Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

Keep legal drinking age where it is – at 21

If there’s a deeply compelling reason for dropping the minimum legal drinking age to 18, the distinguished academic supporters of the Amethyst Initiative haven’t made it yet.

Granted, the statement signed by 100 college presidents – including Pacific Lutheran University’s Loren Anderson – doesn’t come right out and say they want a lower drinking age, only that they seek “an informed and dispassionate debate” over the issue. But it clearly states that they believe the current legal drinking age of 21 isn’t working.

They note that “clandestine binge-drinking” is pervasive on college campuses and that in order to buy alcohol, many underage students resort to using fake IDs, a choice that erodes “respect for the law.”

The presidents fail to show how making alcohol easier to get at a younger age would have a dampening impact on binge-drinking. If anything, it would almost certainly worsen the problem and shift it to an even younger age group – high school seniors.

As for using fake IDs, that should become less of a problem as the states comply with tougher federal rules on identification. Much of the fake ID problem could be addressed by getting tougher with drinking establishments that don’t adequately check customer ID. And since when do we do away with good laws just because there are those who choose to break them?

While the proponents fail to make the case for a legal drinking age of 18, those arguing to keep the legal drinking age at 21 are highly persuasive.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving cites a number of well-supported studies that show raising the drinking age to 21 has significantly reduced drunk-driving deaths. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it saves about 900 lives a year. And the National Institutes of Health reports that delaying the legal age of drinking reduces future rates of alcoholism; binge drinking; and alcohol-related traffic accidents, injuries and violence.

Dealing with a college population whose ages vary widely can be a hassle for school administrators – no doubt about it. Their lives would be a lot easier if they could treat all students the same. But lowering the drinking age is a wrong-headed solution. It would only result in more deaths, more ruined lives.

That’s too high a price to pay for convenience.
_________
source: The News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Will Alcohol Abuse Treatment Centers Help Me Recover?

Only around 10% of people who suffer from an alcohol addiction receive help from an alcohol abuse center Over twenty percent of rehab admission are from people who need help with their alcohol addiction Over 20 million people have an alcohol addiction in America Alcohol Addiction Alcohol is the most commonly abused substance in America…..

Center will study effects of alcohol on brain

UNM was given $2.5 million this semester to start one of the nation’s first fetal alcohol research centers. The program is funded by a five-year grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The New Mexico Alcohol Research Center will look at the effects of alcohol on the brain. Dr. Daniel Savage, who….

Law enforcement cracks down on binge drinking, drinking games

Free beer, dollar pitchers, two for one, three for one, bring your own cup and $1 shots – sweet music to the financially challenged, fun-seeking college student’s ear. Add in a couple games of beer pong, flip cup or quarters and the night is sure to be memorable. But when does binge drinking stop being….

Paris gets a taste of teen binge drinking

It Tells You something about the novelty of a French debate about “le binge drinking” that an equivalent French term has yet to enter into common usage and that whenever the media broach it, they feel obliged first to explain to people what exactly it is. They’ve been doing a lot of explaining lately. According….

Stony Brook program on binge drinking raises interest

A new Stony Brook University initiative to prevent the consequences of binge drinking has sparked nationwide interest from more than 100 colleges, universities and high schools that want to replicate the program on their campuses. “So many people who have been affected by the loss of a loved one or an acquaintance or a friend….