60 Minutes tonight: Lower the Drinking Age to 18
 

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/...n4813571.shtml

Hopefully Lesley won't get snowed by MADD and their incomplete statistics.

I'll definitely have to catch this one. I know they argue a lot that this will bring more alcohol into the high schools but honestly, I'd rather have my kids become "legal" while they're living at home where I can somewhat monitor them than be away at college for that event (especially since my son's birthday is St. Patrick's Day!). Shoot, I'd have their 18th birthday parties at our house, where I can monitor it even more!

My sister's thesis is on the drinking age (history of, why, etc.) and her advising professor just emailed her about this right before I called her to tell her about it.

Either we're adults at 18 or we're not. Make up your minds people!!

I really don't see it happening - MADD, SADD and the other similar lobbying groups are too powerful, and the lawmakers won't want the certain backlash that would come with such a move.

For those who watched, what do you think of the drinking license idea? While I agree with a need for education, I don't know that a licensing system would make a big difference. People drive with suspended drivers licenses all the time. I think it would make enforcement too difficult.

I'm on the fence about the license thing. I honestly think that's just something they're throwing in there - it seemed like there were a lot of things that needed explained in more detail.

The part that pissed me off the most was the guy from MADD saying that fatalities went up in those states that lowered the age to 18. I would like to know how many of those fatalities were people from other states who had crossed the border into an "18" state. That was part of what created the whole problem - people were driving hours away to be legal.

when i was in college in the mid 70's, the drinking age was 18 in florida. i don't recall any binge drinking such as there is today. people went out to the bars, had a beer/drink or two, and that was that-no big deal.

That's one of those faulty "stats" that are only quoted to make a point.

To use those statistics you have to control for additional factors (such as state border crossers).

I think the education for high schoolers is a great idea, but I'm not really hip to the drinking license. Law enforcement officials are already making the point that they're chasing down underage drinkers to give them tickets- aren't they going to do the same if the young folks have drinking licenses? "Good evening, young lady, I need to see your driver's license and drinker's license."

Some of those "stats" are fishy. If you raise the drinking age and publicize the date, you don't think that 19-year-olds aren't going to run out and party hearty in public while they still legally can? And if you lower the drinking age, mightn't young people celebrate by heading out to the watering hole? Both of those might cause an increase in the number of drinkers, which, surprise surprise, might increase the number of drinking accidents...