"Now we have a legal age of 18 to do everything else, but you can't drink until you're 21," said Republican Rep. Richard C. Marron. "I'm not pushing it to the level of it being unconstitutional, but I do think it's a form of age discrimination. If we did something else, like said you couldn't use a public campsite until you're 21, we would have an equal-protection-of-laws issue."

The bill has attracted 17 cosponsors, and GOP Gov. Jim Douglas has shown some interest. "Philosophically, it's difficult to reconcile the notion that you can enlist in the military, serve your country, go to war, but not go into your local pub and get a draft beer," a spokesman for the governor said. A recent poll found that 33 percent of Vermonters supported lowering the drinking age.

"Before the age was increased, we had a very different environment," said Middlebury College President Ronald D. Liebowitz. "You had kids drinking beer and getting sick on beer, but you didn't have gross alcohol poisoning and binge drinking."

Standing in the way of Marron's plan are not only health and safety advocates, but also a federal law that would require Vermont to sacrifice almost $10 million a year in highway funding if the state drops the age-21 requirement. Statistics show that the number of drunk-driving crashes involving under-21 drivers fell 61 percent between 1982 and 1998, as all U.S. states adopted the 21 drinking age. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration says 22,798 lives were saved by the law between 1975 and 2003.

Opponents like Barbara Cimaglio, Vermont's deputy commissioner for alcohol and drug abuse programs, say that 18-year-olds are less mature than 21 year olds, and that lowering the drinking age would only encourage drinking by younger teens. In the end, however, the issue may simply come down to money. "I don't really know if the age is relevant," said state Rep. Thomas DePoy. "I think it's just going to boil down to the mere fact that this state needs the transportation funds."

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