Today there are calls for the national drinking age to be raised from 18 to 21, putting us in line with our friends across the Pacific. Sydney Morning Herald reports:
Pressure is mounting for Australian governments to raise the legal drinking age to 21 to protect the health of young people whose brains are still vulnerable to the toxicity of alcohol at 18, leading health experts say.
I have to say I am ambivalent on this whole issue. On the one hand we know that alcohol can cause damage to a brain that is still being developed, and an 18 year old brain is still being developed, on the other hand I don’t believe raising the drinking age would stop alcohol fuelled crime – just look at the US. But the thing that really bothers me about this idea is this:
When does a teenager become an adult?
Right now, all laws in Australia agree that adulthood is attained at 18. You can vote, drink, get married, and all the other things people associate with being a grown-up. But if we raise the drinking age to 21, does that then diminish the ability of 18 year olds to attain adulthood? Does it become done in stages? And don’t you think there’s something wrong when someone can enter into a legally binding life-long (in theory) contract with another human being before than can actually toast to that commitment with a glass of champagne?
The poll on the Sydney Morning Herald firmly puts my opinion in the minority with 49%* voting to increase the drinking age to 21, 38% voting to keep it the way it is and 13% of people voting somewhere in the middle (*as at 8am this morning).
For me, this conversation also harks back to my often complained about attitude on parenting where 16 year olds are still treated as children in many ways and protected as such. I know, I know, I don’t have children of my own, but the way I see it if you can legally drive and have sex then you can do your own laundry, go out with your friends, and make your own decisions!
I feel like raising the legal drinking age is undermining the ability of young adults to be responsible for themselves. Shouldn’t we be encouraging further education about the effects of alcohol and looking at its role in our society before we start introducing laws? The simple fact is, people get around laws anyway.
What do you think? Should we raise the legal drinking age? Do you think it would reduce crime?
