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Drinking age of 21 doesn't work

UW Madison
Sep 16, 2009 at 1:06 PM

imageThere was a great opinion piece about the absurdities of the drinking age on CNN today by John M. Cardell.   Over the summer, I met a Danish fellow who said that dangerous college binge drinking is entirely unheard of in Denmark.  Their secret?  The drinking age is 15.  There, the phenomenon of rebellious drinking dies at age 14-16, while they are still in care of their parents.  By the time they're living on their own, drinking is seen as a lubricant for social settings at most.  This friend of mine even went so far as to cite the popularity of drugs in America as a side effect of our ridiculous drug laws, which make illegal drugs just as easily obtainable as alcohol for most people under 21.   It really makes me wonder if "adults" will ever look at us "reckless youth" and realize that freedom and responsibility flow in both directions.

Hello-!
Ill be spending Sunday in Ridgefield, Connecticut looking at Edward Tuftes new sculpture and hearing him speak at 4 pm (details). This should be convenient for anyone in the New York City area, particularly as the museum has an option for bus transportation to and from Manhattan (takes about 1:15 to drive). Having seen some

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I don't think this is just a matter of drinking age. I think binge drinking can also be related to the culture of a country, to the things we promote in front of our kids, to the loose education and power of decission we give to youngsters. Alcohol is a perverse drug if you ask me, I know tricky it can be, I've seen a lot of it since I work in an alcohol treatment center.

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