Indiana Public News Radio has an article on the General Assembly’s study committee getting recommendations from an advocate to reduce underage drinking:
She told a summer study committee today that she wants substantial reforms – like raising the alcohol tax and instituting a social host law. Social host laws are those that punish adults who knowingly allow underage drinking on their property.
I have an idea. Lower the drinking age. I can almost guarantee that will reduce the incidence of underage drinking. It’s one of those malum prohibitum things.
This was part of the Senate Commission on Mental Health and Addiction’s September 6 meeting (pdf).
Couldn’t agree more. Of industrialized nations we have about the highest drinking age and the most trouble with DUI and binge drinking.
The last thing we need is more prohibition type laws when it comes to alcohol.
If I understand correctly why the drinking age was raised from 18 to 21 – and I may not – back in 1984, or thereabouts, Congress made the judgment that there were too many drunk-driving accidents caused by people between 18 and 21. So Congress said to the States, “Raise your drinking age to 21 or lose 10% of your federal highway funds.” I don’t think any State said, “Nuts to you.”
So the application to lower the drinking age probably has to go to Congress, not to the General Assembly, which I’m pretty sure would not cough up 10% of its highway funds.
If I have the history correctly, we should laugh at the people who claim that the drinking age is 21 to protect the “children” – whom we happily send off to multiple wars at 18 or even younger. It is to protect the rest of us from the children who drink and drive.
Welcome to 21st century America! We’ve gone from the “can-do” nation to the “can’t-do” nation and it’s only going to continue to get worse. Smoking’s on the ropes in most places, so its back to alcohol for the next step.
Great Point Michael. I can see it now. State legislators pointing fingers at Congress, and Congress pointing fingers at the state legislators and the Dept. of Transportation. This provides plausible deniability. And I doubt many that are 21 or older have STRONG feelings about the issue, so it gets dropped.
As I recall, Ohio briefly put up a fight of some sort; but they caved in the face of highway dollars being withheld. Indiana’s drinking age has been 21 for a good long time.