Drinking: How Old Is Old Enough?

I have very mixed feelings about this subject. I hate alcohol because I have personally seen it destroy lives and break up homes. Personally, I wish that liquor and beer of any kind had never existed in the first place. However, if a person is old enough to fight and die in our nation's military at 18 years of age, how can we say that that same person who is risking his/her life in combat isn't old enough to drink?

i personally think drinking should not be aloud. Drinking kills brain cells and illeagaly drinking while drivind leads to recks and posibally death.

Lowering the drinking age is irresponsible. I think that people should just wait until they're 21 years old. 2/3 of all teenage car accidents happen from drunk driving! I feel like if you lower the age for drinking it will increase the amounts of accidents.

I think that people that are going to abuse achoul are going to drink no matter what the age limit is. I think that if the age limit went down than there would be more abuse. if the drinking limit went up i dont think there would be any differance.

I think if the drinking age is lowered there would be more abuse and more people killed. There would be a lot of parents with out any children. An if they raise the drinking age than it would stil be the same as it was. I would just leave it at 21 i wouldn't want to risk a teen's life.

I don’t think it will make much of a difference they are still going to drink whether it’s legal or not. Once you become an alcoholic you can’t stop. So if you lower it or not it’ll still be the same.

In Germany, drinking is legal with the age of 16 or 18 (depends on the stuff you're buying). When I spent my holidays in Los Angeles last year (I'm 18 years old), I ordered a white wine. I didn't know this law by then and of course I didn't get it. Compared to other laws this age limit seems pretty senseless, because 16 is at least the age, you should be able to take care about your own health.

And why can you get guns with 18 in the US?

Tonio from Hamburg, Germany

i do not think that it should be lowered even though in my opion it wouldnt matter because if teenagers are goin to do it then they are goin to do it no matter what

i dont think you should lower the drinking age . it is just not a good idea to do somthing like that. there are just to many drinking accedents. DONT DO IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think lowering the drinking is soooooo a bad idea. If they do lower the drinking age, more people are going to get drunk and more car crashes are going to accur. Even if they do lower the drinking age, i'm not going to drink at 18. I'm going to play it safe and wait till I am 21!!!!!!!

If the drinking age is lowered,I think that it won't change things very much. Most teens who are going to drink if the age is lowered have probably already drank before.

I think that the drinking age should stay at 21. People die because of drunk driving. I think it would increase car wrecks. Anyways, if you are 18 and drinking, it's not good because the alchol can make it very sick,or worse....

i think lowering the drinking age will increase the number of car accidents! witch will lead to more deaths in the U.S.if they do lower the drinking age then there should be someone with the (what i think is under age) drinkers to control the amount that they drink! But, it is still very irresponsibe for even people over 21 to get drunk!! i think there should be a limit for anyone andd everyone because we dont need anymore achole realated deaths in the U.S.!!!!!

personally i think that the age 21 is low enough. I think that if it is going to change at all it should go up. There is already enough drinkers that are 21 and drink and drive and people have been killed because of it. Why should we lower the age and risk more lives.

I think this is an irresponsible and ridiculous idea. I know that with sin in the world drinking illgeally will never be fully stamped out but, we can try our best to be governed by good boudaries and rules. Boundaries are not there to keep us from something awesome but, to keep us safe. Personally I think drinking is kinda pointless and (to quote) "I want to know when I'm having fun". Yet, I understand others want to drink. So good rules should be in place to drink responsibly and to NOT EVER drive drunk. Drinking can get out of hand fast and becoming drunk sounds like absolutely no fun and can be dangerous to yourself and others (physically and mentally). And now they are going to lower the drinking age? If the college campuses stand firm about the age limit and even put severe penalties on underage drinking they may see a change in there school or maybe not. But, isn't it worth a try to save physical lives and relational lives as well?

i have mixed feelings about this.because i know many people that do under age drinking, and i think that it would be better for not as many teens getting put in jail. But it is not good for their bodies, if you are not mature enough to handle the drinks. but if they are gonna drink they will if it is legal or not.

Are you kidding me?! Lowering the drinking
age is like giving a toddler the steering wheel! This is a horrible idea.Too many people die from drunk driving these days and lowering the age limit is not going to help this situation.

I think that rules are meant to be broken and that kids are gonna do things illegal or not and they no the risks if they want to do that then let every other smart person learn from there mistakes.

I totally disagree with this. If younger people can drink legally then there will be more drunken drivers to try to watch for. I think this would be harder for police men and it would be very difficult for America. If the law of drinking at age twenty-one is not changed it might save one life of a teen and if this is true then I am against this new law. PLEASE DON'T CHANGE IT!!!!!!!!

I think that the the age should stay the same because if it is moved up kids are still going to break the law because thay are going to say rules are meant to be broken. Meanwhile if it saves one kids life it is worth it because his/her death could affect many people.

I think the legal drinking age should be lowered to the age of 18. I think the legal age should be lowered because at the age of 18 we are allowed to drive, smoke, and we can be tried as adults, so why can't we drink at the age of 18? If the age doesn't get lowered then most people will just do it illegaly, so why not make it legal at a18 ,and better choices might be made.

I think that they should keep the age as it is because if they do lower the age the death rate would go up. Way to many kids have already died from drunk driving. But, Many people drink anyway even if they are under age.

I personally think it is wrong, but 1 or 2 won't hurt every now and then. Over all I think it should ban liquor and beer from these collages. We've lost more than enough in the war. Remember if it continues YOU BOOZE IT YOU LOOSE IT!

Personally, I myself am an underage drinker, and my opinion on this subject is to still not lower the drinking age. Hey, people get alcohol even though they're underage right? So why should I complain. I could careless. I'm more conserned about the irresponsible people out there who drink and drive. In the state of Florida in 2006 out of all traffic accidents, 29% of the were alcohol related. Imagine if the drinking age decreased how much higher the traffic accidents would increase. So again why would I want to lower the drinking age when I can still get alcohol as a teenager, rather then just wait till i'm 21?

I personally believe that they should lower the drinking age. It's like reverse psychology. If you tell someone that they can do something, they usually do it less. However, If you tell someone that they can't do something, they'll want to do it because of human nature. And besides, if they're already drinking undergorund when they're not old enough, what difference would lowering the drinking age by a few years be? Also, the people that don't drink underground will probably stay away from alcohol till they're 21 anyway, just because they were raised to believe that that's the right age for drinking. Though I do believe the U. S. citizens should vote on this.

I think that if you lower the drinking age, it might just drive more kids to do it, because the ones who followed the law might think just because the age limit was lowered, its ok to drink.

(continued)

.....and it really isn't with how damaging it is to your body, and hurting your social life as well because getting drunk makes you say things you never meant to say

I think lowering the drinking age would benefit in one way to teenagers because instead of drinking secretly somewhere and hiding it, they could drink out in the open with more people to monitor them instead of keeping it hidden. They wouldn't get punished if someone sees them drinking, they wouldn't get into trouble, but then other people would be aware of it and they could prevent more accidents.

I really don't think that the lowering of the drinking age will work. Alcohol abusers are going to abuse no matter what. Besides, MADD, not to mention the entire country, would be in an uproar. So many people hate the idea of even people as young as twenty-one drinking, so eighteen, to them, is just out of the question.

I think lowering the drinking age is simply outrageous. If teens are drinking younger that they should now, imagine is they lowered the age to say 17 or 18, then their might be KIDS about 14 or like me 13. Who decide that its ok to drink young! they might even think hey! if they lowered it for seniors maybe they will for us too!!

I think it's ridiculous! Think about this : Before you lower the drinking age, some people who is a bit more younger already was drinking alcoholic! And if you lower the drinking age, wouldn't even younger people start to drink, too?
I personally wish that beers and other alcoholic drinks had never appeared in our world. It's just so sad to see some people being killed or having families broke up because of all these drinks.

Everyone is saying 18 is to young, but we send 18 year olds to war. If your old enough to vote and go to war, you should be able to drink. Some people in the public think that more kids will drink. I have a suggestion for a compromise. We should make it legal for 18 year olds to drink, only if they are registrated to vote or are in the military. The 18 year old would have to vote in every election or, in case of the military, not get dishonorable discharge. What do you think ?

In my view the drinking age in the U.S. is too high. On the one hand you have have a very good statistic about a low number of crashes resulting in death of drunk drivers under 21 (Information from: SPOTLIGHT magazine, March 2008, pp. 26-27), but on the other hand this law pushed and forced underage drinking and youthful drinking on the underground.
The best way is to try a drinking age of 18 or 19 with some education at school or on TV. Here we have a drinking age of 18 and we have the discussion but on the other way. Should it be raised up to 21?
Best regards from Hamburg, Germany

The major reason for the drinking age being at 21-( it was 18 when I was first legally eligible to drink) is that it saves lives based on the studies and statistics. While college presidents are understandably concerned about the bad PR etc death of a college student gives thier campus, there is not data to show that statistically more young people in the ages of 18 to 21 would be saved, it may just marginally effect the college age drinkers. While i think there is an issue of restricting by age group when 18 is the legal voting age, military service etc. We still have some responsibility and liability that remains with parents until the person is 21. The arguement that is used along with the statistics showing this age group has a higher risk of injury and death due to driving while drinking is experience and judgement, a factor that probably should be used on senior adults over the age of say 80 where I would propose we automatically restrict people in that age group from driving unless they can demonstarte at least yearly that they are still physically and mentally able to drive safely ( I am presuming they have learned that drinking and driving doesn't mix by that age. I think the restriction for 18 to 21 year olds should remain until we can demonstrate that it has no overall effect on reducing the numbers of alcohol related deaths in this age group. I lost two of my classmates in highschool from alcohol related deaths and at that time they were 18 and it was legal. I also think we need to consider the cost to our country related to those deaths and serious injuries. I also had two friends at 18 end up paralized for life due to drunk driving.

Well I think they should be 21 or older.

Well i think i would be okay to drink at 18 bc mostly everybody from that age does it illegal, so why cant they do it leagal

I believe we shouldnt be on both side...

because I dont think that " just because we change drinking-age-laws,

that will change drinker's mind."

and because even if we changed law, only cops are gonna be busy.

Thus,we should find aother way not like about changing law, but like campain or somthing that can change drinker's mind. ..

Natalie thinks that the drinking age could be lower because of the people in college might respect it and be responsible. She also thinks it maybe should be higher because of the fact that, that young of an age shouldn't be drinking at all.

Haylea thinks that the drinking age should be increased. She thinks this because alot of people are very irresponsible when it comes to drinking. Also alot of kids get drunk and drive and they get in HORRIBLE wrecks. So she thinks that the drinking age should be increased.

Sincerely,
Natalie and Haylea

Dear, CNN
After watching your video we would like to comment about the drinking section. Some countries out of the U.S. have laws that do not have a limit of a drinking age. So most of the people in those countries do not drink because they don't have to wait for anything, they dont say "oh my gosh I can't wait until im 21 to drink!" they dont even really think about drinking because its not important to drink or not. So we think that if they let students drink ONLY on campus at the age of 18 then once they turn 21 they wont be so intemadated to want to drink so much. They would be used to already having alcohol that it wouldn't be such a big deal to drink with their friends or not.
P.S. We're not saying that drinking is a good thing but it could make it a little easier to not get so intemadated. But also we think that if drinking stopped all together students could get a better education and wouldnt have any problems or issues. They wouldnt be all hung over and worring about their mistakes and trying to make them better.

Sincerely,
Amanda and Cassidy

Yes, we belive that they should lower the drinking age. I think it is a good idea to lower the drinking age so that younger people woudn't be tempted as much when they are 15 to 20 years of age.Also they will be at bar's and adults will be there. I think that at bar's there should be more supervision of younger folks for there protection.

We think that they should be out of high school becuase it will cause senoirs to get drunk and not be able to focus on their school work.Then they will not be able to graduate.We think that the drinking age should be 19 years or older,unless their still in high school, because when they get out of high school they will do it anyway but drinking in high school is wrong. Getting drunk can scwer up their life.Thats why we think they should lower the drinking age to 19.
Sincerly,
Laura
&
Kari

We think that it is both OK and NOT OK to lower the drinking age. One reason why it would be OK is because we can go to war and risk our lives but we can't drink at 18 and we can vote at 18 but we still can't drink at 18. Plus if they lower the drinking age there'd be less under age drinking because most people would drink under age but in this case there wouldn't be under age drinking. The reason why it is NOT OK is because drinking kills brain cells and can cause birth defects. Plus if they lower the drinking age if might cause more car crashes by teenagers. In the end they should.

I believe that alchol should be at a higher drinking age like an age that is usually found when your out of college and or high school. I have seen drug and alchol destroy lives on shows live intervention. People say that it is hard to get out the habbit of drinking or smocking or even drinking energy drinks and eating to much candy and sweets.I think that you should have never of even gotten into that habbit in the first place.If u feel like your being pressured by peer pressure just run away and tell a teacher if your at school but if your not at school tell someone you know will take care of it. I Also feel if we set drinking at a higher age we would probably have less car accidents that include drugs and alchol.I belive that the age for drinking should be around 23 or 24 then there out of school. At least most of them.These are my feelings about the subject.

I have read a lot of blogs & the oppinion of most is to not lower it for if we do more would start drinking, but they will be drinking legally & less people in the pokey. I think they should lower it so Smokey's less buisy.

We believe this is a difficult decision. We agree as a class that if at 18 years old you can get charged with a crime and recieve the death penalty, vote in an election, smoke, and die for your country at war. Then, why cant you drink a BEER?!

Just another thought, I know the argument about if your old enough to vote/do miltary you should be able to drink legally, but using that logic you could also say if your old enough to drive, and mosts states let you drive at 16 and some at 14 so do you really think its OK for a 14 year old to go into a bar and buy a beer or two or three?

The drinking age should be lowered to 18 because kids are going to drink regardless. By legalizing drinking at 18, adults will be able to moderate situations when young adults drink. If young adults are in a controlled situation than it will be safer for everyone involved.

I think they should keep it the same and teenagers shuld take responsiblity and dont drink an if they do decide to drink they shouldnt drive !

Dear CNN Student News,
We believe that the drinking age should be lowered because it doesn't matter what the age is people will still break the rules. And it's better to drink leagally than illeagally. Younger people that drink illeagally usually binge drink instead of drinking regular drinks. All kids are going to try it anyway so it really doesn't matter what the age is.
Dani & Katie

It's hard to say.There is good reasons for both sides.If the drinking law was lowered there would not be as many kids trying to hide that there drungand trying to get away with drinking under age and kids stealing from stores just to drink.Poeple think more people would be drinking and drunk but just think about how many people are brakeing the law and if they did lower it the wouldnt.Right somewhere ther is someone brakeing the law that the police dont even have a clue.And i also see the other side of this too.I totally understand that people think that to many teens will get alchol from there older friends but think at least they are buying it in stead of under age kids stealing it.

i so agree with cole i couldnt put it any way better they should keep it the same cause the younger it gets the more lives, people and famalies are geting hurt every day. So the younger it gets the more people are geting hurt.

I think it is a bad idea because I know alot of poeple that have gottin hert from drunk drivers and It can also seperate familys.I know they probley will do it anyway but some people would be more resbonsable at the age of 21.

August 22nd, 2008 10:21 am ET

The major reason for the drinking age being at 21-( it was 18 when I was first legally eligible to drink) is that it saves lives based on the studies and statistics. While college presidents are understandably concerned about the bad PR etc death of a college student gives thier campus, there is not data to show that statistically more young people in the ages of 18 to 21 would be saved, it may just marginally effect the college age drinkers. While i think there is an issue of restricting by age group when 18 is the legal voting age, military service etc. We still have some responsibility and liability that remains with parents until the person is 21. The arguement that is used along with the statistics showing this age group has a higher risk of injury and death due to driving while drinking is experience and judgement, a factor that probably should be used on senior adults over the age of say 80 where I would propose we automatically restrict people in that age group from driving unless they can demonstarte at least yearly that they are still physically and mentally able to drive safely ( I am presuming they have learned that drinking and driving doesn’t mix by that age. I think the restriction for 18 to 21 year olds should remain until we can demonstrate that it has no overall effect on reducing the numbers of alcohol related deaths in this age group. I lost two of my classmates in highschool from alcohol related deaths and at that time they were 18 and it was legal. I also think we need to consider the cost to our country related to those deaths and serious injuries. I also had two friends at 18 end up paralized for life due to drunk driving.

Ira and scotty thinks that the drinking age should be reduced because why would teens whount to drink if it wasent illegal. Becouse the like to do illegal things I know becouse we have pearsonly been freainds with some of them. So we think there should knot be a drinking age .

I think that it should stay the same. Because of most teenagers are
drinking and driveing and they can crash and die or get seriously hurt.
Even some adults will drink and drive and i think it is stuped.

i think i should be lowerd becusae so many teens and no even teens are brakeing the law by drinkin under age.I think i would be better than them brakeing the law

I believe that the drinking age should stay right where it is because it takes a certain amount of maturity to be able to handle the responsibility.

I think it would be both a good thing and a bad thing. I think it would be a good thing b/c you are out of the house. It would also be a bad thing b/c then there would be more irresponsible drinking.

When I was in 8th grade I had a very well-traveled history teacher. This history teacher brought about this very discussion, and of course the kids in my class were very adamant about lowering it. I was shocked to hear that my teacher agreed, but her reasoning made so much sense. The drinking age is significantly lower in Europe for several reasons. One of which she said that the people raised there were raised around alcohol, but not drunkards, but people who "respected" it. They were brought up to know the dangers, but not in a menacing way. Also, it just so happens that due to Europe's excellent design for cities, pubs are often within walking distance from each other; therefore no need to get in a car and go on down to the next bar. Honestly, being raised in America and having people shove down my throat since I was 5 that drinking is bad, smoking is bad, drugs are bad probably increased my interest in engaging in such activities. I think if we, as American children, were raised in a manner like the Europeans then maybe we could be considered responsible enough to have the drinking age lowered, but then we run into the problem that if we wanted to bar hop or go out for a night in town while under the influence we would need transportation. So if they were to lower the drinking age, there would need to be some reconstruction in varies cities.

I think that it should be lowered. But then the cops will need to be out more on the highways to be cheking even more for drunk drivers. Also it should be lowered to 19 so it is a halfway point between 18 and 21

i personally think it don't matter if you lower the drinking age or keep it the same, teenagers are still going to drink, and i've noticed throughout my highschool years, kids are starting to drink at younger and younger ages every year. They're motto is "don't get caught" so whether or not you keep it at 21, or lower it to 18, they're still going to drink. If your old enough to put your life on the line, and fight for your country, then you're old enough to handle other responsibilities, not everyone is going to abuse it, however those that already have, have given us other 18 year olds a bad name. And there are going to be fatal car accidents all the time, it happens. There are always going to be irresponsible people in the world.

Whatever the drinking age is, the people who drink will still drink, the people who don't drink will still be the same. Even though they lower the drinking age to my age(14),I still won't drink. So I think the most important thing is education about alcohol. If the parents drink, the children will probably follow suit. So we need to let our children really know that drinking too much is bad for them.

If we decide to lower the drinking age, won't that encourage more teenagers to start drinking because it would be legal. Most teenagers don't drink because they know that its illegal. Plus, lowering the drinking age would just cause more accidents caused by drunk driving.

I think that they shouldn't lower the drinking age. Because why do people even try to get drunk anyways, even if it's for a bet it's still wrong! So do the SMART thing and drink for the right reasons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think it's a good idea to lower the drinking age to 18. Ilived in Europe for 3 years, and there the drinking age was generally 16. I feel that there was much less drinking there, where everyone is open about alchohol.

I don't think that if they lower the drinking age it is going to make a difference how people choose to handle alcohol. Some 30 year olds can't handle alcohol! So, I personally think no, they shouldn't lower the drinking age, but that's not going to stop underaged drinkers from getting what they want.

I think this column would be grea for english leaners.

It would be nice if a person's right to purchase and consume alcohol was based on their individual maturity but that is impossible. So I feel that the drinking age should be lowered back to 18. I feel that if a person is old enough to go to war and die for their/our country they should be allowed to purchase and consume alcohol or at least beer.

I do not think that lowering the drinking age will have an effect on the number of drunk drivers. Many drunk drivers now are sometimes under the age of 21. Yes, if and when the age is lowered BACK to 18 there will be an initial rise in things like binge drinking and DUI but that is the case with most everything these days.

I also agree that we should start a campaign to get drivers to think about not driving after drinking because most of the current don't drink and drive campaigns do not work. Something more thought provoking needs to be created.

On a final note, the only reason the drinking age is 21 across the board is that the federal government literally withheld the money for road repair until the state changed the drinking age from 18 to 21. this is the reason why states like Louisiana have many roads that are not as nice as they could be. This decision belongs to the state.

wow, way to hit home, I just had to hold my roommate's hair while she paid her dues to the toilet... but not everyone is like her, I hope she will learn from this but then again we are freshman in a college town so there is not much to do.

The reason for the current drinking age is because when it was 18 there were too many accidents. If the government changes the drinking age back to 18 we will run into the same trouble as we did in the 1980s.

I think we should follow the example of most of Europe. Drinking age down to 16 or 18 but raise the driving age to 21. So that when people are old enough to drive they have more experience with alcohol so they wont take stupid risks.

If government and University presidnets really care about teenagers or students, they shouldn't mention about lowering drinking age. Everyone knows drinking is not good for one's health. Also in my opinion, decrease in government's data is not reliable. Because survey wasn't done all nationwide.

i dont think under 21 year old kids should drink

I dont think they should lower drinking age because there are enough car accidents from drunk driving and under age drinking that I think they should make the drinking age even higher then it is now!!!

Sarah: Don't lower it.
Chance: Ditto!
Justin: I don't think it would matter because people are going to drink if they want to. However, I think the age limit is at a good place right now.

Current Events class

I think they shouldn't lower the drinking AGE.

I think that it is a horrible idea to lower the drinking age. It is set at 21 for a REASON! The teenagers who chose to drink under-age will face the consequences and will regret doing it. I have been taught that the best way to keep yourself away fom peer pressure is SELF DISICIPLINE. You know you shouldn't do it so say no and walk away. You dont have to drink to be in "the crowd."

I think you should NOT lower the drinking age, because if you do its just going to cause more accidents, more killings, and more people in jail. if you lower the drinking age people will go ahead and do it. And if you keep it at 21 most people will follow the law. 1 more thing uf you keep it the way it is alot more teens will finsh school and get a career. SO DON'T LOWER THE DRINKING AGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think that if we lower the age people will either abuse that and try to lower other things. Plus no one wants any drunk 18-20 year olds the world has enough of those already, trust me.

I think that if alcohol were to come onto the market today the government wouldn't allow it but know it's in too high demand to be taken away. same with drugs. Carl i know this is a serious subject but if you talk about it tomorrow or something make a joke because i have noticed a significant drop in puns since last year.

Mmm... after seeing all these comments, I think that lowering the drinking age means : 1. More car crashes and other tragedies. 2. The cops being more busy. 3. Won't change some minds. And I think I'll never drink, you know. 'Cause after you drank all those alcoholics, you probably won't know what you're doing. I guess it's best NOT to drink at all, or just take a little sip. (And I don't think those drinks are tasty anyway.) I think that those drinks aren't tasty or something that you'd appreciate, but it can make you addict to it, which is horrible!

Sometimes I wish the Prohibition Act of 1920 was never repelled. It would have saved so many lives.

Alcohol drinking age should not be lowered, as a matter of fact it should be higher. I myself applaud those college presidents that have banned alcohol on campus, and laugh at the fact that professors who profess that the illegal binge drinking would improve. If the drinking age were lowered, then kids 14 years of age would start drinking and then high school teachers would complain, and so on and so forth,until there is no age limit. Many would tend to argue that countries such as France have no drinking age and they are doing fine, well we are not the French and we do not have the ability to handle ourselves with such "forbidden fruits." There is a reason why the American stereotype is that of "fat and stupid." I beg for pardon to anyone whom this might cause offense, but truth can not be denied.

You become an adult at 18. Lowering the drinking age would make it so that you find out earlier that it can do bad things. Like Joey on the Real World Hollywood he realized he had an issue and they can get help with that earlier in life. If we keep holding back then when we get to the age we will just go crazy and drink, drink, drink just because we can. My father told me that. I am not saying its good to lower it though because at 21 you are also more matured.

My opinion, What would this do any good?? Seriously. Because not everyone in the U.S. is an adult at 18. You know what I think should be done? That all this alcohol should be open to 21-up. There is a higher amount of drop-outs in the U.S. and something needs to be done about. Stricker policies on those who buy alcohol. Familes are being torn apart..Lives are being lost..due to this big ORDEAL! Lets take care of it and make A STAND!!!!!! We all want CHANGE so bad LETS START HERE.

OK i'm going to be 18 in april, yeh i know how alot of people go to parties, drink, whatever. And it's true you can't control it, i don't think even when they put it down to 18, which i think they should.. its a very good idea, they still won't be able to control it.

Now, i'm all for the change, i think it's a great idea for them to bring the age down... 18 is the age everywhere... joining the army, smoking, and tons of other things. 18 should be the main age for things.

That's all i'm saying about it... 18 is where it should be.

lower the drinking age because there going to do it any.

If we are already having problems with drunk driving, lowering the age is just going to add more accidents! If America knows that achohol is bad, why would they even allow it?

lowering the drinking age is a good idea because so many kids do it illegally already..so lowering it will keep kids out of trouble and also some teens drink because its illegal...they think its so brave or naughty or something...so if u lower it, it could keep younger kids out of trouble because they would get tired of it and what not.....and besides when i graduate from high school i want to be able to party and making drinking legal..it would be so much funner!!!

i think that the drinking age should not be lowered because it would cuz more DUI promblems, and more teen deaths

I think tha the age should be lowered so that not as many teens hat think there all cool for breaking the law do it just to do it , and also because some do it just because hey like i at 18 and 19 so why not lower the drinking age???..

Drinking: How old is enough?

I feel that they should just leave the age how it is because to me that is just like telling kids that its ok to drink. First of All, Its just going to increase the number of drunk driving accidents and deaths because of all the young kids who drive around at night. I know that my mom would not want me drinking and driving out late and most parents dont even know that their kids are out there doing it. If it is the age is lowered, just think of all the kids underage drinking then. Right now we have kids drinking at 16 that are underage... if you lower it now there are going to 13 year olds drinking. I dont even understand how a college would want to lowere the age. That is spoused to be a SCHOOL. I know i would never apply to a school that is saying, "oh, its ok to drink now." Like what kind of school are you? If the drinking age is lowered i think that the people who are promoting this will realize what a big mistake they are making.

i think that even if the drinking age will get lowered people would still drink alot becauseit is legal

If people are just going to just drink illeagally, then they should just lower it. But they should limit the amount a person 18-21 should buy at one time.

I think the drinking age should stay at 21 because there are so many teens that drink and drive which causes most deaths in the united states of america and plus people abuse there right to drink it should stay at 21.

I believe if you're going to drink you have to be responsible enough to not do anything bad, like driving while drunk, but the whole point of this conversation was to point out how old drinking age should be... I think the age should be atleast 20, but have a lisence to buy it to show how responsible you are with it, and to show that you wont do anything bad with the alchohol / Substance.

It doesnt matter if they lower the age the teens will still drink even if there not aloud to

I think it should be the age you are to vote, because that is when you are alloweed to drive, live on you're own, and make you're own desicions in life. I do agree about the license though.

I don't think that they should change the law because people could die drinking while driving or not driving. They could do stuff that they will regret for the rest of their natural life!

I belive you should be able to drink at age 3!

I believe that drinking should be illegalized, because over 5% of fatalities have been caused by alchohol-Related substances... It's a very dangerous thing and it would just be best to illegalize it, and get it out of market... It's just dangerous and needs to stop...
My point is... They just need to stop selling it, it causes much to many deaths... Many of my friends family, and including my family have died from alchohol poisoning / driving drunk... So I think it should be illegalized so people can stop losing their loved ones from this substance...

People are so worried about underage drinking, half of the people I know that drink illegally do it because it defies the law. It breaks authority. They drink because they feel rebellious. I think that if they do lower the drinking age, they're would be less drinking in young ages. Because if they're doing it publicly, the problem can be dealt with. Drinking isn't the healthiest things, and I've seen firsthand how drinking can destroy relationships and shatter familes but I believe in the long run, it'll pay off.

My school year is going great I like it. It ok the way it is.

you should keep CNN news

i think the drinking age should not be changed..
underage drinking willstill happen no matter what and if the age limit is changed to 18..
because 20 – 18 yr olds drink illigally already but then once they can drink ligally the kids my age [17-15] will think that they should drink even though some probably do more will start.

well for one thing there is people in 7th and higher drink so if u lower it to 18 then children in 5th and 6th might start so i think that drinkin should be for very old ppl because they have alot of stress so i think that the drinking age should be highered because whatever u do the younger ppl are still gunna drink because when i was in 8th grade which was a year ago people were drinkin and all that and ppl started in 6th grade so maybe they should start crakin down on the younger ppl drinking because there ruining there lives doing this

do some research about people in 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th grade drinking becasue i know that they do it because ive seen it at partys and everything

in the 1800s children drunk rum they were 10 and 12 just lower the stupid drinking age it is ok

ok.. well.. this is what i think about the situation. the only reason teenagers want to drink, is because they cant. once u give them the prividglage to drink. i really dont they will feel the need to get drunk all the time. so i really think they should lower the drinking age.
yours truely....

.....P.S....
Go Cards!!!!!

i think that , im a senior in missouri, and i am joining the marine corps in november and i think that if im able to join the military and be sent to iraq and die for my country then i should be able to go and drink.!!!!!! parties happen quite often around here and mostly get busted so if it was 18 people might be less likely to drink all the time!!!!

i kind of agree with andrew. the U.S. will let kids 18 years old go only god knows were but they wont let them drink thats crazy!! now im not saying we should lower the age to like 3 or enything im just saying that you have to ask yourself whats worse for an 18 year old kid...a war or a couple of drinks? also i think it is a little about them thinking they are dangerous and a law breaker or livin' on the edge when they drink.

i think that we should lower the drinking age because it could help the binge drinking on campuses but it could also lead to 10-12 to start drinking. We should leave it the same because it could help with underage drinking. Lowering it would be worse kids would start dirinking younger and younger.

I think that the age limit should not be lowered... teens can be stupid...and those who can drive at 18 are still inexperienced drivers..just imagine what will happen if you add alcohol into the mix...then their judgement is impaired and they do reckless things. if they do not have access to alcohol or it is harder to obtain than there will be less reckless teens drinking and driving. so, even if all this age limit does is save one life...than to me it's worth it!

Underage drinking is not right but almost every teen is gonna drink! Some may not think so but its bound to happen! If they lower the drinking age i think our crash rates will go up, but if they lower the drinking age they need to raise the legal driving age.