Encyclopedia of Opinion
Question
Should the drinking age be 18?
Position‹4 of 4

There should be no drinking age.

This position holds that there should be no minimum drinking age at all. It argues that such laws do little to prevent underage drinking — police rarely prioritise it, young people drink regardless — and that minimum-age laws are a relatively recent invention many societies have done without.

Supporting arguments · 3

  1. Underage drinking is not a priority for law enforcement
    Law enforcement agencies have better things to do than spend their time and resources handling underage drinkers.
  2. Historically, there were no drinking age laws
    The drinking age is a fairly recent invention in legal history, and there is no real need for it.
  3. Young people drink regardless of the drinking age
    A significant percentage of the population engages in underage drinking no matter how low or high the drinking age is.