I live in Ontario, Canada, where the drinking age is 19. The neighbouring province of Quebec has a drinking age of 18.
The main problems I hear of are on the edges of legality. For example, 18-year-olds from Ottawa, ON cross the border to Hull, QC, where they can get into bars. And, of course, as with anywhere else, there's binge drinking of newly of-age teens.
The worst problems happen when underage kids drink themselves to the point of alcohol poisoning, then don't get medical help because they're worried about getting in trouble.
Basically, my opinion is that the drinking age should be set to the point where there's a medical reason for it not to be any lower. I'm not sure exactly where this is, but 18 is probably a good number. I don't think that you can count on males being finished developing at 17.
The main problems I hear of are on the edges of legality. For example, 18-year-olds from Ottawa, ON cross the border to Hull, QC, where they can get into bars. And, of course, as with anywhere else, there's binge drinking of newly of-age teens.
The worst problems happen when underage kids drink themselves to the point of alcohol poisoning, then don't get medical help because they're worried about getting in trouble.
Basically, my opinion is that the drinking age should be set to the point where there's a medical reason for it not to be any lower. I'm not sure exactly where this is, but 18 is probably a good number. I don't think that you can count on males being finished developing at 17.