Okay, reader challenge.
Read this and comment. Please, all of you. I don't ask much but I am really curious about your thoughts.
I'll tell you what I think; my opinion as a substance abuse therapist.
- Two of five college students are binge drinkers.*
- 1,400 college students die each year from alcohol related injuries.*
- 70,000 students are victims of alcohol-related sexual assaults each year.*
Lowering the drinking age is not going to help "kids" make more responsible decisions, it just gives them license to engage in dangerous behaviors.
The human brain is not fully developed until 21-25 years-of-age. Introducing foreign chemicals into the body can be detrimental to normal development not to mention create a heightened propensity to form an addiction.
The drinking age was lowered at one point in time, during the Vietnam War, when the draft was instituted. Do you know what happened when the drinking age was lowered? There was a dramatic increase in alcohol related deaths because kids are not responsible or emotionally mature enough to be making informed decisions about alcohol.
Some facts about booze:
- Alcohol is the #1 date rape drug.
- Alcohol is the #1 most widely abused drug in the U.S.
- Alcohol is the #1 gateway drug.
- Alcohol is the only substance in which a chronic abuser can die during withdrawals and detox.
- Alcohol is not an illegal substance to buy or possess (under most circumstances) if you are over 21-years-of-age
Playing Devil's advocate, and for the sake of argument, there are some good points about lowering the age to 18:
- The market for fake IDs would diminish.*
- College students could drink in their dorms instead of their cars.*
- Law enforcement money could be redirected to other programs.*
- Students would not be asking others to buy large amounts of liquor for them.*
So folks, what are your thoughts? In honor of Red Ribbon Week, lets start a debate. Please, please, please participate.
*extracted from http://www.oregoncatalyst.com/index.php?/archives/1657-The-Drinking-Age-A-Spirited-Debate.html
5 comments:
I couldn't read it, it told me to log into Yahoo, but I don't know how I feel about lowering the drinking age. I think there is an inherant double standard in our country where it's concerned, at 18 you are a legal adult, you can get married, go to war, sign a contract, etc but you aren't old enough to drink legally. I think that if you are an adult you are an adult. Now maybe all those things should be 21 too? I don't know but I do think there is a double standard. But I don't want my 18 year old out there drinking and partying. I don't know. That's my answer.
I reposted the link... It should work now.
My thoughts...
I truly don't believe the drinking age should be lowered for all the reasons the you listed and, as a parent, more.
I hear many people (and by people I mean mostly teenagers) saying "if I can die for my country shouldn't I be able to drink". Absolutely. Then maybe we need to raise the draft age.
I don't know the answer but it is certainly a concern to me.
Heck no! Okay maybe I am biased cause we do share the same job, but really I think the stats from when the drinking age was lowered is tangible proof that it would be harmful. It seems to me that the negative consequences far out weigh the benefits of lower the age limit. With the evidence about the brain, alcoholism, drunk driving stats I just don't see the point...
I dont see a point in lowering it aswell.
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