I was Governor of Kansas in 1984 when President Ronald Reagan and his administration, in a not-so-subtle fashion, blackmailed states to change state laws on access to alcohol from 18 to 21 years of age. The question now is, after over thirty years of experience with the drinking age at 21, is it really working and accomplishing the worthy goals that were set forth? I say no. But more than that, I say in many ways it has done harm not anticipated at the time. Consumption of alcohol by 18, 19, and 20 year olds has, in my assessment, not gone down—although one can find stats to back up whatever position you take. What has really happened is that their drinking has gone underground and likely has accelerated the huge issue of binge drinking, particularly on college campuses. Given that much of the activity has moved from public facilities to the shadows where any kind of supervision or oversight is for practical purposes gone, this should not surprise us.
Law enforcement and local courts spend time and resources trying to enforce the current law with limited success, where if the law was changed, their focus could be on the real problem of excessive and binge drinking and the many other costs associated with it—including big problems like drinking and driving, domestic violence, and sexual assault. If more of the drinking is brought back into public view, consumption might even go down. In 1986, as Governor of Kansas, I also pushed the state to modernize our liquor laws and change the Constitution to allow liquor to be sold by the drink. It was passed on a 2 to 1 margin over the threat that consumption would soar and driving fatalities would dramatically increase. Neither took place, and in fact, consumption went down in the immediate years that followed.
I suggest this with absolutely no disrespect to MADD. I simply believe we have given it enough time and, with the results, we have the justification to change back. I’m motivated and informed by my ten years on a college campus and going on three years as a faculty advisor to a fraternity. Young people drinking is not the problem. It is the irresponsible use of alcohol and binge drinking that makes no sense and causes real harm. If we put the energy and money wasted on enforcing a law that can’t be enforced into the real problems, we’d be much better off. So let’s do it. Make it 18, and add more common sense back into our alcohol laws.
Law enforcement and local courts spend time and resources trying to enforce the current law with limited success, where if the law was changed, their focus could be on the real problem of excessive and binge drinking and the many other costs associated with it—including big problems like drinking and driving, domestic violence, and sexual assault. If more of the drinking is brought back into public view, consumption might even go down. In 1986, as Governor of Kansas, I also pushed the state to modernize our liquor laws and change the Constitution to allow liquor to be sold by the drink. It was passed on a 2 to 1 margin over the threat that consumption would soar and driving fatalities would dramatically increase. Neither took place, and in fact, consumption went down in the immediate years that followed.
I suggest this with absolutely no disrespect to MADD. I simply believe we have given it enough time and, with the results, we have the justification to change back. I’m motivated and informed by my ten years on a college campus and going on three years as a faculty advisor to a fraternity. Young people drinking is not the problem. It is the irresponsible use of alcohol and binge drinking that makes no sense and causes real harm. If we put the energy and money wasted on enforcing a law that can’t be enforced into the real problems, we’d be much better off. So let’s do it. Make it 18, and add more common sense back into our alcohol laws.
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