Under age drinking

Great Debates
21

Tom, I do have a cite for the consumption age in England being five. As a schoolboy we used to have an annual class visit by a policeman to come and talk to us all about being good citizens. One year he mentioned this law. The fact stuck with me, coz it was a tad bizarre.

However this is my only cite for this fact - and it’s not a very good one! I can well believe that it is wrong. OTOH, research in this vital matter will have to wait until after the weekend.

pan

22

In Canada, the age is 18 or 19, depending on the province. Of course, this has led to plenty of American teens crossing the border into Canada on occasion, where they can legally purchase alcohol.

I used to work in the beer stores of Ontario, Canada, and I’d see plenty of this happening–19- and 20-year-old Americans would come in and buy a couple of cases. They were of legal age in Ontario, and we also knew they were Americans getting around the US 21-and-over law, because when we carded them, the IDs were from US states. And we all knew those cases would be consumed in a few hours, before they left the country to go home.

It wasn’t so much the age–like I said, we were used to serving anybody 19 and over in Ontario–but it was the attitude of it being such a novelty: “We’re gonna drink lots of beer legally! Whoopee!”

It’s the old forbidden fruit game, I guess–tell them they can’t have it, and they want it. Maybe if it wasn’t something they had to wait for, they’d be a little more responsible. But no matter how many “Europeans have to be able to see over the counter” stories are told, I don’t think the attitude towards keeping a legal drinking age in the US (or Canada) is going to change any time soon.

23

Is it really a problem ? From past experiance it all depends on the culture. I am Canadian, legal at 18 in my province, been served at many bars in the California and Colorado regions due to inept staff (I was only 16 at the time) and enjoyed serval months in the U.K. without incidence at 15 years old. The legal age i dont think makes the diffence, those individuals causing problems i believe would do so regardless of what the law determines. If theres a will theres a way

24

Happy college lush checking in:

  1. The age doesn’t really change anything
  2. Drinking in high school is generally worse than in college, because in high school you more often have to go somewhere to do it, which may require driving, and badness occurs. In college, you are more likely to be drinking where you live or within a short (stumbling) walk.
  3. I have a week off. I plan to spend it all full of liquor. I have to go find an enabler. Curses.
25

Kabbes, I think you’re right: there is some lower limit for alcohol consumption but it’s so low as to be laughable.