CHANGE IN LAW LED TO BINGE DRINKING

Binge drinking in college represents something akin to what happened to
society during alcohol prohibition. When alcohol was prohibited, beer and
wine consumption all but vanished and was replaced with illegal hard
liquor, and binge drinking became the norm for many people, including
teenagers.

Twenty years ago, binge drinking wasn't really a problem on college
campuses. Although alcohol consumption occurred, generally it wasn't a
problem for most.

With the demise of 3.2 beer, and raising the drinking age to 21, young
adults found themselves in between being a child and an adult. No longer
were they permitted to consume low-alcohol beer in a legal and controlled
manner, but were forced to consume it illegally, and, similar to what
happened during prohibition, binge drinking increased and has become a problem.

The puritans among us must be made to realize that they cannot control the
behavior of all the people all the time, that their vision of a drug- and
alcohol-free society can never exist. That prohibition, even partial
prohibition, is nothing more than a means of bringing out the worst in people.

Someday we'll realize that we can't protect our children by denying them
everything, that they must learn through experience and that we need to be
there when they are ready to learn so they have some guidance other than a
simplistic slogan. Until we do, binge drinking is here to stay, and the
consequences are far worse than allowing 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds to
consume low-alcohol beer.

More kids die from drinking today than did 20 years ago, but change has
caused that?

Jim White
Oregon