Podcast: "Drinking Age Debate"

This podcast is posted by the Dickinson College, Clarke Forum on Contemporary Issues. The podcast called the Drinking Age Debate discusses the effectiveness of the decision to raise the drinking age 23 years ago. Has it worked?
Mr. McCardell and Mr. Hurley debate the issue at Dickinson College.

Mr. McCardell points out that prohibition clearly did not work. It was dangerous and ineffective causing people that were drinking to drink in a large amount. Mr. McCardell compares the current drinking age to prohibition. By examining the origin of the 21-year-old drinking age, Mr. McCardell notes that the law was created because of alcohol related fatalities. The statistics show that crash rates decreased significantly since the law was created. However, Mr. McCardell states that there are many other factors that attributed to this death reduction such as safer car technology. Another point that Mr. McCardell makes is the cliche argument of "If you can fight for the country, then you should be able to buy a beer..." He believes that it is time to re-consider this law.

Mr. Hurley states concerns of binge drinking, however, firmly believes in the 21-year-old drinking age.
The 21 drinking age law was created by a presidential commision created by President Regan 1982. The law was created because of the following key points.
Three key points;
1) the Surgeon General's Warning; Every age group in America was increasing in longevity except teenagers and the leading cause of their deaths was alcohol.
2) the military;
The leading cause of non-combat deaths in the military was from drunken motor vehicle crashes.
3) the uniformity issue. Some states began increasing their drinking age in 1975, yet issues arrose with neighboring borders who had not adopted the law such as; Wisconsin and Illinois.
Mr. Hurley argues that not only has there been a decrease in deaths since the law was created, but there has been a decrease in suicides and homicides.

Amethyst Initiative

The Amethyst Initiative is a movement to rethink and lower the legal drinking age of 21.

130 college presidents feel the same way and have publicly signed their names in the petition on the Amethyst Initiative- Rethink the Drinking Age website. Their main emphasis is that despite the minimum legal drinking age of 21, there is a dangerous binge drinking culture on most college campuses.

First Thoughts...

President L. Baird Tipson of Washington College writes about his favorable position on lowering the legal drinking age to 18. Mr. Tipson calls the current system of a legal age of 21 years old as being a "culture of clandestine drinking." Having alcohol be a forbidden item, students will drink excessively at the beginning of an evening, rather than responsibly drink throughout the evening. The current system does not foster responsible drinking habitats. Alcohol is a component in student and adult socializing. By putting a 21-year old drinking age, alcohol has a certain "seductive mystique," as Tipson puts it. This mystique would lack if responsible alcohol consumption was part of the norm.