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Age in America: Lowering the drinking age

In recent years, a handful of states have considered bills to lower the drinking age to 18.
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One of the biggest age limits for young Americans is the age for purchasing and drinking alcoholic beverages.

The legal drinking age is 21 across the country — that's higher than all of Europe as well as both Canada and Mexico. You can serve in the Army and you can vote for 3 years before you can legally drink alcohol.

In recent years, a handful of states have considered bills to lower the drinking age to 18 — but it comes as a growing body of research shows the potential harms of drinking at any age.

Montana is one of those states where a bill was introduced to lower the state's drinking age, at least for wine and beer.

The sponsor of the bill, Montana's Republican state Rep. Jeremy Trebas, spoke with Scripps News about the impetus for the bill.