Should the legal drinking age be raised from 18 to 19 in Alberta?

[Mitch]

The hot issue in Alberta right now seems to be if the legal drinking age should be raised. What do you think?
I think that it should not be raised, for many reason:

We can go to war and get killed at 18, but can't drink? :p
The legal drinking age of many states in the US was raised to 21! And this has simply created more problems of people under the age of 21 drinking illegally.If anything, I think it should be lowered. The kids in France are still smart...

[Ed Jones]

The fact is that teenagers will drink. Raising the legal drinking age can only create more problems. Instead, parents should be teaching kids to drink smart and drink aware.

Most accidents happen among teenagers when they are out drinking because they a) have not been taught how to drink properly and b) because they aren't drinking in a safe enviroment.

Education not legislation.

[Mitch]

I like the way you think Ed. I you sure you're very conservative? Most of your posts are quite liberal.
You can investigate at http://www.politicalcompass.org

[Ed Jones]

I can assure you that my political allegiance is Conservative. This will become evident in a series of threads i plan on starting over the course of the next few weeks. :)

In terms of this thread however, it is neither conservative nor liberal in nature. It is real. Regardless of what you believe these are the legislative facts.
• Teenagers will drink
• More police on the streets will not stop this.
• Advertising campaigns will not stop the binge drinking culture firmly in place in society today

[Horus]

I look forward to seeing those threads Ed!

You run the risk of stifling the new generation into ignoring your demands. We're a particularly rebellious culture, and will rally against something if pushed too hard. More police on the streets will be perceived as an aggressive stance (by the youth) and be a catalyst for increased violence.

Advertising won't help. For every television ad telling you that drinking and smoking is bad, there are another two ads with the likes of Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty telling you that it's a wonderful thing.

[adam99]

Advertising won't help. For every television ad telling you that drinking and smoking is bad, there are another two ads with the likes of Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty telling you that it's a wonderful thing.

Anti-advertising just doesn't work. Most people who smoke know that it isn't good for them: it's not like we're living in war-times where we believed that smoking was good for you!

There's no way to stop youngsters smoking and drinking, so why not put more money into supporting people who have problems, recognise that fact, and want to do something about it?

[Cattraknoff]

Anti-advertising just doesn't work. Most people who smoke know that it isn't good for them: it's not like we're living in war-times where we believed that smoking was good for you!

There's no way to stop youngsters smoking and drinking, so why not put more money into supporting people who have problems, recognise that fact, and want to do something about it?

Banning the sale of cigarettes would prevent probably 99% of people from taking up smoking. Few people would go that far out of their way to buy something that does absolutely nothing for them.

Alcohol is a different story, because it's seen as "fun"; But cigarettes could be eliminated almost entirely by making them extremely difficult to acquire. The problem is that the government makes a great deal of money from taxing cigarettes, and the industry employs a lot of people (Also the corporations would have some qualms about the sale being banned).

[Locke]

The drinking age doesn't matter. Teenagers will still be idiots, no matter what.

[Mitch]

I enjoy a casual drink, and am not yet 18; does one year really make a difference? No. And that's what all teens think, so raising it to 19 won't change anything, us teens will just think "It was 18 before, so why is it 19? A couple years won't make a difference"

[Cattraknoff]

The drinking age doesn't matter. Teenagers will still be idiots, no matter what.

A shame, as it's teenagers that are able to actually bring about the changes this world so desperately needs.

[eharvester]

The hot issue in Alberta right now seems to be if the legal drinking age should be raised. What do you think?
I think that it should not be raised, for many reason:

We can go to war and get killed at 18, but can't drink? :p
The legal drinking age of many states in the US was raised to 21! And this has simply created more problems of people under the age of 21 drinking illegally.If anything, I think it should be lowered. The kids in France are still smart...

I think it should be eliminated. Prohibition never works, why should the state try to stop what it cannot? It's pathetic symbolism imho lol

[PaitChow]

If parents don't like their kids drinking, they should stop it.......with their kids. Why aren't the mothers in MADD at home just pushing their totalitarian beleifs on their own kids where they belong.

[Mitch]

Well, MADD = Mother's Against Drunk Driving, not Mother's Against Drinking. I think everyone is on their side when involving drunk driving, but they might not believe in raising the age requirement for drinking, they may even support the lowering of it.

[PaitChow]

No, they use the name MADD but there the ones putting out all those commercials talking about how evil drinking is that everyone thinks is lame and is a colossal waste of someone's money.

[ronit3746]

18 is currently the agreed-upon age at which an individual receives full, adult rights and responsibilities: the right to vote, to true free speech, personal and economic responsibility. Why, then, shouldn't 18-year-olds also have the right to purchase and consume alcohol? (In fact, in some states they *do* have that right, but 21 is the legal age of purchase of alcohol.)

It could also be argued that a major factor in alcohol-related problems is the social taboo against it. In Europe, generally, children are exposed to alcohol at a much earlier age; just read a Harry Potter book, and you'll find Harry and his friends drinking "Butter beer," a low-alcohol drink, but which can still affect the mind. Perhaps if children are allowed to try alcohol in very small amounts under supervision, the temptation of alcohol will fade.

Personally, I was allowed to try alcohol at a young age, and because of that I hate it. The only time I can stand to drink alcohol is if it's very diluted, like 1/2 shot of Kahlua in a 3-cup or larger glass of chocolate milk.

[Nug]

I've been driniking since at least 15, not alot but some. Many of my friends started earlier, and when young people are already drinking at such a young age there is no way you can stop that by raising the drinking age. All that would do is result in more people breaking the law because 90% of the people that would have been drinking at 18 would still be drinking at 18.