Friday, March 28, 2008

Lowering the drinking age?

I just heard of a few state proposals to lower the legal age of drinking alcohol in bars and restaurants to 18 from 21. The proposals would leave the age for purchasing alcohol from a liqour store at 21. I can't decide if I think the former is:
  • A Good Idea, to bring college-age consumption into the open. "Better to have them do it in public than hiding in a dorm."
  • A Bad Idea, given that alcohol impairs healthy brain development all the way into your 20s (and thus we should want kids to drink less).
Thoughts? Reactions?
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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:49 AM

    Lower it to 18, but only in bars with exactly three windows in counties with at least four lakes, otherwise lower it to 19 yrs only on Sundays.

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  2. Anonymous11:53 AM

    Bad Idea (remember "Bad Idea Jeans" from Saturday Night Live?).

    Teenagers do not show exemplary judgment when it comes to driving decisions. Driving fatalities are a leading cause of death already in that age group.

    And this opinion is slightly "official," as I am blogging from the House Floor. Oh, and I get to vote on it. :)

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