Amethyst Initiative want lowered drinking age
By on
August 19th, 2008
The Amethyst Initiative has a surprising solution to the problem of binge drinking on college campuses. They want the legal age lowered from age 21 to 18. According to them, such a move will result in far fewer incidents of problem drinking.
“This is a law that is routinely evaded,” said John McCardell, founder of the Amethyst Initiative. “It is a law that the people at whom it is directed believe is unjust and unfair and discriminatory.”
The Amethyst Initiative asks the question many have been asking since the legal drinking age was raised to twenty-one in 1984.
Why is it, the Amethyst Initiative asks, are young adults old enough at 18 to vote, serve on juries, sign contracts, and serve in the military, but not deemed capable of drinking alchohol.
College and University Presidents are asked to sign and support the Amethyst Initiative and encourage polititians to rethink the drinking age.
The Amethyst Initiative is so named for the Greek words for “not intoxicated”.
Currently only college and university presidents can sign, but others can join the effort to change the drinking age and help de-criminalize under age drinking and hopefully minimalize binge drinking that is rampant particularly among the college set.
Of course such a proposal has been met with fierce opposition. Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) said the initiative will just end with more underage people being involved in fatal car accidents while drunk.
The problem of college drinking is a large one. Over 1,700 people die every year from drinking alcohol on America’s college campuses.
The people behind the Amethyst Initiative say they aren’t looking for an immediate implementation of a new drinking law. Instead they say they just want to open a dialogue to see if the idea is valid.
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