as well as from a small sample of actual humans already dependent on alcohol or drugs. Neither is enough to make broad proclamations about the entire population.


Many of the deaths similar to Gordie's could have been prevented if he had not been underaged, maybe someone would have gotten him help had they not been afraid of the consequences of being caught. Most teens and college students binge drink because they don't know the next opportunity that alcohol will be available to them, so they drink everything they have in one sitting this is a major problem

i feel that lowering the drinking age would be an excellent solution

[poncenbee]

What a joke these so-called self proclaimed experts and sactimonious deans of colleges. There are many laws that can be and are enforced, for example DUI. The only law in america where you are presumed guilty in court, thanks to MADD. So a law can be enforced and DUI is. Does it stopp drinking, yes but not completely, but it sure has worked on millions. Suggetsion: Upon acceptance to college, the studen must agree to not drink prior to age 21. If he does he is immediately expelled with no tuition refund. Fraternities and Sororities that provide alcohol to underage students lose their certification and must close. Any person in an official capacity at the University or College who refuses too or ignores these rules by failure to prosecute will be immediately dismissed with no tenure to protect them. Draconian Maybe, but these sactimonius leaders of our colleges who say they can't enforce rules are lying to save their collective ***** fronm lawsuits against the schools.
Prompt enactment of these simple requirements will stop 90%+ of the incidence of underaged drinking in higher education. You are guilty of DUI if your blood alcohol is equal to or above 0.08 whether or not you are impaired. There are thoudands of people who can drive safely at 0.10 but it doesn't matter you are guilty.
strick enforcement works.
We don't neea bunch of self proclaimed experts ????? to make dozens of excuses for this behaviour. One offense is suspension for one full year. Second offense is permanent expulsion and cancelling all college loans.

[bshanks]

> Perhaps if we lived in a society which only forbade things with the agreement of 70% of the population, rather than 50%, there would be less crime.

(clearly, if less things were forbidden, there would be less "crime", but I mean that there might also be less breaking of the laws which remained in place in both cases, for instance theft)