Drinking, consent, smoking, and driving laws according to age.

[Jannabear]

I think that the age to
Drink should be 16
Fuck should be 15 1/2 (+Romeo and juliet law, if the couple was already dating for a long time then the consent laws are adjusting on that case accordingly)
Drive a car should be 16
Age to smoke should be 16
Age to smoke weed should be 16
Age to legally be emancipated should be 16
The grade to drop out of school should be 10th if they wish to, or age 16, whichever comes first.
I feel that it's idiotic that we think that someone isn't ready to fuck til 17 or 18, yet they're ready to drive a giant metal box around 60 mph at 15 1/2, and they're not ready to drink til 21.
American culture's views on what constitutes an adult are pretty ridiculous, I think once someone is 15 1/2 they have some decent sense of agency (Generally speaking, ofcourse), and when they hit 16 they deserve the rights of every adult (Generally speaking, ofcourse)
Thoughts?

[stromboli]

Having back in the day scraped a few drunk drivers off the road, my opinion on drinking is older rather than younger. Used to be 21 in my state, now 18. I think it should be 21. Never driven drunk but I grew up with cowboys in high school that did it routinely. No thanks.

Ever see a '56 Corvette that hit a large boulder at 70 mph? Ever see a family of 6 front ended by a truck at a combined speed of over 100? Peel a decapitated head off the grille of a truck? Dragged a 6 year old corpse out of the back of a station wagon that was so broken up the body sagged like a sack of grain? Sorry, my long experience growing up with and then raising teenagers says giving them access to alcohol at 16 is a bad idea.

[Jannabear]

Having back in the day scraped a few drunk drivers off the road, my opinion on drinking is older rather than younger. Used to be 21 in my state, now 18. I think it should be 21. Never driven drunk but I grew up with cowboys in high school that did it routinely. No thanks.

Ever see a '56 Corvette that hit a large boulder at 70 mph? Ever see a family of 6 front ended by a truck at a combined speed of over 100? Peel a decapitated head off the grille of a truck? Dragged a 6 year old corpse out of the back of a station wagon that was so broken up the body sagged like a sack of grain? Sorry, my long experience growing up with and then raising teenagers says giving them access to alcohol at 16 is a bad idea.

They're going to drink it either way.
And both of our points seem to be more anecdotal, for either of us to really have a point we'd need actual studies on people drinking alcohol at each age.
Either way it definitely shouldn't be 21.

[stromboli]

It is about responsibility and at age 16 you are not mature enough to be responsible. I bailed my 17 year old son out of jail on a drinking related issue. Fortunately he didn't kill anybody. And don't give me that "times change" shit. I have seen too much bad shit done by alcohol used irresponsibly to think otherwise. Handing a teen the keys to the car and also allowing him to drink is not a good plan.

Do some reading

http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/special-populations-co-occurring-disorders/underage-drinking

That is one source. I can give you several.

[TomFoolery]

There's no one age where the maturity fairy visits you in the middle of the night, sprinkles you with grown up dust and you wake the next morning, ready to make adult decisions. I know 14 year-olds wise beyond their years and 40 year-olds who shouldn't be considered legal adults.

From a psychological standpoint, there's a general agreement that the human brain continues to mature into the mid-20s, so really that's the time at which people are as ready as they'll ever be to make rational decisions. But let's be realistic, we can't force people into childhood for nearly a quarter of their adult lives: kids will be kids. We already know that setting age limits on everything from drinking to driving just tempts kids to violate them.

So basically, I don't know that there is a real answer. We could just set everything at 18 and not go out of our way to ruin the lives of anyone who is caught drinking, smoking, driving, etc. sooner. We treat underage kids like criminals when really we should look at them and realize most of us did all the same things and show them a little compassion for being twits because all of us were at one point or another.

[Jannabear]

It is about responsibility and at age 16 you are not mature enough to be responsible. I bailed my 17 year old son out of jail on a drinking related issue. Fortunately he didn't kill anybody. And don't give me that "times change" shit. I have seen too much bad shit done by alcohol used irresponsibly to think otherwise. Handing a teen the keys to the car and also allowing him to drink is not a good plan.

Do some reading

http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/special-populations-co-occurring-disorders/underage-drinking

That is one source. I can give you several.

I should clarify that If the drinking age was 16 It should be limited, probably 20 percent.
I'm not suggesting 16 year olds be able to drink vodka, and not even that it's a matter of maturity, more that their body is more sensitive to alcohol.

[Jannabear]

There's no one age where the maturity fairy visits you in the middle of the night, sprinkles you with grown up dust and you wake the next morning, ready to make adult decisions. I know 14 year-olds wise beyond their years and 40 year-olds who shouldn't be considered legal adults.

From a psychological standpoint, there's a general agreement that the human brain continues to mature into the mid-20s, so really that's the time at which people are as ready as they'll ever be to make rational decisions. But let's be realistic, we can't force people into childhood for nearly a quarter of their adult lives: kids will be kids. We already know that setting age limits on everything from drinking to driving just tempts kids to violate them.

So basically, I don't know that there is a real answer. We could just set everything at 18 and not go out of our way to ruin the lives of anyone who is caught drinking, smoking, driving, etc. sooner. We treat underage kids like criminals when really we should look at them and realize most of us did all the same things and show them a little compassion for being twits because all of us were at one point or another.

Everyone I've seen smoke, drink, and have sex from ages 15 1/2 - 17 seems to be doing it just as responsibly as any adult I've seen is primarily why I view it the way I do.
I'd say the position I'm probably the strongest fighting for is consent laws, mainly because we treat anyone who fucks a 16 year old currently as a pedo, when I don't even view someone having sex with someone who's 15 1/2 as pedophilia.
I think it's mainly because i view, generally speaking, that there isn't just kid, then adult.
There are 3 stages imo.
Kid. In between, then adult.
I feel that most of your rights should be given in the in between stage, so around 15 1/2 - 16.
I don't understand why we have the culture we do when it comes to maturity, we view it in a pretty idiotic way.

[stromboli]

All I can say is scrape a few bodies off the road and then come talk to me. Done here.

[TomFoolery]

Everyone I've seen smoke, drink, and have sex from ages 15 1/2 - 17 seems to be doing it just as responsibly as any adult I've seen is primarily why I view it the way I do.

You're funny. Do you not see the hypocrisy of this sentence? Why would a minor, if he or she fully understands the impact of underage smoking and drinking (legally and physically) still engage in such activity? You're going to tell me that a 15 year old girl who steals liquor from her parents' kitchen and has sex with her 19 year old boyfriend really just "gets" life and is capable of acting responsibly? Never mind the legal consequences she could face for drinking underage, never mind the fact that she could turn her boyfriend into a sex offender, never mind the impact that might have on her future, she's a grown up. That goes much farther toward proving irresponsibility than proving she's capable of making rational decisions.

I've seen plenty of adults lose their shit, get sick, and eventually die from years of abuse of these substances. Maybe there are teens who might want to sit down with a glass of Chardonnay and binge watch something on Netflix, but as far as I know, the definition of doing any of those things "responsibly" is pretty relative.

I'm 30 and look back at things I did in my teen years and I feel disgusted by how invincible I thought I was, and how I thought I had things figured out when really I was just an arrogant little shit. Teenagers are impulsive, irrational, and rarely consider the full impact of their actions. It's not meant as an insult to teenagers, but simply a statement of fact. Point out anecdotes if you like about teens you know who are starting their own business empires and diversifying stock portfolios, but that doesn't mean the biochemistry of the average teen's brain and maturity level is the same as that of the average adult. It just isn't.

https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/The-Teen-Brain-Behavior-Problem-Solving-and-Decision-Making-095.aspx

[FaithIsFilth]

All I can say is scrape a few bodies off the road and then come talk to me. Done here.

I remember a study that said the UK's drinking age of 16 creates much more responsible drinking/ drinkers than you see where the drinking age is 21, so scraping bodies off the road should actually make you more likely to favour the 16 year drinking age.

[Baruch]

Japanese version ... "Why do the Japanese drive so well?  Because all the bad ones are dead!"  This is also like the Star Trek classic episode about the long lived Yangs vs Comms.  All the short life span people died out in that planet's WW III.

Maybe we should have tryouts for the next Mad Max movie and invite all the teens to compete.  That will reduce the college education burden on parents.

[aitm]

IF we lowered the drinking age to 12 we would also lower the population, if we combined that with a driving age of 14 we could cut the population severely and save millions in unpaid social security, but the best savings would be to raise the age of consent to 30….really, I should run for president.

[doorknob]

When you are old enough to die for your country then you should be old enough to drink. 16 is too young to be pouring poison chemicals into your brain. 16 year olds have their own issues with out adding alcohol to it.

What their punishment should be probably not harsh. I drank under age and sowed my wild oats from 16 to 18. by the time I hit 21 drinking was no longer appealing I had out grown it. Not saying I never drink. Now I have a drink or two when relaxing or at social events. I dont' setforth with the purpose of getting drunk any more. Being may thought to be fun but for a dignified ass hole like myself I don't not like embarrassing my self or wearing my stupidity on my sleeve. alcohol has a way of taking dumb to a new level.

[Baruch]

I am not a teetotaller ... but I try to drink very moderately.  I agree with Doorknob ... but ironically.  Old men start wars, so raise the age for military entrance and drinking to 40 .. bwahaha.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Try raising your own children to worry about the drinking, fucking, fighting in wars and so on.  I've raised kids and was a kid myself. My son was drinking and fucking by 14 and nothing good came from any of it. My stepdaughter got knocked up at 14 and had her childhood taken from her by some dipshit who has never paid a penny in child support and my granddaughter is now 24 and has nothing to do with her mother.
It's real easy to sit and tell us that you should be allowed all the pleasures of adulthood while you're still a kid, try raising a few of them sitting up all night wondering if your kid is going to come home alive and in one piece or not or if he or she is going to get killed trying to act all grown up. I didn't begin to mature much until I was 30 and looking back I wish the age of consent was 42.

When you are old enough to die for your country then you should be old enough to drink.

Only if you have actually served in the military. If not then shut the fuck up about it and go suck on mommys tit a while longer..
Sorry,  that was kind of crude, but I think you should get the point..