Underage Drinking Laws Put Young People in Jeopardy

"Society can enforce the law in as draconian a manner as it pleases. The law will never stop underage drinking. But the law, enforced as Valparaiso police claim it is, will stop intoxicated individuals from seeking medical care if they make the mistake of drinking too much."

Watching the news tonight (something I try to avoid whenever possible) I caught a story about the evils of underaged drinking and how as graduation season nears, even parents are having to be careful that they don't break the law and actually buy alcohol and hold supervised parties for their graduating sons and daughters since we all know that alcohol before you turn 21 is listed in the Bible as one of the 7 deadly sins.

After you turn 21, on your 21st birthday even, you suddenly gain the knowledge to know how to drink responsibly since you are most likely away from home and no longer under your parents watchful supervision.

I'm not saying that all parents would supervise their children's forays into drinking. Or that all children experiment with it as soon as they turn 21. But I think that our attmosphere of "You can't do this" makes it more likely that a child will do it, most likely before they turn 21.