Raising the legal drinking age

[Screamthoughts]

A thought on that.... I believe it should be let up to the parents of those choosing to drink. Plane and simple.

[pepereina1]

I live in the middle of nowhere
Where drinking is more of a hobby than a Addiction

Never in my entire life have i seen a 12-13 year old drinking. if infact you know of 12-13 year olds who habitually drink....The parents failed

It really isn't that rare. I mean if you don't go out drinking regularly by the age of 16 you're seen as weird. Sure it isn't everyone who drinks at the age of 13, but i'd say a good 10% do, even in the better-off areas.

[Z3R0]

you live in america, it's different there. i take it you've never lived in another country with a lower drinking age either?

growing up in germany i had my first encounter with alcohol at 13, at house parties whenever parents were gone. its quite bad in germany because kids start drinking at really early ages, but if they are raised in decent environments and have some common sense, i believe it does more good than harm. By the time they can legally drive they know their limits, they know how much they can drink and the dangers of alcohol, giving them a more responsible and respectful attitude towards it than most american teenagers i know.

added to that i can drink more than most americans in their 20's devilishmartass2

only sucks how the government thinks i'm mature enough to drink yet and is forcing me to wait till 2009 to be able to legally do it ><

First of all, Growing up in Germany isn't all it's made out to be, I would know. I had my first taste of liquor at the age of eight but didn't acctually start drinking till I was around 12. I drank, but I never got drunk. However, just because I knew enough not to do stupid things like get drunk and set fire to a house, some of the other people my age didn't. It doesn't matter where you grow up, ignorance is all around us, in every location.

Secondly, being German doensn't naturaly make you a good drinker. I mean, sure, I'm German and can hold my own, but I don't drink just to see how many people I can put under the table. I drink socialy, and drink just enough to take the edge off of things. Regardless of being from Germany, I know a lot of German friends that can't hold more than six beers.

As for the government thinking you are mature enough, age has no relevancy in maturity. And just because they may overlook some of the things done as minor doesn't mean they will ignore it completly, especially if flaunted.

My opinion, it doesn't matter what age you start drinking, or what age the law says you are legaly able to drink. People are always going to drink, no matter of age and laws, and there really isn't much the government can do about it. I think everyone should just have to learn from their own mistakes. You get drunk enough and feel bad enough the next day, that will have you second guessing doing it again. That's certainlyt he case with a majority of the youth these days.

[Rankor]

you didn't quite get my post did you.
first off, my post really doesn't have a lot to do with germany in itself, i just used it as an example that i had experience with. It fits into the 'opposite to america' category.

replace maturity with age then, it still comes down to the same thing.

and me being german doesn't mean i can drink a lot, me having so much experience with alcohol at such a 'young' age means that i can drink a lot more than americans at my age, and probably older. Also, especially the beer over there is MUCH stronger and more potent than the crap that most people drink here, which is where my arguement came from.

[BrioCloud]

How can you guys have such a hard argument over the legal drinking age. Its going to stop people for allowing kids to purchase the alcohol in supermarkets, and from bars, but not at home. Thats whats going to happen.

[A|fzZz]

Having the legal age imo is just a 'procedure'.

Everyone knows with or without the legal age, kids or underage teens are still going to drink anyways. But without having any standardize legal age, matters are just going to be way worse.

[Mushroomhead18nc]

Well, the situation regarding underage drinking is pretty bad to begin with. I mean, you can see kids as young as 12 and 13 out drinking on the beach/in fields every weekend as it is now!
I know that you could still go to clubs and stuff, but am I the only one who feels weird if they're in a club stone-cold sober?

nah dude let me ask you this. when u drink with your friends. have u ever been sober? im tellin u man. sometimes its more fun to stay sober and watch your friends be drunk because u can record them using your cellphone or w/e and hold evidence against them and Tap, i was referring to North Carolina where I live. its 18 to get into a club

[Z3R0]

you didn't quite get my post did you.
first off, my post really doesn't have a lot to do with germany in itself, i just used it as an example that i had experience with. It fits into the 'opposite to america' category.

replace maturity with age then, it still comes down to the same thing.

and me being german doesn't mean i can drink a lot, me having so much experience with alcohol at such a 'young' age means that i can drink a lot more than americans at my age, and probably older. Also, especially the beer over there is MUCH stronger and more potent than the crap that most people drink here, which is where my arguement came from.

I fail to see how anything German these days fits into your "opposite of America" category. And when you say: "Me being German doesn't mean I can drink a lot, me having so much experience with alcohol at such a young age means that I can drink a lot more than Americans at my age, a probably older."; You're basicly saying you can outdrinks most Americans because you're German, and that isn't true. And I never drink beer, only whiskey, and it's pretty much the same strength in every country depending on what type it is. So basicly you tried to start an argument over weak American beer opposed to the "much stronger" German brew? Maybe you should go research and find out what this topic was about again. It isn't about who can drink who just because of nationality, it's about raising the drinking age in Ireland, which doesn't have anything to do with hosting a drinking contest to see who can outdrink who. That's in fact just a good example of improper use of alchohol.

[Adria]

What's the "proper" use of alcohol then?