Lower the Drinking Age?

by NCSL Staff

A call by several college presidents and deans to lower the drinking age could have state and federal implications. Earlier this week, producers of NCSL's daily Grass Catcher noticed an article in the Baltimore Sun newspaper on Colleges: Drinking age does not work. In the hours and days to follow, several television stations and newspapers have also covered the story.

NCSL's State Legislatures Magazine ran a story on this topic in our June edition on Drinking While Young. The article highlights how legislators in Minnesota, Vermont and several other states have considered lowering the drinking age. And citizens in Missouri and South Dakota may be looking at initiatives on this issue.

What NCSL's article highlights is how the legal drinking age is tied to federal highway funding for states. States risk losing up to 10 percent of their federal highway funds if they pass a measure to lower the drinking age. So far, no state has done it.

Is this loss of funds the reason why states have not lowered the drinking age, or is it something more? What we do know, is that this story has legs, and there is definitely more to come.