“I most definitely say no, don’t lower the drinking age. The amount of alcohol us teenagers already have available to us is far too large as it is. Thousands of teens already binge-drink and go over the limit with alcohol, if the age were to drop, it would open alcohol to a whole other generation. In all honesty, I personally  think my friends and I could not handle it. We would end up having such easy alcohol access and with peer pressure, things would just end up too wild...”

Carli E., age 15

“Many new adults feel that now that they are 18, they should be able to do anything they want, including drinking. However, the right to drink alcohol is completely different than earning the right to vote. [Alcohol] is a very, very addicting drug. Some abuse the drinking law even before they’re 18. Yet, I realize some “adults” will not be any more mature or able to make the right decision about drinking even at 21. It depends on the maturity of the individual. I believe we should not give teenagers another reason to start drinking early.”

C.M., age 14

“Moving the legal drinking age to 18 will cause people as young as 15 to start drinking (illegally). And passing this rule will allow inexperienced drivers to drink and drive. Also, some teens' bodies don't finish developing until 21, and drinking before then could stunt growth and harm their bodies...”

Tommy B., age 13

“I don't think the drinking age should be lowered. That would just encourage more people to drink at a younger age, and people who binge-drink aren't going to stop just because the age limit was lowered. Also, more than half the driving accidents you have in your life are in the first few years you start driving. And now we're going to raise that statistic by allowing people at that age to drink?”

Nick B., 14

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Issue: October 2008