Billy One Mate Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 On a recent holiday I met a group of Americans in their 20s and we talked about the alcohol problem in the UK (Underage drinking, binge drinking etc) According to them they dont have the same problem with the legal age for drinking being 21. I asked them what stops people below that age drinking ? One simple answer a liberal approach to wacky backy. The answer Mr Brown a liberal approach to grass, the kids are still able to get off their face but dont become a nuisance to Society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
germann Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 Can the mods change that smilie, he doesn't really look like he's winking. More sulking. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm 32 and drink high-octane booze at rock bottom prices here in Poland, so perhaps the sulk is more of a drunken slur! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirdick Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 The answer Mr Brown a liberal approach to grass, the kids are still able to get off their face but dont become a nuisance to Society. Well yes, there is always that. I wonder if any MHKs read this? *argh my face is all mashed up* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 The answer Mr Brown a liberal approach to grass, the kids are still able to get off their face but dont become a nuisance to Society. So your solution is to give them a more 'happy' drug? Bravo. How about we try and educate people not to take any drugs, wouldn't that be a better idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 Well yes, there is always that. I wonder if any MHKs read this? *argh my face is all mashed up* <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That's what drinking strong alcohol before you turn 21 does to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy One Mate Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 Ans I suppose just like all the education that has gone into stopping kids smoking. Thats really worked too hasnt it ?????????? In MY opinion a lot of the problem that we have these days is that we make such a big issue of drink, drugs etc that the teenagers who are at the rebellious time in their lives believe by misusing alcohol etc it is a way to be big and anti social. Take France as an example kids drink alcohol from an early age with their parents and therefore when they are teenagers its not such a novelty and hence no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 Sure, but the answer is surely not to just give them a different drug. Smacks of defeat.... I have to admit though, this is a pretty stupid proposal. As someone who could buy alcohol from the age of 13 with no questions asked, I really don't think slapping some arbitary age limit on certain classes of drink is really going to stop anything. I very much doubt it will even slow anyone down. I agree with you about introducing socially accepted drugs like alcohol into the family home to reduce the novelty, but I don't agree that in order to solve one form of drug abuse, you simply turn to a different drug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lectro Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 Drinking appeals to kids because it's rebellious and it's marketed as being a cool thing to do. Making something that is already illegal to do even more illegal (?) just adds to the glamour. The thrill is no longer a few sneaky bottles of WKD in the park, but who can get and drink the strongest spirits. Ans mentioned education. Good idea in theory but unfortunately I think it's possibly too late for us as a society. It's now far too big a part of our culture and a rite of passage almost from childhood to adulthood. To me alcohol abuse is not just getting tanked up, puking, starting a fight etc. It's how as a society we glamorise alcohol. Rather than alcohol being part of the social scene it *is* the social scene. It's not a good night unless you get hammered. How often have we boasted about the volume we drank, or that we can't remember a thing etc? I know I have done it. If we really wanted to change things then it would require a whole shift in our attitude towards alcohol from society as a whole. I have French cousins who were introduced to alcohol in the form of table wine at a relatively early age. There was no glamour attached to it - it was just another ingredient on the table. I'm not suggesting for one minute that France does not have any alcohol related problems - I'm sure they do. But in my experience, my cousins and their friends grew up with a far healthier respect for alcohol than I did. To break the cycle here would be very difficult. How can you educate a new generation to accept the opposite of what they see around them? How can you impart a different attitude when all around is a culture whos whole social interaction is so intertwined with alcohol? I suspect Mr. Brown and his fellow MHK's realise there is a problem and in their own way are trying to help. However I don't think that legislation which is totally unenforceable will solve this problem. In the meantime, while they go back to the drawing board to rethink it, perhaps they could spend some money and provide things for teenagers to do and places to go - especially now during the holidays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
When Skies Are Grey Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 In my opinion there are probably as many kids drinking underage now as there was (way) back when I was underage...the difference is now is that you see them all wandering around coz there if feck all else to do. Me and my mates just used to head round to each others houses, get the mate with the most facial hair to pop up the offy and get the cheapest booze they could (Mad Dog 20/20 anyone ) - we'd just listen to music and chat...and I didnt end up a menace to society!!! Kids today need to be force fed stimulation...this is the playstation and MTV generation - if something lasts for longer than five minutes they are not interested, which is whay they just mooch around looking moody (depsite the pastel coloured shirts!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speckled Frost Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 I think it's a fantastic idea but doesn't go far enough. It needs to be expanded so 21-25 can drink strong cider and beer and alcopops, 25-35 can consume wine, 35-40 can even dabble in fortified wine and sherry, 40-50 will be allowed spirits to a level of 37.5 per cent, 50-60 can have 40 per cent spirits and only after 60 can you savour the delights of blue and black label vodka, absinthe and polish spirit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Git Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 On a recent holiday I met a group of Americans in their 20s When I was in LA a few years ago with a group of friends of varying ages we were rather taken aback when the youngest of us was asked for proof of age in a bar. We hadn't realised that the age limit for aclohol was 21. He was 21 as it happened, and pulled out his Hobby Bobby warrant card as proof of age. Why he'd brought it on holiday with him I don't know. I wouldn't be for raising the age over here to 21 but would like to see the 18 age limit properly enforced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 I wouldn't be for raising the age over here to 21 but would like to see the 18 age limit properly enforced. I think that's probably the most effective solution outside the social tolerance sphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Git Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 get the mate with the most facial hair to pop up the offy and get the cheapest booze they could (Mad Dog 20/20 anyone ) Nah, when I was a kid you used to be able to bring your own bottle to Port Jack off licence and get it filled with sherry (or was it cider?). The other favourite was to raid your parents drinks cabinet and put a little of everything into one bottle and drink that. The theory was that they wouldn't notice a little rum, whicky, vodka, etc. going missing. Talk about mixing your drinks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FCMR Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 The big problem on the island is that the kids have got no selection of entertainment, so to sit up at the Rose gardens drinking is the done thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 The other favourite was to raid your parents drinks cabinet and put a little of everything into one bottle and drink that. The theory was that they wouldn't notice a little rum, whicky, vodka, etc. going missing. Talk about mixing your drinks Hell yes, I remember drinking my Grandmothers drinks cabinet dry over the course of a summer when I was at hers every day for lunch from work. All mixed up in Trendy Pops bottles. I was 13. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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