Drinking Age?

**sAsLEX** · 25th May 2005, 01:01

Originally Posted by Celtic_Sea_lily

It's just all a bit inconsistent really. Able to vote at 18, marry at 16 (with parental consent, marry at 20 (without parental consent), enlist at 18 (?), get your license at 15.

I'm really not sure but, I assume (without actually researching it) that lowering it has resulted in younger kids getting pissed and having access to alcohol.

I was only 17 when I joined the Navy

**Zed** · 25th May 2005, 01:14

Originally Posted by Waylander

I remember learning about 'prohibition patty' or something like that in school. Seems this chick wanted prohibition to become law so she ran around atacking bars and such with an ax. They burned her at the stake or some such I believe.

She probably got what she deserved! Anyway Waylander, you'd know more about Prohibition coming from the States than most people in NZ would - we've never had it here.

**Waylander** · 25th May 2005, 01:15

Originally Posted by Zed

She probably got what she deserved! Anyway Waylander, you'd know more about Prohibition coming from the States than most people in NZ would - we've never had it here.

Not in Texas mate. petitions going round right now to make the legal drinking age 16 in Texas.

**John** · 25th May 2005, 01:18

Originally Posted by Waylander

Not in Texas mate. petitions going round right now to make the legal drinking age 16 in Texas.

Yea america, land of the fucken retards - opps I didnt say that

go capitalism

**Ixion** · 25th May 2005, 01:43

Originally Posted by Phurrball

NZ societal attitudes are more of an issue here...personal and parental responsibility do have a role to play in instilling better attitudes to alcohol in our young. (..

Do they really need better attitudes ? Overall ? Seems to be a universal thing that everyone clobbers young folk over their attitude to this, attitude to that, bitches about them doing this or that. I've got to say that young people seem to have an attitude toward booze that's not much different to when I was their age. And probably for a couple of thousand years before that .

There'll always be a few exceptions in any age group, but the vast majority of young people I see don't have an attitude problem with booze. Yeah, maybe someone gets tanked up occasionally, but so do their parents. And grandparents. Most don't.

Maybe the politicians and the media should just leave the youff alone and stop using them as a convenient way to whip the Mrs Grundys into a fever.

**Motu** · 25th May 2005, 07:42

There will always be underage drinkers - the lower the legal age,the lower the illeagal age...

**dart1202** · 25th May 2005, 07:52

maybe old age 20 that newly can drink because when under age will not awake and dangerous when accelerate in is high-speed.

**James Deuce** · 25th May 2005, 07:55

Originally Posted by Ixion

Do they really need better attitudes ? Overall ? Seems to be a universal thing that everyone clobbers young folk over their attitude to this, attitude to that, bitches about them doing this or that. I've got to say that young people seem to have an attitude toward booze that's not much different to when I was their age. And probably for a couple of thousand years before that .

There'll always be a few exceptions in any age group, but the vast majority of young people I see don't have an attitude problem with booze. Yeah, maybe someone gets tanked up occasionally, but so do their parents. And grandparents. Most don't.

Maybe the politicians and the media should just leave the youff alone and stop using them as a convenient way to whip the Mrs Grundys into a fever.

It's not their attitude in question. My examples of just how to consume alcohol in a social setting were, how would you say, extreme. NZ society as a whole seems to revel in excessive binge drinking. It isn't viewed as an adjunct to a social setting, it is the reason for the social event.

Prohibition didn't have any net effect in the US in regard to the amount of alcohol consumed, it just added the frisson of being illegal to going to the pub, in the same way that 16 Kiwi girls love going to the pub. The only lasting effect of prohibition was to almost completely destroy the quality and reputation of the better Irish Whisky distilleries.

**ManDownUnder** · 25th May 2005, 08:02

Originally Posted by Hitcher

The drinking age is 18. If society can't cope with that, then that is a problem caused by our attitudes and behaviours as a society towards consuming alcohol. God, how we delude ourselves as to how "grown up" we are. Good reason, in my view, to leave well enough alone with cannibis. Returning the "drinking age" to 20 will not help things one jot. The genie is too far out of the bottle now to catch and return.

AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH - I'm agreeing with Hitcher - AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH

Cognitive dissonance... must stay calm... need a drink - no no - that's a depressant... ...MUST... FIND... sedatives...

..aaaaaaaaa... das bedda!
MDU

**Lou Girardin** · 25th May 2005, 10:05

50's good.

**MSTRS:Me** · 25th May 2005, 10:22

Originally Posted by Phurrball

Perhaps a universal age of majority would be a good idea?

Yeah. Kids should be placed in secure lockup at puberty & not released til age 30.
Seriously tho, I think it is correct to say that the genie is out of the bottle so to speak. It is attitudes that are the problem not the age per se

**Coldkiwi** · 25th May 2005, 12:33

Originally Posted by MSTRS

Seriously tho, I think it is correct to say that the genie is out of the bottle so to speak. It is attitudes that are the problem not the age per se

don't really agree with that. Its dangerous to simply look at a reported 25% increase in underage drinking related deaths and say that lowering the drinking age has helped. I mean, can anyone here actually offer a sensible argument for why that would happen solely because the age was lowered? It may have had no affect at all and its quite possible it made it worse (more immature people can obviously buy it and supply it to others) but theres no logic whatsoever to suggest it made the driving problem better.

THUS.... it seems reasonable to assume that if the age were raised back, the young 'uns driving drunk problem would either:
a) stay the same or
b) reduce

As for the rest of it.. how about we ask some coppers on this site if they've found it easier to deal with drunk kids since the age was lowered since they'll be the ones who have to deal with them.

yes, one generation of horses have bolted, but there's still generations of horses to come that can be helped by the change.

**Biff** · 25th May 2005, 12:46

I side with the social attitude bunch here. If you take a look at those countries that almost encourage drinking as part of the their dining culture, like France, you tend not to see such bad examples of teenagers drinking stupid amounts and getting into the mess, fighting, causing damage and develop drinking problems that many other countries that frown upon teenage alcohol consumption experience.

Maybe it's because teenage drinking is almost a social taboo that so many go out on the weekend and get smashed on quantities that are seriously dangerous for their health.

I do believe that NZ has a growing problem with teenagers getting wasted on the weekends. As the adage goes, it's not because you drink it's how you drink that’s the problem.

**Sutage** · 25th May 2005, 13:01

Raise alcohol and legalise marijuana would actually probably be my vote. Or leave alcohol alone and legalise marijuana, thats where the real problem is.. getting arrested for having marijuana which does a hell of a lot less harm then tobacco/alcohol/coffee even. But the alcohol age wont get raised, the govt gets too much money from it, especially id say from 18-20 year olds, and at the end of the day whats it going to do? stop 16-19 year olds getting alcohol? I doubt it. The worst that would happen from raising the age to 20 and keeping marijuana illegal is people are going to go to other drugs... shit you can buy from scum drugdealers.. like P.
My 2c from a youngun

-Richard

**Ixion** · 25th May 2005, 13:01

Originally Posted by Biff

..

Maybe it's because teenage drinking is almost a social taboo that so many go out on the weekend and get smashed on quantities that are seriously dangerous for their health.

I do believe that NZ has a growing problem with teenagers getting wasted on the weekends. As the adage goes, it's not because you drink it's how you drink that’s the problem.

What is happening to our young people? They disrespect their elders, they disobey their parents. They ignore the law. They riot in the streets inflamed with wild notions.Their morals are decaying. What is to become of them?

Plato circa 350BC. And the plagarising git stole it from a babylonian inscription about 2500 years older than that

So if them degenerate youff ain't learned better in 5000 odd years, don't expect they will any time soon.