21Aug Lower the Drinking Age to 18

On the face of it, the notion seems counterintuitive, but to the presidents of some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges, it makes a lot of sense: Lowering the legal drinking age might get students to drink less.

But any chance for the academic leaders to begin a public discussion of their theory — that allowing people as young as 18 to drink legally might promote moderation — has been lost in a wave of criticism from health experts, transportation officials, government leaders and opponents of drunken driving.

Safety advocates say the legal drinking age of 21 saves about 900 lives every year. And Laura Dean-Mooney, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said: People look to college presidents “for their leadership role on their campuses. It just seems like they didn’t do enough homework to look at the science on this.”

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Tags: Alcoholism, Binge drinking, Driving under the influence, Legal drinking age, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, U.S, Youth, Youth Rights