Ask Lemmy

I went to university when I was two weeks away from my 16th birthday. I started smoking weed that summer, and tried alcohol when I was 17.

Yes. But I am Scottish.

I started drinking age 14. At first it was like 3 beers per friday. By age 16 I was drinking a 12-pack per firday/saturday. By age 18 I was drinking a few beers every day and got properly pissed on the weekends, about 20-24 beers and some vodka. By age 22 I was pretty much an alcoholic. By age 25 I decided I either stop or die under a bridge with my own shit in my pants. Have been alcohol free now for... I dunno, 13-15 years or something like that.

I smoked weed at 16, more regularly from 17 on. Didn't have my first drunk till 18. A few beers and sips of wine here and there, but never full on blasted.

If I could go back in time I'd tell myself to stay sober. I never had any huge problems with substance abuse, but it took me to my till my 30's to realize life was better and more fun with a clear mind.

Im german. My first time I couldn't walk anymore was 16, first blackout was 17. Normal drunk as fuck since I was 14

Once I turned 16, I would have a beer with my parents once or twice a month. Despite being in the US, in my state it's legal for parents to give their kids alcohol, so it was no big deal.

Personally, I think it can be a fairly healthy introduction to alcohol, so long as the parents aren't just giving their kids a 30-pack and letting them loose.

Never bothered with weed, I was never (and still not) interested

I only drank underage once at my graduation party

A minor exceptions, I stole a sip of my a coke without realizing there was booze in it. Felt weird, tasted gross.

0/10. Don't recommend.

I didn't really drink until my 21st birthday. My only memories of that night was being bought a shot of Hennessy, bartender telling me to put my shoes back on and then crying to my best friend that I totally loved her in the cab home.

Hilarious. 10/10. Smashing success.

Started at 13, about every weekend. 0,5 l moonshine. That continued until 20, then maybe just 2 times a month. 20 years later I never get drunk but enjoy a glass or two sometimes. I don't wanna know how many brain cells I killed.

In Germany (if your parents agree) its allowed to drink beer and wine from the age of 14. By 16 you are allowed to buy beer and wine by yourself. By 18 you can buy anything.

... So yeah, the first time i got shitfaced i was 13 :|

My first time getting drunk was with 17 years old, i live in europe. I could have gotten drunk earlier, as many do, but my environment with friends and family kept me from that. I have to say I am very happy to have had my first serious contact with alcohol no earlier than 17 because i was able to judge the implications better.

Yes

I was a fullblown alcoholic and habitual stoner by the time i was 16. Started at 14. Im now 2 years sober at 29 and really mourning the lost time.

Alcohol not until I was 20. Weed not until like 25 I think. You're probably about around the average age to try for US kids and a little late for euro kids it seems like.

I have drank in variable amounts ever since high school, so around 14 or 15yo. Alcohol should be approached with a lot of caution. It has a way of sneaking into your life and taking greater and greater importance without you realizing. Thankfully I've seen it happen in others and that's kept me on my toes

I didn't drink until I was 23. I don't think I missed out on much.

That said...I drink a lot now, so maybe I'm making up for it? lol, jk.

Drink if you want, don't if you don't. It's poison, it's unhealthy.

I think I've always been older than you...

I drank once when I was 17 but didn't really care for it (rootbeer and vodka, not great, not terrible).

There's an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in my area called "Never Had A Legal Drink." It was created by and for people who decided that they were alcoholics and had to stop drinking before they turned 21.

Plenty of people get into drugs/alcohol at an early age.

My psrents gave me a sip as a teen and I hated it. I tried it again at 21 and hated it then too. It was only a few years after that I tried something I liked.

I've had a couple of parent-sanctioned sips of beer once every few years as a teenager, but never got drunk nor smoked any weed for the first time until age 20.

My younger wine is at college and doesn’t drink (good for him). Since the drinking age here is 21, most college kids can’t legally drink. Of course they do anyway, and I can’t be too judgemental since I did at that age as well.

However my son abandoned his initial group of friends because that’s all they wanted to do, socially. There’s a game, and students get free tickets: nope, I’d be late to the frat parties. There’s this cool trail: nope, the parties are then. Let’s go to this movie: I’ll be drinking then.

I realize I’m only hearing half the story, but it really seems like not just excessive drinking but drinking as a problem, interfering with normal life.

Yes, we have quite an unhealthy alcohol culture here.

The only redeeming factor is that most people make their mistakes learning their tolerance while still being young enough to avoid getting in serious trouble.

If you've never touched alcohol at 18, you might want to be extra careful about it. It's kinda cringe to watch grown ups not knowing their limits, because it's assumed that they should know by now.

my friends dad would feed us beer in the pub at 13 years old. We were having lock ins in local rural pubs in deserted rural areas by 16. At 18 (legal drinking age here) I could party all night.

I'm 25 and have yet to have a proper drink. Most people in my country started illegally drinking at 13-15 years old while out clubbing, but I just hate alcohol so much! I never understood the hype around it. I don't even like it when there are a couple of teaspoons in my sorbet. I'll have a tropical mocktail or soda, thank you.

I didn't, many many many people have though

The first time I quit smoking pot was in the fifth grade.

I started smoking dope again in high school. I didn’t drink alcohol much in high school mostly because I didn’t like the taste, but I had did plenty of drinking.

I was a total pothead in high school. I was self medicating because of my crazy ass home life.

I waited until college. I tried weed and alcohol in my freshmen year, so 18-ish for me.

Ive tasted wine and beer and had cider and champagne for toasts, didn't drink more than a few sips.

Combining it all I don't think I added up to a whole glass in less than a year, I see no problem in trying stuff and doing toasts, but I've also haven't had contact with heavy alcoholics so it's easy for me to say something like that, if I've had experience with alcoholics in my family I'd probably not even want to try.

Yes, I was 11-12 and got it from some freshmen/eighth graders who got it from God-knows-who

I got drunk when I was 5 does that count?

I was a nervous kid. I didn't try alcohol until 20 and weed till I was 31. They can be fun but remember your brain is still developing. Don't really use them until that has stopped. They have profoundly negative effects on your developing brain.

And alcohol is literally just poison. Id avoid that completely if you don't have a strong desire to drink. I say that as a neurodivergent that self medicates with alcohol. It's not good stuff.

I think I got drunk for the first time at the age of 13, partied hard til I was 19, then "took a break" from it and went hard again in my early army days (2015/16). I haven't had any alcohol in 8ish years or something like that (for more than just religious reasons).

Some people, like me, just got drunk to be in a "better" position to make some indecent proposals to drunk girls in pubs/clubs, and once you're out of that cycle (in my case, I met my now wife) it loses any utility. Other people really enjoy the effects of booze, and that's it. The first group will more easily leave it in the past, for obvious reasons.

In the UK it's quite common for kids at some 15/16 to have house parties with alcohol (our drinking age is 18). At least this was common when I was that age 16 years ago

Tasted maybe a handful of times before 18 including being offered a shot of vodka once. I barely drink even now (23 y.o), maybe 1 unit every 2 or 3 months.

Never drank illegally, waited until my 21st birthday

I started drinking when I was 16 and smoking joints since I was 14, finally stopped drinking and smoking late last year at 24. Been sober since October. Although I really want to get back to smoking for my chronic depression but such things are impossible on SSRIs

I'm 30 and I've never drank alcohol or done any drugs besides whatever medications my doctors give me. Watching beer and cigarettes destroy my father's life kept me ever from wanting to even try. Plus seeing how damn expensive it all is makes me super glad I never started.

Yeah.

I think I started drinking around 15? Stopped around 25, don’t drink these days as I don’t enjoy the taste at all and my party days are over. Don’t regret it though, would certainly do it again at those ages.

Similar for drugs, but I’ll do a psychedelic every few years.

Those thing are best enjoyed in your youth when you’re with your friends.

9 when first tipsy on champagne at A new year's party. Generally had a beer with food from 14ish. Would get drunk regularly every weekend from 15. Drunk daily between 17 and 18, clubbing and partying almost daily. Calmed down a bit and restricted that to weekends from 19-20 but spent the whole weekend shit-faced. At 20-21, cut it down to just one day of the weekend. At 22-23 it dropped to only ever every few weeks but still getting pissed.

From 24 onwards it's been only every few weeks but just getting tipsy e.g. ½ to 1 bottle of wine, with the odd occasion of 1½ bottles. Rarely drink anything other than wine these days as I live in wine country and have access to good stuff but do like a beer or a rum and coke too, especially if I'm out at a gig or club on the very rare occasion that happens. Rounds out to about 12-14 bottles of wine a year. Which isn't too bad. Certainly a lot healthier than in my late teens-early 20s.