@cobrat It is highly unusual for someone to get drunk off half a can of beer, or even three beers (unless they are “chugged.” We should not base our national alcohol policy on the effect that it has on a small fraction of the population.
To be clear, one can get plenty drunk on beer, get a DUI, do stupid and dangerous things, and so forth. But beer is far more limiting, and it is far easier for people to gauge its effects and limit its consumption. Kids who mix their own drinks with hard liquor often can’t see how much they are pouring in their cup and end up pouring in eight or nine ounces, or almost the equal of a six-pack’s worth of alcohol, in a single drink. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I find it highly unlikely that someone would get alcohol poisoning from drinking beer. The crackdown on fraternity parties has actually caused an increased in dangerous drinking patterns.
Many European countries have a drinking age of 16 for beer, and no age at all when one is with a parent. Our goal should be to encourage moderation and to discourage the use of hard liquor. An outright ban on alcohol for 18 to 21 year olds doesn’t do that, in my view. I’m not saying that drinking beer is risk free, but people are going to drink, and to that end if we can channel them to drinking beer in moderation or wine with meals, I think that’s a good thing.