I just watched my Tivo'd 60 Minutes episode from Sunday, and there was a story on the debate about lowering the legal drinking age to 18:
http://www.cbsnews.c...in4813571.shtml
The people supporting it made the argument that it would be much safer because 1) it goes on anyway, just underground which makes it much less safe than if kids could drink in open situations (think: keg stands, guzzling, etc. vs. drinking with parents, drinking in social situations, etc.), and 2) police resources would be freed up to pursue the truly dangerous activities such as DUI, public intoxication, etc. instead of trying to chase around 18-21 year old kids to write tickets. Also there is the argument that people are allowed to do a lot of things at 18 (vote, serve on a jury, go to war), so why shouldn't they be allowed to drink as well?
There was also an interesting proposal by one of the guys on the show that I had not heard before. He proposed having a special license that people are given that allows them to buy alcohol. (issued after the person passes a course and test on alcohol safety, much like drivers licenses are issued after a person passes tests on driving) The license could be revoked or suspended for infractions like DUI and other stuff. I thought that was a pretty interesting proposal.
So, what do you guys think; Should the age be lowered, or should it stay the same?