Minimum Drinking Age Law

While the popular tourist destination of Wildwood, N.J. is known for its beaches and fun, carnival-like atmosphere, locals say this party-like scene can create a number of alcohol-related problems. Thankfully, the Cape Assist coalition is there to help prevent and reduce these types of problems.

FY 2012 funding for the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) program is in jeopardy, as both the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Subcommittee on Appropriations in the House, as well as the full House Appropriations Committee, have voted to eliminate funding for the program. The Senate CJS Subcommittee on Appropriations has not yet marked up its version of the bill, however, which means there is still time to influence their decision. That’s why CADCA issued a Legislative Alert to the field encouraging coalition leaders to contact their Senators to urge them to adequately fund the EUDL program in FY 2012. If you haven’t already, please act on this as soon as possible.

A group of researchers have successfully debunked the myth that lowering the drinking age would reduce underage drinking, at least amongst college students.

A coalition in a Tampa, Fla. suburb will give their local police department a grant to help curb the sale of alcohol to minors. A $5,000 grant from the Hernando County Community Anti-Drug Coalition will allow the Brooksville Police Department to double the number of undercover operations it conducts to enforce compliance with state laws for purchasing alcohol. Thanks to this funding, the coalition will hire teens to conduct unannounced compliance checks with police officers. Officers will arrest employees at stores, bars and restaurants who are caught selling alcohol to minors.

Highly visible cooperative projects, in which colleges and their surrounding communities target off-campus drinking settings, can reduce alcohol use among college students, according to a report by researchers supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Guide to Community Preventive Services has released two reports on "Maintaining Limits on Days and Hours of Sale of Alcoholic Beverages to Prevent Excessive Alcohol Consumption and Related Harms." These reports are posted on the American Journal of Preventive Medicine website and will be published in their December 2010 print edition.

Congressmen Jack Kingston and Gene Taylor introduced H.R. Bill 5958, which would allow military personnel who are 18 and on active duty to purchase and drink beer and wine at certain locations on military installations. CADCA sent a letter to Congressmen Kingston and Taylor expressing its concerns with the bill and urged them to reconsider moving forward with this legislation.

Guam's Acting Governor Dr. Mike Cruz today signed into law the Ramon Oberiano Act which raises the legal drinking age from 18 to 21. The measure, which takes effect immediately, has been dubbed a success by coalitions in Guam which played a major role in getting the measure passed.

One of the stories that made national headlines the past couple of years was an attempt by a group of college presidents to reduce the Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) from 21 to 18. While research has shown that the MLDA saves lives, there are still those who argue that reducing the legal drinking age could result in less alcohol use on college campuses. During CADCA's 20th Annual National Leadership Forum, a researcher with the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) who has studied the impact of the MLDA, will present the latest research on this topic and reasons why the MLDA should remain at 21.

 Fatalities from operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol remain a significant problem and community concern in the United States. A study published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research provides further support that enacting and enforcing state minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) laws and impaired-driving policies reduces alcohol-related fatal crashes among young drivers. The findings in this research highlight the need for all states to implement such laws. The research underscores the continued need for community coalitions to focus efforts on advocating and enforcing state MLDA laws, to enact local related policy and to strengthen existing state laws.

An editorial in the Washington Post published earlier this month said the Amethyst letter, which called for lowering the drinking age, is not the solution to the nation’s drinking problem on college campuses. Instead, college administrators should work on enforcing the law.

Last month, Congresswomen Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) and Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) introduced the Support 21 Act, which would reinforce public support for keeping and enforcing the age 21 drinking law, and strengthen underage drinking efforts. Now, CADCA is asking all coalitions to urge their representative to sign on as a co-sponsor of this bill.

Amid renewed calls to consider reducing the legal drinking age, a new University of Georgia study finds that lower drinking ages increase unplanned pregnancies and pre-term births among young people.