[Opinion] Legal Drug is Poison of Choice
Norwich University taught me how to drink. In this new environment, I found a social scene perpetuated by alcohol. You would be surprised how much drinking occurs on a “dry campus.”
By: Laura Lemire
Most Alaskans might not be aware of Vermont’s reputation in the lower 48 as a “Hell-raising” state. Vermont was the first state to legalize same-sex marriage and is one of the most liberal states.
The bill was introduced by Richard Marron, a Vermont State Representative. If it passes, Vermont would stand out as the only state with a legal drinking age under 21. 17 law makers to date have signed on as co-sponsors.
Minor alcohol consumption is not uncommon, but it is more difficult for minors to consume because under aged drinkers can not purchase the alcohol themselves.
A mere four years ago, I would have cheered my home-state with praise and rallied in support of such a bill; but this was back in the day, this was before I was legal.
When the big 2-1 hits, somehow we’re all amazed that we made it there at all.
When an adolescent reaches the age of 21, the days of jumping fences and playing hide and seek with the cops are over. The standard ceremony involves a trip to the bar with 21-year-old peers to celebrate this coming-of-age.
Most bars down south give a free-drink to the newbie when they read the birth date printed on the license. Another fresh 21-year-old has been inaugurated in the bar culture.
The fact of the matter is that alcohol is a dangerous drug and the younger an individual is, the less likely they are to drink responsibly. Drinking is harder to get away with when you are living at home but when an 18-year-old reaches college, the windows of opportunity are swung wide open.
My first two years of college were spent in a drunken stupor. I attended a small private military college, enrolled in the civilian sector. Two years prior to my attendance, a student fell to his untimely death out of a fifth story window; alcohol played a factor.
Norwich University taught me how to drink. In this new environment, I found a social scene perpetuated by alcohol. You would be surprised how much drinking occurs on a “dry campus.”
Unprepared for these new experiences, I was launched into a brave new world where sex and intoxication ruled supreme and where I continued to push my limits to the point of abuse. It can take years to break free from the brink of alcoholism.
Moving to Alaska, what I realized is that this is a problem everywhere, across the U.S.; the youth culture is drinking its angst away. But how many people are aware of the detrimental effects of alcohol on a developing brain?
The fact is that legal drugs, alcohol included, kill 30 times more people than illegal drugs do. Perhaps the reason why people overlook this statistic is that alcohol related deaths occur most frequently in an older subset of the population, and the effects of alcohol abuse come much later than those of habitual legal drug abuse.
Alcohol education is a preventative step and should be emphasized more in health classes across the country. We need more than just a DARE program for the fifth graders. If Vermont intends to lower the drinking age, the state should first take the consequences into consideration and find a way to promote responsible alcohol use.
