Adults age 18, 19 and 20 should be able to drink alcoholic beverages. If they have a drinking learners permit.

A Thought Experiment

Imagine if we prepared young people to drive the same way we “prepare” them for drinking. We would tell them this.

• • Driving a vehicle is dangerous. That tens of thousand of people die each year in traffic crashes.
  • It requires knowing the rules of the road.
  • We don’t teach them these rules. That’s because we don’t want to send them “mixed messages” bout their ability to drive.
  • Good driving requires guided practice. But we can’t provide that because they’re too young to drive.
  • They lack the emotional maturity to drive safely. We would explain that they will acquire this maturity on their 21st birthday.

Then, on that magic day, we would hand them the keys to the car. We would remind them that using public transportation is much safer than driving their own vehicle. But if they insist on driving, we would ask them to be careful. Not kill themselves or others.

Our streets and highways would be highly dangerous. Yet we use the same approach in preparing young people to drink alcohol when they turn 21. And most will decide to drink before then.

Drinking Learners Permit

The Reality

Underage  persons generally drink without parental guidance. They typically drink in an environment that promotes heavy drinking.

An Alternative

So what’s the solution? We should do with drinking what has proven successful with driving. That is, we should issue drinking learner permits to qualified adults age 18 through 20.

Exactly what constitutes qualified? That’s for society to determine. It might limit permits to those who have successfully completed a specified alcohol education course, who have received a high school diploma, and who have not been found guilty of any alcohol laws.

Permits could be graduated, as with driving learner’s permits. Perhaps at first permit holders could only drink  with a parent present. Then anywhere with a parent present. Then in a restaurant, with no parental supervision needed. And so on. Restrictions could be lifted incrementally with successful compliance with all permit conditions.

Possible Objections

Alcohol and Young Brains

But doesn’t alcohol damage young brains? There’s no evidence that drinking in moderation damages developing brains. Nor is there any reason to suspect that it might. Otherwise, Italians, Jews, Greeks and many others would be showing the negative affects. The often-cited research uses only rats and alcohol abusers. It doesn’t study young people who consume in moderation.

Early Drinking Leads to Problems

But aren’t those who begin drinking earlier more likely to have drinking and other problems later in life? This link results from pre-existing personality factors. These have been identified. For example, psychologists have been able to study pre-schoolers. They then predict accurately who will begin drinking earlier. And also who will have drinking problems later.

Conclusion

We should reduce youthful alcohol abuse by issuing a drinking learners permit. It would be to qualified adults age 18 through 20.

Resources

Web

• • “Choose Responsibility” to Reduce Underage Alcohol Abuse.
  • Drinking Learner Permits or Licenses for Adults Under Age 21.
  • Drinking Learner Permits for Under-Age Adults.
  • A Learner’s Permit for Drinking.
  • Drinking Learner Permit Opposition.

Readings

• • Getnick, J. The Drinking Age Debates. Ph.D. diss, SUNY Albany.
  • Kiesbye, S. (ed.) Should the Legal Drinking Age be Lowered?  
  • Marcovitz, H. Should the Drinking Age be Lowered?  
  • McCardell, J. Let Them Drink at 18, With a Learners  Permit. New York Times.
  • McCarthy, C. Should We Have a Drinking Learners Permit for Alcohol, Too? Huff Post.