Preparing a presentation for the Annapolis Group in June 2008, John McCardell former President of Middlebury College noticed a glaring contradiction regarding the rights granted to young adults in America. By age 18, youth are granted the right to vote, smoke nicotine, serve in the military, sign contracts, sit on trial juries, own real estate, consent to medical treatment, operate motor vehicles, agree to consensual sex, and make their own last will and testament. But, young adults are not allowed to purchase or possess alcoholic beverages until the age of 21. In effect, this means that American Youth are not allowed to consume alcohol on their own until age 21. The Annapolis Group consists of influential individuals from about 120 of our leading national independent liberal arts colleges. This group meets regularly to share mutual interests and information that can strengthen their respective educational programs. When John McCardell exposed the drinking age disparity to several Annapolis Group members, the Group discovered their common desire to revisit public debate over the national drinking age of 21. This resulted from their view that the current drinking age:
- is unrealistic and routinely violated in college age youths
- encourages dangerous “binge drinking”
- promotes students to make ethical compromises such as fake ID’s thus eroding respect for laws
- inhibits development of ideas to better prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol
In July 2008, John McCardell, founder of Choose Responsibly then molded this consensus aspiration to question the minimum legal drinking age into the Amethyst Initiative, a petition calling for an unimpeded dispassionate debate on the drinking age. The Initiative has now collected over 100 college and university president signatures.1-4
McCardell also argues that the federal government first usurped the right of individual States to set their own drinking age and then effectively curtailed any debate about a national drinking age limit with the passage of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. This act required all States to raise their minimum purchase and public possession of alcohol to age 21. As incentive, the 10% highway fund provided under the Federal Highway Aid Act would be reduced to States that did not comply with setting their drinking age to 21. Petitioners of the Amethyst Initiative contend this impedes rational debate of the issue since States fear loss of their highway funds. 1,5
The purple gemstone amethyst was chosen as the symbol for the initiative on lowering the drinking age because both ancient Greeks and Romans believed that it could ward off alcohol abuse and alcoholism. It was also thought to be an antidote for the negative effects of alcohol intoxication and alleged to promote moderation in drinking habits. The word Amethyst is derived from Ancient Greek words meaning “not” (a-) and “intoxicated” (methustos). In Greek mythology, Amethyst was a young girl who incurred the wrath of the God Dionysus after he became intoxicated with red wine. Amethyst cried to Goddess Diana for help. Diana immediately turned the girl into a white stone. Upon discovering what had happened Dionysus wept, and, as his tears fell into his goblet, the wine spilled over the white rock, turning it purple. Since the Amethyst Initiave ultimately seeks to encourage moderation and responsibility as an alternative to current drunkenness and reckless decisions about alcohol by many American youths, Amethyst is a meaningful symbol for this movement.1-2
Many reports present very scary statistics on the negative impact of underage drinking in America. However, some controversy continues over the validity of these reports. An example of this was a investigative report conducted by Kathy McNamara-Meis and published in Forbes MediaCritic criticizing statistics reported by the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) during the mid 1990s.6,7 This found very little to no substantiation of CASA’s assertions that alcohol was responsible for 60% of college women acquiring a major sexually transmitted disease; 90% of campus rapes, and 95% of violent campus crimes. The investigation also found little to validate CASA’s report that a 300% increase in college age women drinking to get drunk occurred between 1977 and 1993. Dr. David Hanson and others feel that scare tactics or sensationalization of inaccurate data serves to attract media attention and even influence public policy but doesn’t contribute to reduction of alcohol abuse. Worse, they may even promote its abuse by creating an exaggeration of alcohol abuse by youth – the more young people believe their peers are drinking heavily, the more they tend to conform in order to be included in a perceived social norm that they are missing out. Normative assessment has been a prevention tool that has been shown to be more effective in influencing behavior than scare tactics.8 Studies on drinking by college students have actually demonstrated that 98% of drinking students have never been in trouble at college from their drinking, 93% allege never having lower grades from drinking, 93% have never come to class after having several drinks and 90% have never damaged property or engaged in inappropriate behavior because of drinking. Further, many studies demonstrate an increasing number of college students abstaining from alcohol use.7 Despite the controversy regarding statistics and data on the negative impact of underage drinking in America, there is no argument that it has become a serious problem in America especially among high school, college and university students.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), and various research data document the following statistics: 9-10
- Daily, 3 teens are killed while driving under the influence of alcohol and 6 more die from other alcohol-related causes. Underage drinkers are less likely to wear seat belts than their non-drinking peers.
- In 2003, 3,571 drivers ages 16-20 died in motor vehicle crashes. 32% (1,131) had been drinking and 26% were legally drunk at the time of the crash.
- In 2003, 6,002 age 16-20 youths died in motor vehicle crashes and alcohol was involved in 38% of these deaths.
- A 2001 survey of college students under age 21 found 26% admitted driving after drinking alcohol, greater than 10% drove after consuming more than 5 drinks and almost 25% rode with a high or drunk driver at least once in the 30 days before the survey. 41% of frequent heavy youth drinkers admitted riding with an intoxicated driver compared to 14% of those who never drank.
- In 2000 only 7% of drivers were ages 15-20 but this age group represented 13% of all drivers who were involved in fatal auto crashes.
- Americans who began drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who wait until the age 21.
- The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) deemed alcohol abuse and dependence to be “developmental disorders” in 2004.
- Research by NIAAA Director T.K.Li in 2004 found that the onset of alcohol dependence peaks by age 18.
- It is estimated that binge drinking teenage girls are 63% more likely to become teen mothers.
- A poll of 11,700 college students from 128 US colleges found that those who got drunk for the first time before age 13 were twice as likely to admit to unplanned sex and more than twice likely to have unprotected sex because of drinking as compared to those who waited until they were 19 or older.
- A Kaiser Family Foundation found 23% of sexually active youth ages 15-24 had unprotected sex and 24% of 15-17 year olds engaged in more sexual activity than planned because of drinking.
- It is estimated that 4,554 annual underage deaths are due to excessive alcohol use. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that alcohol also plays a role in all three leading causes of deaths in youths: unintentional injury (auto crashes and drownings), suicides and homicides.
- Those who start drinking before age 14 are five times more likely to be injured while under the influence of alcohol at some time during their lives than those who begin after age 21.
- Young binge or heavy drinkers are more than twice as likely to attempt or contemplate suicide. They are also more likely to injure themselves as compared to non-drinkers.
- States with “zero tolerance” laws to reduce youth drinking and driving have statistically significant fewer suicide deaths among 15 to 20 year olds than States without such laws.
- The brain develops from birth, and alcohol use prior to age 21 impairs crucial elements of its development. Heavy drinking youth score 10% lower cognitive skills than non-drinking peers even after 3 weeks of sobriety.
- It is estimated that underage drinking costs society $53 billion annually. This is from medical costs, violent crime, loss productivity, and loss of income of those affected.
- A study of some 6,500 individuals found that by age 23, those who began drinking by the seventh grade were more likely to miss work for no good reason, more likely to be substance abusers, more likely to engage in criminal and violent behaviors, and were from 1.7 to 2.3 times more likely to binge drink, exhibit signs of alcohol dependence, and experience more alcohol problems than those who waited until the age of 21.
- Homicide is the second leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds and alcohol is involved in 36% of homicides in people under age 21.
- Alcohol is involved in 12% male suicides and 8% of female suicides in those under the age of 21.
- 45% of rapes, 37% of other assaults, 44% of robberies, and an estimated 50% of violent crimes committed by those under the age of 21 is alcohol related.
- More than 70,000 US students ages 18-24 are victims of alcohol related sexual assault or date rape every year.>
Recent studies by the NHTSA estimate that 4,441 drunken driving deaths have been prevented by the National Minimum Drinking Age Act over the past 5 years.11 Another study found that the Act currently resulted in a 11% reduction in the ratio of alcohol-positive to alcohol-negative younger than age 21drivers involved in fatal crashes in the US. This study also found that state expansions of the Minimum Drinking Age Act that makes it illegal to use false IDs to purchase alcohol significantly reduced the percentage of drinking drivers aged 20 and younger being involved in fatal crashes.12
Despite what I consider to be overwhelming and admittedly very scary evidence that underage drinking results in terrible consequences, the Amethyst Initiative disguises its advocacy for a lowering of the drinking age as just being a call for a dispassionate debate on the subject. Many argue that lowering the drinking age would not reduce underage drinking and would only lead to a greater pool of young drinking drivers. Some also believe that lowering the drinking age will actually result in even younger underage drinkers. However, Missouri, South Dakota, Vermont and Minnesota have already introduced State legislation to reduce the drinking age to 18 for all their residents. Kentucky, Wisconsin and South Carolina are considering legislation that would lower the drinking age to 18 only for their residents that are serving in the military. Also, the National Youth Rights Association has launched a petition drive like the Amethyst Initiative to lower the drinking age in the United States.2
Those opposed to lowering the drinking age contend that if it were to occur, it would only increase the availability of alcohol to even younger youth and that it would increase binge drinking not lessen it. A Nationwide Insurance survey found 72% of adults currently share these views on the issue. Many also support increasing enforcement of the current laws regarding underage drinking and promoting more “zero tolerance” legislation to more effectively deal with the current problem. 2
What I find most interesting about the Amethyst Initiative is the assertion that the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 inhibits development of ideas to better prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol because of the 10% annual federal highway appropriation tied to it. The Amethyst Initiate web site provides examples of ideas that can be developed that consists of 13:
- mandatory alcohol education tied to driver licensing;
- alcohol education to include exposure to victims of drunk drivers and to individuals in recovery to expose future drivers to the severe consequences of irresponsible use;
- lowering the alcohol content of alcoholic beverages.
I believe that these good ideas should be considered and put in place regardless of whatever alcohol drinking age is in effect. Developments like the “social norming” initiative at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville that relies on peer counseling, social events (e.g. its HooFest, an alcohol-free event to promote safe socializing), and solid information about alcohol to challenge misperceptions that students have about drinking seem to be a much better approach to the issue.14 I must be missing something as I think these and other good ideas can and should be developed now and that their development should be unimpeded by the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. The prestigious group of national scholars participating in the Amethyst Initiative can make better use of their time, energy and resources to develop and support programs that help curb underage drinking and encourage future responsible use of alcohol by our nation’s college age youths.
Darryl S. Inaba, PharmD., CADC III
November 2008
References:
1. Amethyst Initiative (2008), http://www.amethystinitiative.org/about/ accessed 11/8/08.
2. Addiction Counselor Certification Board of Oregon (2008), Amethyst. ACCBO Newsletter, P.1, September-October 2008.
3. Alcohol and You: For Young Adults, For Educators, For Parents (2008), Choose Responsibly, http://www.chooseresponsibility.org accessed 10/25/08.
4. Smith A, (2008), The Tuesday Ten: Amethyst Founder John McCardell. The Emory Wheel, http://www.emorywheel.com/detail-pf.php?n=25796 accessed 10/25/08.
5. Hanson DJ, (1997), The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/youthissue/1092767630.html accessed 10/25/08.
6. McNamara-Meis K, (1995), Burned. Forbes MediaCritic, pp. 20-24.
7. Hanson DJ, (1997), Underage Drinking, http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/underagedrinking.html accessed 10/25/08.
8. Lewis MA and Neighbors C (2006), Social Norms Aoproaches Using Descriptive Drinking Norms Education: A Review of the Research on Personalized Normative Feedback. J Am Coll Health, 54(4):213-218.
9. The Toll of Underage Drinking (2005), The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY), http://camy.org/factsheets/print.php?factsheetID=7 accessed 11/8/08.
10. The Toll of Underage Drinking (2005), The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY), http://camy.org/factsheets/print.php?factsheetID=13 accessed 11/8/08.
11. NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts (2008), Lives Saved in 2007 by Restraint Use and Minimum Drinking Age Laws, http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/NCSA/Content/RNotes/2008/811049r.pdf accessed 11/21/08.
12. Fell JC, Fisher DA, Voas RB, Blackman K, and Tippetts AS (2008), The Relationship of Underage Drinking Laws to Reductions in Drinking Drivers in Fatal Crashes in the United States. Accident Analysis Prevention 2008, 40:1430-1440.
13. Amethyst Initiative (2008), http://www.amethystinitiative.org/why-sign/ accessed 10/25/08.
14. Wilson B, (2008), University Uses ‘Social Norming’ to Curb Drinking. NPR http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95937183&sc=emaf accessed 10/24/08.
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