drinking age

[citizen_142002]

I really think that a drink age at 21 is absurd. As far as I know it is the highest in the industrialized world. A lot of the main stream wiould support a change of the age to 18. My friend is in the marines, currently in Texas. I guess one unit down there had 14 out of 110 guys get busted for underage drinking.
I think that parents should be able to decide when their kid is under 18, but I don't think that any law with that proviso is likely to pass in the short term. I'm sure that we could get a lawmaker to push for a change. The age in NH was 18 before the Feds put pressure on the states, and our seatbelt laws (or lack thereof) already results in loss of highway funding.
Does anyone know of any individuals in the General Court who would support reducing the drinking age?

[maxxoccupancy]

This is a good time to make a plug for running for state house.  This will be the first year that FSPers will have a chance to run for state legislature.  After running for Selectman last year, I have some name recognition if I run this year out of Manchester.  I may run myself.

It's very important, especially if you are thinking about running in the future, that we get some real experience campaigning this year.  This is also important for future campaign managers, which we are in desperate need of.  After helping out on a lot of campaigns in Washington state, I helped out last year with the Guinta campaign.  I did doorbelling, lit drops, and phone banking on election day.

In other words, less talk, more walk.  I know that this is my topic, but we need to replenish the ranks of proliberty state reps.  Anyone wanting to move on later to a higher office should definitely start with state rep, selectman, or similar position.  See and be seen.

Less talk more walk.

--Max

[KBCraig]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060729/ap_on_he_me/college_drinking;_ylt=AiimmwXaifVPAbzei5u.cBes0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3b2NibDltBHNlYwM3MTY-

Study: Students find ways to safely drink
By CHASE SQUIRES, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 28, 10:09 PM ET

Despite the anti-alcohol warnings and campaigns targeting college campuses, students still find ways to drink and they've developed ways to drink safely, researchers reported Friday.

While up to 80 percent of students drink, fewer than 13 percent say they've been injured or damaged property after drinking, researcher Michael Haines said in a study by the National Social Norms Resource Center.

The study, developed with data from more than 28,000 students at 44 colleges and universities, noted that about 73 percent of student drinkers protect themselves by using designated drivers, setting spending limits at bars, counting their drinks, going out in groups and trusting friends to speak up when someone is drinking too much.

The center advocates a "social norms approach" to alcohol safety, essentially recognizing that student drinking occurs and promoting ways that students practice safe drinking.

"The safest place for college students to drink alcohol is on college campuses. All data points to that," he said. "Yet more is done to force drinking off campus .... Those policies have failed to reduce drinking. Private kegger parties are the most high-risk location for drinking."

Certain protective behaviors — such as avoiding drinking games and pacing drinks to one or fewer per hour — "merit more promotion than others," said Haines, director of the center, based in at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill.

Critics suggest that better alternatives include tougher penalties for student drinking and limiting student access to alcohol.

The findings will be published in next months' Journal of American College Health. They were presented Friday at the National Conference on the Social Norms Approach.

[Jared]

not many businesses would ever be able to get away with selling alchohol/drugs to children. i'm guessing that the only businesses who  would not have their own private selling age would be those in the inner city "slums"...but then again, how many "slums" would there be if we abolished welfare?

[citizen_142002]

I wrote to seven legislators and couldn't find a sponsor for a bill to lower the drinking age, but then aries is running for state representative, right?

I was thinking a petition with a few thousand signatures might help push a legislator to introduce such a bill. I'm going to see what I can whip up on my computer.

[lildog]

Is there a bill to push the drinking hour later in the night?

This is one I could never understand.

I mean I can understand the ?for the children? argument as to a drinking age but a drinking time that a business is forced to close?

But regardless, back to the point?

I heard a commentary once about drinking that really seemed to hit it right on? They said we need to push for a minor league of drinking.  As it stands now you?re denied everything until 21 then BLAM the sky is the limit with no training on how to handle anything etc.  What they suggested was allowing simple things like wine coolers at maybe 14, then beer and wine at 16 and then open the door to the hard stuff at 18 or 20.  This allows kids to learn how to handle their booze in stages and so you don?t get someone turning 21 running out and buying a bottle of 151 and drinking themselves into a coma.  Instead the learn to drink cheap beer, and there?s not as much temptation to get the hard stuff because why bother when you get the beer leagally.. so they drink cheap beer, get cheap beer headaches and learn how to handle it slowly.

[cathleeninnh]

Doesn't sound better to me. The government stepping in and regulating what should be left to parents. Show me where it works and I will be on board with defining when children can cross the street without holding someone's hand.

Cathleen

[maxxoccupancy]

I think that it should either be 18 or left up to parents.  In a perfect world, one might set the legal limit to .04 for those under 15, .06 for those 15 or 16, and .08 for those who are 17.  That seems reasonable to me.

However, reasonable suggests that I have some right to tell other people what to do.  No one has the right to tell me how much I can or cannot drink.  That is the exercise of personal responsibility.  That is the point of a free society.

You are over 18, you are responsible for yourself.

[d_goddard]

You are over 18, you are responsible for yourself.

Bingo.

The argument that "there should be one single age of consent, and when you hit it, you're an adult, PERIOD" seems to get a lot of traction in the House. That argument would play well to the 18-year old drinking age. Last segislative session there were a few bills on this topic -- if I recall correctly, they had to do with when you can be tried as an adult, when you can leave school, and related issues, and in each case the bill was to set the age at 18. Sorry I don't have more details; I'd need to do some digging.

I think an 18 yo age is quite do-able.

[earthhaven]

Having a drinking age will inevitably lead to the abuse of alcohol. If alcohol is introduced at a young age I think that most people would get it out of their system under parental supervision. When I first started drinking I was an irresponsible drunk, but over the years I've become a "responsible" drunk . If I was introduced to alcohol at a younger age I don't think I would have had some of the drunken experiences I first had when I started drinking. 

[maxxoccupancy]

My experience has been that every young alchoholic had terrible parents.  Bad parenting causes more problems than many people realize, and there are very few people behind bars who grew up with wonderful, loving parents.

--Maximus

[aries]

not many businesses would ever be able to get away with selling alchohol/drugs to children. i'm guessing that the only businesses who  would not have their own private selling age would be those in the inner city "slums"...but then again, how many "slums" would there be if we abolished welfare?

Many already do... where I came from in CT the liquor stores were notorious for giving the benefit of the doubt to anyone who could possibly have looked of age... even a very young 21... so of course a 15 year old was about the youngest that could buy liquor. That could never happen in NH where our stores are run by the state

[aries]

I wrote to seven legislators and couldn't find a sponsor for a bill to lower the drinking age, but then aries is running for state representative, right?

I was thinking a petition with a few thousand signatures might help push a legislator to introduce such a bill. I'm going to see what I can whip up on my computer.

If I win I'll introduce it even if I have zero support

[maineiac]

My experience has been that every young alchoholic had terrible parents.  Bad parenting causes more problems than many people realize, and there are very few people behind bars who grew up with wonderful, loving parents.

--Maximus

Obviating the legitimate need for more governmental regulation of parenting, right Max?

I'm not trying to jam you, but when is enough ever enough when it comes to any form of coercive government? And who will regulate the regulators?

[d_goddard]

If I win I'll introduce it even if I have zero support

I will support such legislation to the best of my ability even if nobody else does.