There is currently a hot debate about teenage alcohol abuse and the legal drinking age of 21, and intelligent people have been arguing on both sides of the issue debate — whether to maintain the current drinking age or to consider changing it.

Everyone agrees that teenage drinking is a huge public health problem. Previously, I've written about the pervasive alcohol problems among college students:

• binge drinking
• deaths from alcohol toxicity
• deaths and injuries from accidents and car crashes
• assaultive behaviors and street rioting
• interference with academic goals
• the initiation of a life of alcohol dependence

Some people argue that these problems exist simply because laws are inadequately enforced. Others suggest that some problem-drinking behaviors are actually stimulated by the prohibition of drinking between ages 18 and 21.

Much of the current discussion has been sparked by media attention to the Amethyst Initiative, which is coordinated by an organization called Choose Responsibility. With the Amethyst Initiative, which was launched in July 2008, well over 100 U.S. college and university chancellors and presidents have endorsed a statement arguing that the current legal drinking age of 21 years has contributed to the problems that youths are having with alcohol. The Initiative asks that current drinking-age laws be reconsidered.

The endorsers of the Initiative's are not directly suggesting that the drinking age be lowered; however, that clearly would be one of the options. Among the signers is my own university's president, Dr. William Brody of Johns Hopkins University.

The Amethyst Initiative points out that 18-year-olds are able to vote, sign contracts, enlist in the military, and serve on juries, and yet existing laws imply that they are not mature enough to drink alcoholic beverages. The Initiative argues that the current prohibition of under-21 drinking, by blocking legal access to alcohol and holding out the possibility of arrest, serves to drive the problem underground and may even encourage irresponsible and dangerous choices among college students.

The current age-21 laws, says the Amethyst Initiative, encourage teens to consume excessive amounts whenever the opportunity to drink presents itself. Some even "pre-party" with alcohol before heading out for a social evening.

On the other hand, numerous organizations strenuously support the current laws. At the forefront of the supporters has been Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), a group that for many years has promoted educational programs about the dangers of irresponsible drinking and has advocated a wide range of initiatives and legislation to stop drunk driving, to support the victims of alcohol and drug-related accidents, and to prevent underage drinking. The work of MADD has indeed saved many lives.

MADD argues that the solutions to underage binge drinking are to

• tighten alcohol policies
• enforce the current age-21 laws
• impose severe sanctions on adults who provide alcohol to teens
• change the lenient tone on most campuses that fails to discourage drinking
• work with businesses in college communities to ensure underage students are unable to buy alcohol

I myself am especially concerned about the potential dangers of alcohol use among college students because my daughter will be going away to school next year. Naturally, I want her to be in a healthy atmosphere.