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Groups oppose drinking-age reduction
What's been billed by some as an effort to curtail binge drinking on college campuses has stirred up plenty of controversy.One hundred college presidents and chancellors — including some from Virginia and Maryland — recently signed a letter asking the federal government to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, or to at least open the topic for debate.
Tom Harris, executive director of the Fauquier Community Alliance for Drug Rehabilitation and Education (CADRE), and Jeff Levy, a representative for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), say a debate would be fine, but changing the existing law would be ridiculous
“The CADRE board's position would be to support MADD and their position — which is not to change the law,” Harris said. “Personally I would welcome a debate, just to see what the impacts of changing the law would be.”
One of the unintended consequences could be a shift in binge drinking from college campuses to local bars, thereby exacerbating the existing problem, Harris said.
Levy disagreed to a certain extent. Lowering the drinking age wouldn't just shift the binge drinking from college campuses to the community, it would shift the problem from college to high school, Levy maintained.
See the Fauquier Times-Democrat for the complete story...
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