1. The drinking age

Yes I believe the drinking age should be lowered, it is a high responsibility for people to drink and know when they are going too far. Especially when it is a minor that is drinking, they don't know when to stop, they just keep drinking. And minors. 21 and under get drunk over twice as fast as an adult would. Drinking these days have been overdone, and those who say, "yes, the drinking age should be lowered," all of you are just low life drunks who threw your life away a long time ago. Being that the percentage between minors and adults, minors drink a lot more than adults, and because today in this generation, the youth have flourished giving more minors than adults, and most of them are just ruining themselves by drinking, I think if the drinking age is raised even more than it is now, that would make a big difference in tomorrow's youth, and their future would be a lot more satisfying and exciting for themselves.  (Not Lower)

 

I think that lowering the drinking age would be medically irresponsible. In our brains, the frontal lobes are essential for functions such as emotional regulation, planning, and organization. They continue to develop through adolescence and young adulthood. Consuming alcohol can interfere with this development and can potentially cause chronic problems such as greater vulnerability to addiction and depression. Also, 18 year-olds are entering a new phase of independence, and due to a lack of maturity, are more likely to get involved in more risky activities such as binge drinking. (Not Lower)

Our drinking age is already extremely high. Like one of the anonymous posters said, it is insane that you can serve in the military, vote, own a house, marry, change your citizenship, etc. before you can drink. Age has nothing to do with responsibility which seems to be a main argument on the pro side. I believe that if children are exposed to alcohol from a young age and taught how to use it responsibly the effect of lowering the rate of alcohol abuse will be much more improved. The reason people binge is because they see parents drinking, they see so many ads about alcohol, yet they are never taught the correct way to use it since that is considered taboo in our country. It is not age that equals responsibility, but the education that they get on the subject. (Lower)(Debate.org)

At the age of 18 we are considered legally independent, and with that comes the expectation that we are also able to make decisions of a highly complex nature which impact on both our nation and ourselves because we are considered suitably intellectually developed to do so. Consider a voting decision, to do it properly, you should be able to understand the various economic arguments, appreciate the impacts of various regional approaches to Asylum seekers, and have a clear understanding of what each party really stands for beyond a few superficial headline issues. At the age of 18, we are considered developed enough to do this. On a more personal level, you can join the armed forces and be flown into the most dangerous places on earth to be shot at by people who hate you with every sinew in their bodies, risk not only death, but capture by the enemy and torture at their hands. In essence, you are considered mature enough to make such a drastic decision, which is far more dangerous to you than what alcohol threatens you with. The reason the State allows us to do these things is due to the assumption that we are making an 'informed' decision, meaning that we clearly understand the potential consequences of our actions. The choice to drink is perhaps the most informed decision a teenager will ever make, on par with the choice to have safe sex. The reason being is that throughout high school there is an endless barrage of statistics, shock stories and science presented to teenagers to ensure that when the time comes, they really can make an informed decision. Contrast this to the total absence of education about the other issues such as politics and the military that are faced when turning 18, yet we are assumed to be making qualified decisions without question. If there is anything that the government should be taking a nanny state approach to on account of their belief we are ignorant fools unable to make a decision, drinking should be the last one on the agenda, as it is the singularly most understood. Almost every teenager in Australia knows the risk when they make the choice to drink, it is offensive to tell them as older ‘wiser’ generations that they can die for us with guns, but not be trusted to know the potential risks that a beer poses.(Lower)(Debate.org)