I think it is ridiculous.
Brain development and other health concerns maybe.
The real conspiracy is why are psychedelic mushrooms illegal, even for adults? I can drink as much as i want but I can't eat a mushroom?
Why is any other drug illegal?
Some one could use heroin long term & still not acquire the brain & organ damage that a long term drinker would. Yet one is stigmatized & the other is marketed in all kinds of fun fruity flavors.
The real reason for the war on drugs is they wanted to keep a high prison population especially of ethnic minorities
Unfortunately, this is the correct answer. The War on Drugs was an internal political operation whose goal was to criminalize the young and ethnic minorities, neither of which supported the War in Viet Nam or the Republican Party.
Absolutely. Now a days, they don't care what color you are, as long as they keep raking in that sweet profit focusing on victimless crimes.
There is still a heavy bias
I bet if Coca grew in the USA it would be a whole other story.
Funny how it's okay for corporations & governments to put poison in everyday products & environment we use, but if you put something in your own body, it becomes a "crime".
Username checks out
*yawn*
Definitely never heard that one before!
Wasn't trying to be annoying. Genuinely laughed and agreed with your sentiment!
I apologize!
Aaah my bad, I'm sorry!
I do get that a lot though from people as an ad hominem to try & discredit anything I say though. lol
No... the whole impetus was to make people over 21 feel 'more adult' than adults 18-just before 21.
Louisiana used to be 18 yrs to drink. The US government threatened to withhold funding for infrastructure like for highways etc. The changed their law so they wouldn't lose federal funds.
Was gona say the same thing, I just had this as a bar prep question for con law.
There’s a pun in there somewhere
Have you talked to an 18yr old lately? A vast majority of them are stupid. Alcohol will just make things worse. Speaking from someone who was a stupid 18yr old at one time and enjoyed drinking illegally.
Yup, also one of the most dangerous drugs. Kills more people than all illegal drugs combined every year. Weed is demonized and illegal, yet annually kills no one. Unicorns are as deadly as weed...
Kids need to be gradually accustomed to it with their parents from the age of about 14-15. Like, a sip here and a taste there, one whole beer shared with dad etc. This way they get to learn the effects of it.
Instead it is banned and so they aquire it illegally and with zero guidance from adults they binge drink with all kinds of trouble associated (rape, drunk driving, death from alcohol poisoning etc).
Clown world.
Alcohol should be introduced to children around the age of 16 so that they have time to grow comfortable with it while still living with their parents. Far more damage is done by 18yos sneaking out to parties and 21yos going on benders as soon as they can drink.
The age is actually set by the states. It's not national.
The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 said states would lose road funding if they didn't change to 21.
The federal threat was because of drunk driving by high school kids. It's still 18 in some US territories.
My moms cousin died at 17. 4 boys in the car driving to school. Drunk. This would’ve been late 70s. My parents were from Chicago, and I believe drinking in Wisconsin was legal at 18?
I believe drinking in Wisconsin was legal at 18?
It was. Wisconsin switched September 1, 1986. I'm sorry that happened.
Europe doesn't understand how many 16 year olds here have cars or access. You need them to work, sports, entertainment., etc. It's different from Europe.
A fair question, especially considering that the same government that imposes said restrictions has no such qualms with allowing (or even encouraging) those below the drinking age to fight, kill or die in military service. But, government these days is fairly synonymous with hypocrisy and double standards are the norm so nothing should come as a surprise.
Better question ... Why is there an age limit at all.
The older your regulatory regime can comfortably enforce, the better. Alcohol is bad for people and society, but it will never be eradicated. There is some evidence that the younger people start drinking the more they drink later in life.
you cant control people regardless of what you think people will do what they want anyway
the laws are totally pointless
The laws do limit drinking below 21 right now
They still drink below 21, just totally unsupervised... Not a great result don't you think?
Way fewer drinks are consumed by 20 year olds than 21 year olds, for example. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3182479/
No, it isn't.
Alcohol consumption IN EXCESS is bad for people and society.
Not alcohol in and of itself.
Yeah and some percent of people drink in excess when they can. Restricting that population that can is fine.
in canada it's 18 or 19 , with weed legal and perhaps cocaine soon
No huge significant difference between 18 and 21 imo, but again a regulatory regime that restricts it more is probably better for public health outcomes related to alcohol.
Because it’s poison
Same reason they lose their minds if they see a nipple.
Puritan conservative values.
IE: stupid.
Probably some sort of numerology. I mean the The Jesuit Order adds up to 201 well zeros don’t count so the number is 21, same as when you type in Jesuit equals 21.
Damn down voting me for facts
and i think age of consent being 18 is ridiculous.
The age of consent is actually 16 or 17 in most states. And I’d much rather have a daughter who got drunk than a daughter who got pregnant.
Lol those 2 things have always gone together
dont gotta get pregnant to have consent tho but i agree
Because in countries where the avg IQ is lower they figured itd be smarter to give the brain 3 more years of development before you are allowed to destroy it.
It was explained to me at the time (mid 80s) that it was an attempt to get the younger-than-18 kids to not be able to get alcohol. Lots of people are still seniors in high school at 18, and I guess they figured they were buying for other kids in high school. Moving it to 21 was, I guess, and effort to bank on the fact that not many 21 year old people know many 16 year olds. Ergo, they would have a harder time getting booze. I’m not sure if it actually worked; I’ve never seen the stats over time…
Mother's Against Drunk Driving.
They had a giant campaign in the late 80's early 90's.
Congress tied state's highway funds to their raising the drinking age to 21.
High numbers of teen related DUI’s caused the Federal Govt to pressure states to raise the drinking age, I believe to keep receiving highway funds.
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