should the Drinking age Dropp from 21 to 18 in America?

Definitely silly that the drinking age is 21 in the U.S. We are considered adults at 18, can smoke cigarettes and be sent off to war at 18, but for some reason we can't drink alcohol.

Many Americans have binge drinking problems, and part of this has to do with how alcohol is viewed by those who are underage. Not being given the choice to drink alcohol makes it more appealing, and unfortunately there are no decent education programs common throughout the U.S. I remember being taught about the dangers of drugs in school, but alcohol is treated like a separate entity, when it is in many ways worse than some of the drugs we were warned to avoid.

The drinking age in Vancouver, B.C. is 19, which seems reasonable to me. Friends who live there are arguably better able to handle their liquor than most of my friends in the States. My Vancouver area friends have also told me that they were taught about alcohol by their parents at an early age, and were able to drink with them at home if/when they wished. This, to me, seems like a good approach.

An interesting article on Canada's drinking laws in comparison to those in the U.S.:
For collegians in Canada, drinking is no big thing

The problem, as I see it, is that the American government thinks it needs to play the role of the parent because a percentage of parents in the U.S. aren't doing their jobs. I am not in favor of this kind of control and never will be. Give us the building blocks to make our own decisions and guide us along the way with accurate and factual information rather than telling us NO.

Whenever I see NO, I want to know why, and that usually means doing my own research. Had I been given more information, I might not have drank as much as I did in college, and that would have been a good thing.

I see your point and I guess I can sort of agree with that Master John and Arcade. Still, I think we have worse issues to face before we tackle this kind of thing. Even in the same realm of "intoxicants" and drugs.

For instance, I could give a spit about the drinking age until marijuana is legal or at least decriminalized. It's a CROCK that it isn't. Schedule 1 are you kidding me!? It's a joke and things in the drug management realm won't advance an iota until we rectify this and countless other wrongs. I'm an opponent of prohibition altogether really, but I'll settle for marijuana decriminalization if I have to.

Not to derail the conversation or anything... As far as alcohol goes though, you two do raise an excellent point. It does make sense that if we can die for our country at 18 we should be able to drink at that age I suppose.

I'm a bit torn on the issue, because these sorts of things are generally not very healthy to begin with.... but the body can heal parts of itself very well.

Moderation seems good, but anything which impairs judgement could be said to defeat the mechanism capable of moderation. Given neuroscience seems to say late adolescent brains are still developing executive decision making areas then that sort of cast's a double shadow to support holding off mind altering substances until a bit later. Not to mention childhood instincts seem to be about curiosity and exploration of limits... again counter to moderation.

Of course executive decision making might be learnt through trial and error in adolescence but I'm not looking at the science to say that.

BUT society seems to draw the line for adulthood at 18, and everything else that entails so the legal restriction seems out of place. In Australia it shifted from 21 to 18 back in 1974.

In some areas near the mexico border the drinking age is 18 with military id...they do this to keep young military members from going over into tijuana and getting into trouble...or at least it was years ago when I was in san diego...

In either case...if 18 is old enough to fight and die for your country then it should be old enough for everything else that comes with adulthood...education and moderation is key to making smart healthy decisions, not ignorance and indulgence...

I stopped drinking when it became legal for me to start ! (18)

I personally believe if alcohol is introduced via the home as with a meal, (not getting drunk) and a sensible approach is taken most young people wouldn't view it as, 'this is wrong so lets do it.'
The parents should be responsible.
The age limit here is 18
But over here the stronger cider and stuff is cheaper so when you drink underage and with not much money you go for that. Gut rot we call it.
The price should be hired and restrictions on cider and other strong drinks brought in.
But lower the age, if you can die for your nation, then the decision to drink or not should be yours.

I agree that the issue is that people are not responsible. If they really wanted to teach kids to not drink under age, they need to revamp the entire system. I was a D.A.R.E. officer, and the content that we were given to train students with, in my opinion, wasn't up to par. The only thing I liked about the class was that it taught you how to determine the qualities you want in a friend, and how to make decisions step-by-step. But when it came to facts and figures, well teaching someone what it does to their body really isn't enough. Teaching them the numbers on people getting killed, and the type of poor judgement that comes along with these drugs (in higher grades, not for anyone 7th grade or younger). They might have changed that since I taught, but that's something I think needs to be focused on with regards to drug use.

You must pass around the sun 21 times before you may purchase ethanol. Sounds like some kind of ancient Mayan spiritual rite of passage. I think it's just adultism. I had to rapidly develop a flagrant disregard for the law by the time I was 14. Oh man the women, drugs, alcohol, was flowing like rivers. Driving at 16 is another one that irks me, so I built a go cart and bought a motorcycle and just went off-road anytime the fuzz tried to intercept my right of travel

Drinking at 18 is bad because of its effects on the development of the brain. They have done studies that show it prevents the maturation of certain parts of the brain. Around 21 the brain is nearly fully mature. Also your brain when 18 is more succespible to addiction compared to when older.
With that said, if you do drink sometimes under age, the fine is no big deal similar to a traffic fine. Also most states allow parents to give legal consent to their children to drink to avoid over drinking. The law isn't to prevent drinking, it's more to prevent over drinking under age. That's my take.

Also it seems they have shown DARE increases drug use. I don't remember why.

I honestly don't think there should be a drinking age simply because it's human nature to be drawn to what you're not allowed to have, especially in the teen years when you're trying to make your stand in the world and develop autonomy (a time when most parents--futily in my opinion--attempt to put up more barriers for their kids to cross over). If it's not against the rules, then they won't be drawn to it as easily. It won't have the same "ooooo I'm breaking the rules and getting away with it" effect. And honestly if there is a will there is a way. When alcohol was illegal in the U.S. people would make and drink their own alcohol. So yeah, to me a drinking age is completely pointless.

That said, the drinking age in Australia is 18, and they don't have the same issues with underage drinking that the U.S. does. The more rules you make, the more rules there are to break, unfortunely.