# Debate: 18-20 year allowed to drink?



## Osiris

This is a very much active debate these days and i believe some states have it in the courts right now, to allow miliatry men to be able to on military bases or something along them lines. It makes sense and i agree, for example, a 18yr is stationed in Iraq, is there for a year, gets hit by roadside bomb and looses a foot, and tries to get a drink, cop gives him ticket for underage drinking then..or u know bartender doesnt allow him to drink, i really do think their needs to be exceptions to it, and i think it can be better controlled on military bases*for those who dont know there are estblashments on military bases* 


just a thought..What's your thought on this?


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## mrmoby

Yes, if you are in the military I think they should allow it, anywhere as far as I am concerned, but I realize that causes a whole host of enforcement problems, so deifnitely open to all on base. If you are mature enough to volunteer for service, which is basically putting your life and welfare in jeopardy, by all means, drink up, you are entitiled! And if they reinstitue the draft, and it wouldn't surprise me if they do, I think the drinking age should also roll back to 18.


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## osteoporoosi

In here the age is 18, but you have to be over 20 to buy heavy liquers.


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## Pareeeee

I don't drink - don't believe it's right to at any age


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## Damon

I don't think they should be allowed to drink. The age is 21 for a very good reason. Not saying that all persons 21 and over need to drink either as we all know some people just can't ahndle alcohol. Throwing darts I've been all over the country (Chicago, Las Vegas, New York, Pa, ect...) and see many who always seem to have "1 too many" and its scary sometimes. Joing the millitary was thier choice and even though I'm glad there are people who do the job to keep us safe, its no reason to allow them to drink. Drinking, like driving, is a privelige, not a right.


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## blixem

When I was in the military this was a huge discussion point as well. The Marines were able to drink at 18 if they were on a marine post. None of the other branches allow this. Honestly, it's a toss up for me... although I do understand the 'want' to be able to drink at 19, I remember some of the stupid shit I did drunk at that age.


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## Arlene

I think if the law says 21 then it should be 21. Anything else leaves room for excuses. The legal age here is 18 but i think it should be 21 as very few 18 year olds are able to handle their drink, also there are a lot of 15-16 year olds who look 18. Ive seen a lot of young teenagers in a right mess after being sold alcahol not a lot of shops here bother to check ID.


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## maxpayne_lhp

We can drink here at any age


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## TheOldSalt

I often hear the argument that people defending our country should be allowed to drink at any age, but it seems to me that those in charge of weapons and our defense should not be allowed to drink at ALL. 
Hangovers and full alerts are a bad combination.


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## maxpayne_lhp

Yeah... rite I have no idea aout that. Allow at any page is not good and definitely say NO is a lil too picky.


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## Lexus

Thing is people drink whether its legal or not. same with smoking weed.


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## Celeste

i believe that if your responsible enough to vote for the leaders of our country, and your allowed to fight and die for our country, you should be responsible enough to drink.......


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## Lydia

i think so too


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## aquariumfishguy

My problem with drinking at 18 is that it gives much more chances for high school kids to drink. Most (not all) kids 14-16 do not have many friends who are 21+. Granted, in high school (as a senior) - many of my friends were of legal drinking age. But at least we ourselves couldn't buy the beer for the other younger kids. For this reason, I think the smoking and drinking age should be 19 or 20, to make sure all kids are finished with high school before they can waste away their lives.


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## Osiris

AFG and all, I am not talking about drinking in public, there is no way to really control that. AFG, they may be in high school but can still get shipped off to war lol, i joined my junior year of high school which was like 6yrs ago. 



I am talking about military members being able to drink at military establishments, meaning they can't just go anywhere and drink at any bar, it would be on a military base, they have clubs on bases lol.


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## Beerleader

Well I've always bartended most of my 20's up til now, and I must say there is not necessarily an age that makes you responsible. I see some 50 year olds that get more out of control than a 21 year old. So its not really age its just plain old responsible drinking that I am more concerned about. The only thing I like about letting ppl drink younger is you seem to get it out of your system. It seems so many kids even myself get fake id's or drink early because its something they can't do legally, so they find ways to do it anyhow. Well I for one by the time I was 21 was really pretty much over it. I was bartending at age 20 and could careless about it or going to clubs because I snuck in 4 years earlier. Plus it screws up so many kids senior year of college, at 21 you are almost done w/ college and they go buck wild, get F's, or just plain mess up after college due to drinking and partying too much. So that also makes me think the younger the faster you are over it and ready to be responsible and get on w/ "real" life. I notice so many other countries that have younger drinking ages don't have as much alcoholism, drunk driving etc. So not sure but I could see moving it to 18...and definitely for military if nothing else.


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## shev

Baby_Baby said:


> drinking kills. i don't think you can justify drinking when it kills thousands of people


so does driving. I dont think it should be any different on military ground. in fact I think alcohol should be banned in the army. especially dangerous areas like iraq where you need to be alert.

they've banned alcoholic beverages before, and yet that didnt help any. it was supposed to reduce crime, but it did the complete opposite.


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## Osiris

Baby_Baby said:


> drinking kills. i don't think you can justify drinking when it kills thousands of people


lol that's like telling people to not drink Mt. Dew


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## Beerleader

Yeah I mean tons of things kill people every year and none are justifiable really..cancer, cigarettes, driving etc. But you can't ban things like smoking all the way or drinking because then we will have senseless arrests due to black markets etc. We saw that during prohibition, didn't work. Not like I am pushing alcohol, I haven't drank myself in a long time, but to each his own. I just wish everyone could be more responsible in all their choices especially drinking and driving!


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## fishboy

Baby_Baby said:


> drinking kills. i don't think you can justify drinking when it kills thousands of people


This is true but really anthing you can think of has the ability to kill in 1 way or another but life must go on.


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## Pareeeee

Baby_Baby said:


> drinking kills. i don't think you can justify drinking when it kills thousands of people


I agree on that, baby_baby. I have a relative that said once that they would only drink 'in moderation' well, that didnt work out, that first drink started the downward spiral. A drunk since about 18 to mid 60's, barely off the drink now. It's scary to see that a drink can cause so much harm to a person. AND change what kind of person they are, when sober, my relative is a great and fun person to be around, but, look what they've done to themselves...

Plus, I mean, ok. Alcohol does some really mean things to the brain cells, to the liver, to everything in your body. I've seen some really awful photos of an alcohol drinker's liver, it looks like ground beef. UGH

I vow never to drink any alcoholic drink or smoke any cigarrette in my life. I don't want to ruin my life. MAN if someone can't face hard times without a numbing drink....there are better ways to handle things is all, than shutting off the world.

It is a horrible substance, I might as well drink rat poison and watch my veins dissolve as drink alcohol...


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## TheOldSalt

Well, it's our own fault. We train and re-mold these soldiers into inhuman killing machines, and then we don't provide them enough wars.


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## shev

I watched something on dateline that said drinking in moderation is actually good for you. a couple beers a day, or a couple glasses of red or white wine is good. it helps the heart and the arteries. it makes blood less likely to clot, increases the amount of heartprotecting good cholesterol and reduces the amount of the artery damaging cholesterol, and it helps the lining of the arteries.


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## Osiris

not i but i go hang out with friends once or twice a month and get together have some beers and stuff, heck we do it at our fish togethers! lol.


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## Larry-T

I think military personnel under the age of 21 should be allowed to drink, but only after duty hours and while on base. I don't want any cocksure kids at my local restaurant getting into fights with local teens.


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## maxpayne_lhp

I find myself not effected by cafein or beer... but I dun rely on it and drink all time he he.


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## blixem

Baby_Baby said:


> but it kills other people. i mean, who honestly drinks in moderation?


I do.

When I drink it is in moderation. I haven't been 'drunk' in close to 10 years now. If you are a responsibile adult, you can do it and still enjoy it. I really love red wine, and will drink a glass or two with meals. It has also been linked to assisting digestion, and just like taking an asprin a day, linked to helping the blood circulate by thinning it out, and dissolving bad cholesterol. A glass of wine before bed will help you to fall asleep faster, and sleep more soundly. Alcohol can be used on gums during teething as a numbing agent. In some countries like Italy, mixing wine in water is almost a neccesity to kill harmful bugs in the water.

I'm not saying we should let <21 year olds drink, what I'm saying is do research before jumping to a conclusion, or making an ill informed statement. (This isn't directed at you Baby_Baby, just so happened I snagged your quote  )
More people are killed daily by vehicles in non-alcohol related incidents than by all incidents of alcohol in a day. More people are killed via alcohol related incidents than are by marijiana daily, but marijiana is illegal at all ages. If you go sheerly on facts, especially considering world wide alcohol drinking ages and the incidents related to alcohol, the law would be rewritten to allow anyone to drink alcohol at any age.


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## mrmoby

I too drink in moderation. I enjoy occasional drinks with guests, or when out grilling on a warm summer night. I also take responsibility for my drinking, and if I do imbibe, then I stay where I am at, or let someone else drive me around. Just because someone takes a drink it does not mean that they are trying to numb their problems. No doubt, that is the case for some, but when you look at people with drinking problems, the alcohol is just the symptom, and they will find solace in alcohol(or any other vice food, drug, sex etc.) until they deal with their underlying problems.

As far as phsically, yes, years of hard drinking will certainly cause health issues, but certainly a few drinks now and then is not going to cause catastrophic problems. In fact, as previously stated, a daily drink of wine has been found to have positive effect on the blood in regards to clotting and cholesterol. It is believed that is why the French have a high fat diet and lower heart attack rates than here in the states.

Sadly, alcochol does kill on the roads. And there is absolutely no reason or excuse for it. If you are going to drink, don't drive, it is real simple. But it is the same irresponsibility that also gets people killed by talking on the phone, eating, reading, driving erratically, and drving too fast for road conditions.

But getting back to the topic at hand, I do think 18-20 drinking should be permisible on base. If you are willing to join up, I think it's fair to extend the priviledge. I personally don't think the years between 18-20 do much for the maturity anyway. I think a big part of the problem is that when you put restrictions on something, make it taboo, it makes it all the more alluring. Again, many Europeans freely drink, with limited age restricitions, and it's just not a big deal to them. But anyway, that's just my two cents.


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## fishn00b

I think the whole problem with it is that they don't want more drinking and driving cases. I mean someone who just got their license can now drink too, may not make the best decisions, but then again who's stopping a 40 year old guy from doing the same thing. Maybe its just they feel that their driving skill is not high enough to sorta prevent it to a degree.


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## Celeste

i could go to a bar and have one beer or a glass of wine and then stop. however on my 21st birthday, i intend to get hammered, because i can, and it's tradition, and then i will probably never want to look at another alcoholic drink again. i've drank one whole bottle of Mikes Hard Lemonade (the BIG bottles, not the little 12 oz. ones) and didn't even feel buzzed, but it gave me a headache like you wouldn't believe.

i am technically legal, even though i'm 19. i'm married to a 33 year old, so as long as he actually BUYS the alcohol, i'm perfectly legal to drink in my own home. if i was in my house, with a beer, and a cop came to the door, they couldn't do anything about it. that doesn't mean i drink on a regular basis. i still have a bottle of Bacardi silver and a bottle of smirnoff in my frige from like 5 months ago that i haven't had any inclination to drink.

like when i went to my first concert, Social Distortion, we had dinner at the little resturante off the side of the concert house, waiting for the show to start, because those who bought dinner, got to go find seats or floor space before everyone else. i would have loved to have a glass of wine or a beer or something with dinner, or even during the show because there were waitresses bringing those up in the balcony drinks, but i didn't have a wristband because i was 19, so i couldn't. but if i'd have been 21, i probably would have gotten a beer or two with dinner or during the show.


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## aquariumfishguy

I don't think ANYONE who is in high school should have access to alcohol. Kids shipped off to war are not in high school, or shouldn't be anyway. If that includes 18 and even 19 year olds, so be it. Once that age group gets a hold of it, the alcohol problem that is already bad in today’s youth would run rampant.


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## malawi4me2

I don't think that there should be those establishments and all on the bases. I'm not saying that I am exactly _against_ drinking (I don't see anything wrong with _resonable_ and _responsible_ drinking), but like several other people have said, when you're stationed somewhere, to defend our country, you don't really need to be drunk or have a hang-over from the night before... Ya know?
My best friend is 20 years old, and has been stationed in Adana, Turkey for about a year. He goes out _every_ night, and gets drunk. Then he is has a hang-over every morning at his job (he is one of the ID checking-dudes at the entrance to the base). The thing is, when he comes back to the states, he'll be 21 and will be doing the same thing here. If he hadn't had the opportunity to legally drink until he turned 21 in the first place, I don't think that he would be so dependent on it.


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## Imbrium

I know lot's of people, who go to bars and drink, in moderation, myself included. I also know people (like my dad) who go to bars and get totally smashed, and then act like jerks, and drive drunk, and hurt people they care about. Some people can handle it, and some can't. The alcohol itself isn't bad. It's when people drink irresponsibly. That can mean people in bars, or people in their homes. 
I think that people are going to drink whether it's legal or not. I know 14 yr olds that get drunk every weekend. The fact that it's illegal makes no difference to them, and they never have any problems getting alcohol. They don't need to have friends that are old enough to buy it for them. There are people outside gas stations who will buy alcohol for anybody, in exchange for a few dollars for cigarettes. I'm not saying we should just make it legal, since they're doing it anyways, but I think that attitudes about drinking need to change.
I don't know whether or not drinking should be allowed on military bases, but I don't think people in the military act any more or less responsibly than anyone else when it comes to drinking.


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## shev

haha, I was at the fair at like 1:00, right when they turn off the rides, and some drunk guy was hijacking a tractor on the side of the road.


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## Pareeeee

hijacking a......WHAT? LOL tractor - the perfect getaway car......really i mean.....

laughing


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## TheOldSalt

A nearby army base used to have outdoor vending machines which dispensed beer. This was about 20 years ago. It was a simple thing back then for civilians to drive through the base, and just as easy for 16 year-olds to get beer by doing just that.


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## baby~doll

i think if you are old enough to go off and die for your country... then you are old enough to drink
just my two cents


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## Imbrium

But not everyone who drinks does things like that. There are plenty of people who wouldn't get drunk the night before something was supposed to happen. There are plenty of people who don't get so drunk they forget about important things. There are plenty of people who don't drive when they drink. It's ok if you don't want to drink, but to say that no one should be able to, just because some people act irresponsibly doesn't make sense.


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## baby~doll

i heard that liking alcohol, like beer, is an acquired taste and most people start liking it when they are older


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## baby~doll

oh... heehee... guess i was wrong... but yeah i dunno, drinking is a tough issue to reach an agreement with, oh well


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## Lexus

As said before a glass of wine a day can be proven good for your health. All I can say is moderation is key which many people can't handle.


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## Brad

Me, I think they should legalize pot and then tax the crap out of it! Then tax the crap out of alcohol and cigarettes too! Then lower our tax prices by like 80 cent!


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## maxpayne_lhp

Tehy charge really high tax rate here. And there comes poor-quality alcoholic products and cigaretts... and there come more serious health problems...


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## Lydia

Brad said:


> Me, I think they should legalize pot and then tax the crap out of it! Then tax the crap out of alcohol and cigarettes too! Then lower our tax prices by like 80 cent!


yah great idea... so many people around here already smoke it anyways :lol:


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## Imbrium

Baby_Baby said:


> i didn't say that. what i'm saying is that those irresponsible people cause a lot of pain to other people, and i therefore i think that drinking is wrong. drinking is bad for you anyway, so whats the point of doing it? i've tasted beer and wine, they taste awful. i know people that drink, and i know their kids. their lives are hell because their parents drink.


So you're saying it's wrong for irresponsible people to drink? Or it's wrong for everyone to drink? 
As Lexus said, drinking a glass a day can be good for you. Besides, it's fun sometimes, so if you're not hurting anybody what's the point of not doing it?
I agree with you, beer tastes awful. Wine is pretty good though, and kahlua and milk is the best thing ever. 
I have a parent that drinks. It's horrible. It's taught me that I never want to be that way. It has taught me to be responsible when I do drink.


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