Do you remember where you were when you had your first drink?
I’m not talking about water in this case; I’m talking about the ol’ alcohol. While I may not partake in it anymore, I do still remember a New Year’s Eve where I may have had a little too much Malibu rum and had to wander home two hours from a neighbouring community. The kicker, I was well below the legal drinking age, sorry, mom and dad.
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I’m not here to recount drunken tales of a past version of myself. Rather, I’m here to discuss an article I found in The Lloydminster Times from 1978. Probably to no one’s surprise, people below the drinking age have been partaking forever.
Back then, as is the case today, the drinking age in Alberta was 18 and 19 in Saskatchewan. In 1978, the concern was that kids were starting to get into the special sauce quite young. A Lloydminster Blazers coach by the name of Larry Leach brought forward the concern. Lloyd Robertson was in town and it was an opportunity for them to potentially get the ear of the CTV National news.
A meeting was held and there were plenty of speakers, such as the Thorpe Recovery Centre, who spoke to the importance of having an early conversation about underage drinking. Stats presented in the article included the fact 52 per cent of teenagers under 18 were drinking and 71 per cent of alcohol was supplied by older students. There were reports of kids as young as 13 drinking.
In terms of remedying the situation, a large responsibility rested with the parents to educate their kids about not drinking and the dangers of alcohol.
Mayor Russ Robertson closed the meeting by asking two questions, one of which asked what the young people think of this.
The legal drinking age used to be either 20 or 21, dropping to 18 or 19 across Canada. In my opinion, the actual drinking age isn’t as important as the education surrounding the issue. People start drinking young because their friends are doing it and they don’t understand the risks. Of course, some people succumb to peer pressure, which is unfortunately inevitable.
I also recognize there’s no one way to solve the issue. Even today, getting cigarettes and vapes out of kid’s hands continue to be a problem. My story looks quite different from most; I got the partying out of my system and now lead a clean and sober life.
This is still an issue today. Is the drinking age too low? In my opinion I think education is important before we talk about age.
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