Solution to teen drinking problem?

When looking for ways to reduce the amount of teen drinking in the US, there are not very many options open. The regular punishments that are received by violators are doing little to nothing to deter the teen drinking. The lowering of the drinking age is still the best choice in my opinion, but other scientists have come up with a new "solution" to the problem.

Leading scientist Dr. Roderic B. Park has been researching a new method to stop the abuse of alcohol by underage kids. He believes that if teens were given a "liquor permit" it would keep them from overusing alcohol. He thinks that the reason for the abuse is that kids are not educated enough about the drastic effects that alcohol can have so they are unprepared for the consequences. The liquor permit would educate them on how to properly consume alcohol without endangering their own lives as well as the lives of others.

When this liquor permit was experimented with in Boulder, Colorado, there was a drastic change in behavior by the college students. Accidents and drinking violence dropped to less than half of the previous levels they had been at as well as the attitudes of the fraternities and sororities. Because these teens would introduced to and allowed to use the alcohol before they went off to college, they were much more aware of the consequences that they would face if they abused their alcohol privileges. They became safer drinkers rather than the inexperienced ones at most universities.

There are a few downsides to this proposal as in most cases. It is feared that advertising may use this new permit to their advantage and begin to target younger audiences in the alcohol ads. As serious as this is, it could be prevented if the advertising companies were simply censored or told they were not allowed to. Also, this permit would completely change our alcohol culture, which means it would take time before it became entirely effective, But I believe that it is a step in the right direction to getting teen drinking to a safe level.