Stanley: Putting the brakes on underage drinking

Trying to hold back the tide with a bucket...

What a waste of time, bandwidth and taxpayer money.

Thanks Mr. Landers for saying that trying to prevent underage drinking is not only a waste of time and tax payer money but basically not worth it. One could take that to mean the lives of those who will lead us in the futre are not worth saving and they are not worth our time, energy or concern.

Wake up! If we don't all collectively attempt to prevent the continued downward spiral that underage drinking has created we will be lost. This isn't your father's drinking - this is extreme, toxic and out of control drinking where those individuals head out with the sole intent to get as stupidified drunk as they possibly can.

Brain research and medical studies clearly show the trouble that this "extreme" drinking is creating and yet many people simply shrug their shoulders and say - "Oh well, there's nothing we can do - its been going on forever."

You should join with Rep. Stanley et al and insure that this legislation is passed and that you then step up to the plate and help protect those who need it at a very critical time. Underage Drinking is out of control not only here in the United States but all over Europe as well - educate yourself to this public health crisis - google "underage drinking in...." - pick a country - Great Britain, Ireland, France, Spain, etc. you will be amazed. The countries many critics use to advocate for lowering our legal drinking age are all moving to raise their legal age requirements to offset the various medical and social consequences that underage drinking has created.

Stop being a pessimist! Be an optomist and a participant in saving the physical and emotional well being of our next greatest generation!! Say No More to Underage Drinking!

Perhaps legalizing marijuana (a substance that has never caused the death of a person) would reduce binge drinking. If sanctioned as a government-monitored industry, it would raise billions in tax revenue (which would otherwise flow into other countries) as well as reduce the violence spilling over from Mexico related to the traffic. Unfortunately, that will never happen. The ghost of Anslinger lives. The charmingly backwards people in this great nation would rather keep alcohol the drug of choice (a drug that kills tens of thousands of people in country every year) than a weed that is impossible to OD on.

Sorry Leonard, but I think I agree more w/ Brock. Prohibition is a bad idea. If the law allowed "responsible" drinking by minors, I really believe that the binge drinking and other behaviors that you are so concerned about would decrease.

By "responsible" I mean supervised by a parent/guardian of the minor, or a parent/guardian who has gotten explicit permission to supervise from the minor's parent/guardian.

Drinking and driving by a minor should automatically result in revoking their driving license until they are 21.

However making all alcohol consumption illegal for minors will invariably cause more dangerous behavior because the very illicitness of the act encourages extremes, and makes it less likely that the minor(s) will seek help when bad things are happening.

Mike, I don't see the connection between agreeing with Brock and what I wrote about. When did Prohibition come into play in either the article or our posts? I don't believe it was mentioned.

Responsible is a word that is often misused and often misunderstood. The alcohol industry uses it all of the time at the ends of their advertisements in one form or another but the "message" in the ad does not always portray "responsible drinking".

Parents do have the right to supervise their - children/young adults - under the age of 21 as far as the consumption of alcohol, hopefully responsibly, in their own homes in most states. It is the second part of your post that raises both questions and concerns. Today you give me permission to serve alcohol to your child at my home, not knowing how I interpret the word "responsible" you are left to assume we have the same beliefs and values. Inevitably the party goes on and a number of the youth become intoxicated and/or tipsy - your child one of them. They don't leave the house and drink and drive they stay overnight and in the early morning hours your 17 year old daughter trips over something and falls breaking her neck and is now a quadriplegic. Would you sue me? Would my family's future and well being be in jeopardy? Was I responsible? You gave me permission to allow her to drink and she didn't look bad or intoxicated to me the last I saw her before everyone went to bed. This is where the rub begins. Today we are friends tomorrow..........

I am not a proponent of general prohibition but I am as far as underage drinking is concerned, and not at the family dinner table or in other controlled family settings. Far too often parents are not involved in the "teaching" of responsible drinking - the folks at the bon fire or keg party are and they don't have the same goals in mind. Parents and other members of the community need to be the ones that help to set the parameters and standards that allow each of us to safely parent our children. This proposed legislation is in keeping with that logic. How you incorporate that legislation, aimed at reducing illness, injury and death to your children, into teaching them to be responsible with alcohol, etc. is up to each individual parent and is not the subject matter at hand.

As previously stated the times have changed and are changing all over the world - reckless use of alcohol by underage persons is creating a major health care crisis in all of our communities. Unregulated alcohol use by those underage should be as previously stated illegal except in the family setting. Far more young people, who have suffered at the hands of severe intoxication, are hurt in sexual assaults, fights, pulling "jackass" type stunts, etc. than by having someone fail to call for help when necessary. This is an area that we all need to be clear on and insure it remains a key element in all of the public education and awareness campaigns surrounding underage drinking. That message is - regardless of anything else - the lives of the individual and/or their friends at risk are more important than the violation of the law. The life long penalty for failing to do the right thing will haunt us all for eternity.

Thanks for your feedback!!!