Spring Break Boozing May Put Young Brains at Risk

This article is typical neoprohibitionist junk science. There is really no hard scientific evidence that alcohol is any more dangerous for an 18 year old than a 21 year old or even a 25 year old. Yes, excessive drinking can be quite harmful indeed, but that is true at any age, not just those under 25. I'm not advocating drinking, but to imply that there is absolutely no safe level of alcohol for an 18-24 year old young adult is absurd given the well-known toxicological maxim that the dose makes the poison. Even truly nasty poisons like arsenic and mercury have a supposedly "safe" level according to the EPA. And 3 or 4 drinks in an evening is NOT a "binge" by any stretch of the imagination, except perhaps for a 14 year old or younger. Calling such amounts that trivializes real binge drinking, which IS very dangerous at ANY age.

By the way, the latest research shows that the brain continues to develop well into the 30s and 40s, and possibly beyond that. Even so, the vast majority of the brain's development is essentially done by 18.

http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-12-brain-fully-mature-30s-40s.html

Let America be America again, and lower the drinking age to 18. If you're old enough to go to war, you're old enough to go to the bar. 'Nuff said.

Ajax the Great of NY 11:01PM March 17, 2012