# It seems ridiculous to me that after being on this planet for over two decades I still can't drink.. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 25, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916 "2012-04-25T16:29:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/21 "2012-04-25T18:43:47Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > It’s a pretty silly law that grown ass men in uniform can’t even have a beer. We’ve been over this already. In the 60s. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/22 "2012-04-25T18:44:47Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > I am not! “Absolut” has no E. Says the dude named after vodka **and a street drug**. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/23 "2012-04-25T18:47:33Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > If they want to claim 18 year olds are too immature to drink, then why do we put a gun in their hands and send them to war? > > It’s a pretty silly law that grown ass men in uniform can’t even have a beer. Can’t speak to the current policies, but in the late 90’s, the drinking age on Camp Pendleton, CA (Marine Corps base) was 18 or 19 (don’t remember exactly). The drinking age in Okinawa was lowered as well. The intention was to keep younger Marines on base, who otherwise may have chosen to go drink in Tijuana or out ‘in town’ in Okinawa. I see that there are [current policies](http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/05/marine_alcohol_070511/) as well, that allow ‘underage’ Marines to consume alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/24 "2012-04-25T19:36:08Z")
Well, that’s common sense in action. 😉 Hats off to the Marines. The draft in the 60’s lead to lowering the drinking age to 18 in many states. Drunk driving advocates forced the law back up to 21. The Feds used their highway funding money to strong arm the states. Florida fought the longest because of tourism and Spring break. They finally went up to 21 to avoid losing their highway funding. All that is unnecessary now because we have so much stronger DUI laws. 18 year olds can drink and face getting busted for DUI just like anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/25 "2012-04-25T20:38:41Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Drunk driving advocates forced the law back up to 21.. Wait. . . There are drunk driving advocates? I’m outraged. Outraged, I’ll tell ya. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/26 "2012-04-25T20:42:11Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Wait. . . There are drunk driving advocates? I’m outraged. Outraged, I’ll tell ya. Would you say you’re MFDD about it? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/27 "2012-04-25T21:23:44Z")
Try going to Vegas or Reno one month before your 21st birthday. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/28 "2012-04-25T21:52:30Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > The OP has a good point that is related to the larger question of, just when does a person reach adulthood? There really should be only one answer that applies in all situations. > > A juvenile who commits a serious crime might be tried in court as an adult at 14 or 15 years old. Sometimes even younger. Why are you an adult in this case but in no others? > > A parent may have to pay court ordered ‘child support’ until the child reaches the age of 18 yrs. Except if the child is going on to college, then they are still a child and you keep paying until 25 or 26. Unless they happen to drop out or quit college, then they are suddenly an adult again. > > The new health care law includes an already active section where a parent’s health insurance must provide coverage for the ‘child’ until the age of 26. Which is a great deal for young people just starting out who can’t afford insurance, but when are they really adults and responsible for their own self, 18 or 26? > > Even though there is not currently a draft for the armed forces in the US, males are still expected/required to register for selective service at the age of 18. > > There are many more points of reaching adulthood that are all over the place. . . Well, another aspect to this is what we are only now starting to learn about brain development. All research indicates more and more two points: 1. The brain is still developing til about 25 years of age–that part which isn’t fully formed even until 21 years is the part that involves making decisions evaluating risk, etc. 2. Alcohol consumption throughout the teen years–especially heavy drinking, even if rare/infrequent–_seems_ to hinder that part of the brain from developing completely. Many think this is why so many (75%) addicts and alcoholics have begun their use before 20 years of age. I don’t know how definite all this research is, and I used to think the 21 years rule for drinking was BS, too, but now, when I have kids, I might have to reconsider that opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/29 "2012-04-25T22:12:42Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Wait. . . There are drunk driving advocates? I’m outraged. Outraged, I’ll tell ya. What, you’ve never heard of Drunks Against Mad Mothers? And, **colonial** , do you know if they considered raising the driving age instead? ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/30 "2012-04-25T22:41:13Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > If they want to claim 18 year olds are too immature to drink, then why do we put a gun in their hands and send them to war? In no small part because they tend to be heedless of the risks - just as they are apt to be when making decisions about drinking and driving. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/31 "2012-04-25T23:18:57Z")
\*\* It seems ridiculous to me that after being on this planet for over two decades and clearly being tech-savvy and media-aware, you still crave alcohol. Hasn’t the world around you made you aware enough of the idiotic byproducts of alcohol consumption? Someone else noted already, it’s actually not all that special. Yeah, there’s some interesting concoctions with hilarious names and there’s even some stuff that really tastes great. But being in full control of your behaviors, decisions, and motor functions during whatever event you’re experiencing is really much more fun and memorable (literally). It also carries less potential for embarassment, incurrance of debt, and various other regrets. Someone also noted the recent studies on brain development. To make it less arbitrary, I think the threshold for unsupervised alcohol consumption should be 25 or whatever age those studies say correlates with full brain development. Others have already pointed out that, at least for the US military, people who have signed up to die are considered an exception to the age limit – you’ll still feel the bullets, but you won’t care? Oh, but there are early bloomers whose maturity is well past their physical age? Perhaps we should have Drinkers Insurance. When you (or a sponsor) can afford the premiums, you can drink. If you’re 16 and have your own lucrative business, you can afford the premium set for 16-year-olds. If your parent or guardian or sugar-daddy wants to pay your premium, well that’s his risk based on how confident he is of your maturity-while-inebriated. [FONT=Impact][COLOR=Black]Just be patient. —G! [Yes, some of that is sarcastic][/COLOR] One Burbon! One Scotch! One Beer! . --George ThoroughGood (and the Delaware Destroyers) . _The House-Rent Blues_ [/FONT]\*\* ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/32 "2012-04-25T23:20:08Z")
OP … you’re not missing much. Seriously. Nothin’ wrong with alcohol, but a lot of it tastes like shit. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/33 "2012-04-25T23:36:08Z")
I’m another that could legally drink at 18, at 16 I just drank illegally. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/34 "2012-04-25T23:47:30Z")
The problem with alcohol isn’t really the minimum drinking age, it’s that we (in general) treat it as this mysterious thing that only grown-ups can have and foster this “forbidden fruit” aura around it. As though there’s some magical switch that gets flipped when a person turns 21 that makes them able to drink responsibly. Meanwhile, we tell kids they shouldn’t drink because it’s bad for them (all the while quaffing beers ourselves) and when they do get hold of it they find out that it ain’t all that bad. I think Wisconsin has the right idea. There, a minor can legally drink alcohol so long as it comes from his/her own parent/guardian. It seems to me it would make so much more sense if parents could ease their kids into responsible alcohol consumption (e.g. A glass of wine at a holiday dinner with the rest of the family) instead of having to lie about it and act all shocked when they come home some night wasted off their ass when they’re 16. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/35 "2012-04-26T00:43:11Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I think Wisconsin has the right idea. There, a minor can legally drink alcohol so long as it comes from his/her own parent/guardian. It seems to me it would make so much more sense if parents could ease their kids into responsible alcohol consumption (e.g. A glass of wine at a holiday dinner with the rest of the family) instead of having to lie about it and act all shocked when they come home some night wasted off their ass when they’re 16. I’m not sure that this is really teaching kids to be responsible about alcohol. According to a [2008 NY Times article](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/us/16wisconsin.html): > [@](#): > > When it comes to drinking, it seems, no state keeps pace with Wisconsin. This state, long famous for its breweries, has led the nation in binge drinking in every year since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began its surveys on the problem more than a decade ago. Binge drinking is defined as five drinks in a sitting for a man, four for a woman. > > People in Wisconsin are more likely than anywhere else to drive drunk, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The state has among the highest incidence of drunken driving deaths in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/36 "2012-04-26T01:41:28Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > Someone also noted the recent studies on brain development. To make it less arbitrary, I think the threshold for unsupervised alcohol consumption should be 25 or whatever age those studies say correlates with full brain development. Hah… I’m actually in that boat of mind. Then again, I’m also against the idea of that much governmental control/“Big Brother-ness” of telling others what’s good for them and what’s not. So that puts me out of that boat. Everything in Moderation, including Moderation. That said, don’t try to glorify it and put it up on a pedestal, because it’s not that big of a deal. Just like you can’t quite rent a car before you can drink either, but no one seems to celebrate that age as much. -R ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/37 "2012-04-26T02:11:42Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Sure you can, just not legally. I probably drank more the two years prior to turning 21 than the two years after. This. I drank more between the ages of 15-21 than i have since then, and I’m 34. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/38 "2012-04-26T08:58:01Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > 1. The brain is still developing til about 25 years of age–that part which isn’t fully formed even until 21 years is the part that involves making decisions evaluating risk, etc. > > 2. Alcohol consumption throughout the teen years–especially heavy drinking, even if rare/infrequent–_seems_ to hinder that part of the brain from developing completely. I’m not sure whether that’s causation or mere correlation, though. I grew up with no drinking age and the people who drank a lot as teens were the ones who were also stupid in other respects. Coming up with a drinking age hasn’t stopped idiots from drinking; rather, it has put a Forbidden Fruit stamp on something which didn’t use to have one. It has also taken the responsibility of teaching kids how to drink from the hands of parents, and for many kids, closed a source of information. Back then, my first tastes of alcohol were from my parents’ glasses; nowadays, parents whose take on laws is the same my parents had (You Shall Follow The Law) do not let their 7yo have that sip of beer to which my response was “bleargh! How can you drink this?” ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/39 "2012-04-26T17:05:46Z")
You aren’t missing that much. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916/40 "2012-04-26T18:34:08Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > The problem with alcohol isn’t really the minimum drinking age, it’s that we (in general) treat it as this mysterious thing that only grown-ups can have and foster this “forbidden fruit” aura around it. That may be true. When I was 10 or so, my dad let me taste his beer, and it was so awful that I never craved it again. It wasn’t until many years later that I realized you don’t have to drink Budweiser. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-ridiculous-to-me-that-after-being-on-this-planet-for-over-two-decades-i-still-cant-drink/619916.md?page=3)