> When I was college age I don't want to reveal my age on Hacker News, but I'll just say that I reached the legal drinking age within the last five years, and

> When I was college age I don't want to reveal my age on Hacker News, but I'll just say that I reached the legal drinking age within the last five years, and have never had any issues with alcoholism. I have no idea what a hangover feels like (or have ever had trouble standing) despite my primary drink of choice being whiskey (80 proof, give or take). Even if we may appear to be Unicorns... > I do hope it’s just the bubble I grew up in because I want to think there’s a pathway to teaching my kids there is a responsible way to enjoy it without making it a competition, identity or escape. But it’s hard for me to believe my experience is very far outside the norm. That is sad. I would hope that the "Squeaky wheel gets the grease" analogy applies here, but I'm not sure. The NIH seems hopeful even if the numbers are still bad: "In 2018, two-thirds of adults aged 18 and over consumed alcohol in the past year. In 2018, 5.1% of adults engaged in heavy drinking in the past year, 15.5% engaged in moderate drinking, 45.7% engaged in light drinking, and 33.7% did not consume alcohol." 5.1% is still a lot of people, but it shows that the heavy drinkers are about... 8% of all drinkers. However, the negative view would be that 1 in 7 people in my home state (Minnesota) has had a DWI on their record at some point. DWI does not strictly speaking require 0.08% or even alcohol specifically though. The average first-time intoxication level is 0.148%, repeat offenders 0.166%, which takes... a lot of drinks. If I was a 100-lb woman, that would take about three to hit. But for me, that would take more like... six or seven. Which I freely admit does make my struggle lower than others - my weight makes the intoxication level from one or two drinks very small compared to others. > Looking the other way while people are actively hurting themselves with the wrong medication or dose doesn’t help either. I personally wish that our Age ID system was expanded so that there was a hashed database of driver's licenses not permitted to purchase alcohol or who could only purchase small amounts, that a court (or a voluntary listing) could add a person to. The hashed list would then be downloaded for offline use weekly by breweries and alcohol stores. If a person's ID went through the hashing algorithm and matched a hash on the list, the sale would be denied or restricted (to say, one drink). This would not put any impositions on people who do not struggle with drinking, would not harm anonymity or privacy, but would assist with self-control for those who need it or are interested. This is especially important because 10% of Americans (or, about 14% of the drinking population) buys 60% of the alcohol.