A recent poll by Nationwide Insurance has found that Americans oppose lowering the minimum drinking age from 21 to 18, as it is in basically all developed countries, by a large margin. An overwhelming majority of 78 percent of Americans are against such a change in current laws. Also, it appears that parents are so polarized against the proposal that they will likely not vote for a state representative who supports lowering the legal drinking age.

Meanwhile, more than 100 college presidents have signed the Amethyst Initiative, asking government to consider lowering the legal drinking age to 18 from 21. The United States is probably the only developed country with a minimum drinking age higher than 18, set in 1984 by the Congress through the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which denies ten percent of highway funds to states allowing drinking under 21.

Statistics say that more than half of underage college students engage in binge drinking. Supporters of the Amethyst Initiative claim that the drinking laws have driven binges underground, and that clandestine drinking is bound to be more irresponsible than if it were legal to consume alcohol. Amethyst is the gemstone that ancient Greeks believed warded off drunkenness. They allege that not allowing college students to have a bottle of beer when they most desire encourages binge drinking which could lead to far more incidents than if allowed, or would prevent teenagers from seeking help in an emergency case.

According to the federal National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, college drinking contributes to about 1,700 student deaths, 599,000 injuries and 97,000 cases of sexual assault or date rape annually.