For the Etats-Unis, it is Federally 21... this is about to get confusing.

In my society (Colorado) the legal age to become a Bartender is 18, but you have to be 21 to buy the drinks a bartender makes.

If you are 18 and in the Federal or State militaries then you can drink.

In some states (not Colorado) if you are 16 or older then you can drink with parental consent.

If it is for a religious function, drinking is allowed for the people participating.

Any state COULD set the Drinking Age to whatever they please, but then the Federal Government withholds delicious infrastructure funding due to the danger of under-21 drivers (officially, unofficially it's just to make the states unwilling to set the age different).

It varies from provide to province in Canada (But is either 18 or 19 everywhere). It was 18 where I grew up, and 19 where I went to university.

I think the bit about the military may be misleading. If you're stationed overseas, perhaps.

In Texas, a minor can drink at any age if the parent is present and gives consent.

@JC,
"The minimum drinking age on a DoD installation located in a State (including the District of Columbia) shall be consistent with the age established by the law of that State as the State minimum drinking age. Minimum drinking age means the minimum age established for people who may purchase, possess, or consume alcoholic beverages."


You're right.

@semck: Same for Wisconsin, although that's a state law, and a local municipality or business can be more strict. Example: at Miller Park, home stadium of the Milwaukee Brewers, you can buy your 20-year-old son or daughter a hot dog, but not a beer.

Nike, MKE.

Same in Texas -- actually, we still have some dry counties in Texas, so there are places where nobody can buy alcohol (although it's still legal to drink it).

*Nike = Nice.

Isn't the dry county a relic of prohibition? I'm in California, and you can't drink until 21. If you have any type of underage alcohol related conviction like underage possession even when you weren't driving then the drivers license is suspended for a year or a one-year delay in obtaining a driver's license gets applied if the offender did not already possess a license.

Maybe, Emac, but we still have them. They're very slowly phasing out through various elections.

So Emac, how much are we proving your point on "- most illogical part of America -"?

Tergem,
I kind of meant that alcohol laws were the most illogical part of America as a country compared to Europe. The thing that made it come up for me is a kid I know who moved here from Denmark where he has been drinking since he was 16 and he got busted for possession at 20 in LA and got his license suspended. He wasn't even drunk. Totally nuts in my opinion, but I'm must one opinion.

Semck, I have some friends in Texas who live in a dry county, and they have to the next country to get beer and then bring it home. How crazy.

Yeah Emac, my county is dry as well, and traditionally one has had to drive to the county line. Various towns and parts of towns have lately been voting to be wet, so those days are basically over at my home, and the county-line towns are drying up.

America - where you can get shipped to Afghanistan and get shot at, but you can't have a brewsky when you get home. #fucklogic

I don't drink, but if we're letting people vote and smoke at 18, they should be able to drink at 18 too. The only real argument against lowering the age is making alcohol more available to minors, but alcohol is so common that any high schooler can get his or her hands on any beverage of his or her choice.

I suspect the issue with drinking age has more to do with driving than anything else. Due to the prevalance of partying and then driving in that age group, it is probably useful to have a law that enables police to interfere with some of those behaviors.

I'm not saying it's a good law, and possibly, dramatically lowering the drinking age would be as effective at dealing with it. I don't know. But I imagine that's part of the motivation.

Itvwas once 19 for everything and that was actually pretty good. It made high schools still be alcohol free as there are rarely 19 year old high school students.

Someday I plan on running for governor as a write-in candidate on a single issue campaign to lower the drinking age to 18. If nothing else I'll help turn out.

Won't do any good cause the fed law is 21 and you'll never get your state congress to give the feds the bird.

I didn't know anyone was still so misinformed on this issue. There is no federal drinking age as such. States have a 21 drinking age because the feds make that a condition of highway funding.

Of course it won't do any good. If I end up doing this in twenty years the point isn't to win. Are you familiar with the concept of single issue campaigns?

And who says state Congress? Are you really an American?

Well my state has a house and a senate. What else should I call it? And true it may not be a formal law, but do you really think the house and senate at your state will give the feds the bird and reduce the drinking age?

State legislature. Like they do literally everywhere.

I don't think they would because I wouldn't win. But the point is to start the ball rolling on the process to change public policy.

Yeah, it's late on Thursday (well Friday now) in a week of 14 hour days. Sorry I drew a blank on the word legislature.

And as for the drinking age, most of drinking age don't care about a two or three year gap. You'd be better getting the focus on legalizing pot and use that to bring drinking, smoking, and pot all.in alignment at maybe 19 years old to put forth an effort to keep it out of schools.

But you know who would care? 18, 19, and 20 year olds who can vote. That's the goddamn point you would see clear as day if you would think about it for a second. A campaign that successfully brings them out to pull the lever for my Party Party would have to be noticed and spark a debate on the issue. That's all I would hope to achieve. Obviously.

"A campaign that successfully brings them out to pull the lever for my Party Party would have to be noticed and spark a debate on the issue."

Not to be pedantic, but if you're a write-in candidate, they can't really pull the lever for you.

Fair enough. I suppose I'd prefer to be on the ballot, if possible. Might need some signatures, though. And "pull the lever" is a metaphor, obviously. Where do they still have levers? This is far and away the most I've ever thought about the issue in detail.

Getting the signatures required to be on the ballot may be tough with just those three years of voters even.if all of them.signed which is why I think a broader topic that could be used to get the narrower subject talled about would be the better approach. Getting enough 20 somethings' to sign will be easier and then your Party Party is on the ballot.

As soon as you get your "Party party" on the ballot, I am going to come along with my "Party party party" and bury you.

Draug, There is no federal drinking age. Each state sets its own drinking laws. The federal government might tie highway funds or something to drinking age, but there isn't a national law on it.

Draug's point is that the highway tie is sufficient for any state to toe the line.

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are the only areas under federal jurisdiction that allow drinking before 21 so it must work.

In Israel the age to drink is 18 but it is not so difficult to get it, you just ask someone older to buy it. ( i know it's illegal) when i was before age i didn't have any trouble to get it.
We have a law not selling alcohol from 23:00 pm to 06:00 am to anyone ( only inside pubs. Do you have it too? I think it's stupid.

@ semck - already too late.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party!_Party!_Party!

drinking age is 18 here in Australia, with a zero blood alcohol limit for those under 21.

note too that while your 18 year-old can vote for President, he cannot be one. We can theoretically have an 18 year old Prime Minister, with no age restriction on our Head of State.

Denmark:

drinking age - none (older friends or parents can legally buy alcohol for you, its not illegal for a 14 year old to be caught drinking)
to purchase in stores - 16 years
to purchase at bars etc. - 18 years

I forgot the latest rule change - 16 and 17 year olds can only purchase alcohol with up to 16,5% in stores - stronger alcohols are for 18+ only to purchase (but anyone to drink)

Well America's laws prove that the insurance industry and the religious right lobby more effectively than the beer and liquor companies.

Pers, did Denmark change its law because of a youth drinking problem?

Australia
minimum legal age to purchase & consume alcohol -18 years of age
in all States & Territories
minimum voting age 18 years of age
the right to vote at 18 does not confer any "competency" to vote
voting in Australia is compulsory for all registered voters, although if you fail to vote
all that happens is you might get a "please explain" letter from the Electoral Commision,
and although they can impose a fine for not voting, generally they will give a person a "Caution" & warning that they could be fined
and they will accept any plausible excuse eg sickness without having to provide a Doctor's Certificate
one of my cousins was a Vietnam War veteran and he never voted after he came back from the war ( he always said the real enemy wasn't the VC but the bastards
( politicians ) who sent him to the war -- he was a conscript not a volounteer )
and nothing ever happened to him over not voting, but then you figure he had a valid excuse

I dont think it has increasing much over the last years, but we have always been in the upper tier of youth alcohol consumption, so the law was made to protect teenagers, since its harder to control and tends to end worse when drinking shots and mixing your own half'n'half drinks, compared to drinking beer or pre-mixed alco-pops.

We have some states with 3.2% alcohol by volume beer restrictions here. Interestingly in Oklahoma you could buy a shot of Jack Daniels sour mash on Sunday, but not a beer.

18 years old is grown enough to serve the army ,die or be killed but not to drink.
Ironic!

Hear! Hear!