The controversy on the proper drinking age is one that has been repeatedly discussed and researched over the years. Its common to hear the argument “If someone is old enough to take a bullet for their country, they should be allowed to drink alcohol.” But is that enough justification? Some would say no. “According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) it is estimated that in 2004 there were more than 1,700 student deaths, 599,000 injuries, and 696,000 assaults annually associated with excessive drinking” (Fennell 247). Given these numbers, would lowering the drinking age really be the best thing for America’s youth?
In fact, the state and federal laws for consuming alcohol are different. “The federal law requires states to prohibit purchase and public possession of alcoholic beverages [for people under the age of 21]. Contrary to belief, it does not require prohibition of minors from drinking alcoholic beverages” (Minimum). This means that the severity of restrictions depend on what state you live in. For example, residents of Missouri have some of the most lax alcohol consumption laws in the country. It is one of six states that allow parents and guardians to provide alcohol to their children (Missouri). However, the lucky Kansans out there have it a little differently. Kansas’ law states that no one under the age of 21 can “possess, consume, obtain, purchase, or attempt to obtain or purchase alcoholic liquor” (Kansas).
The federal law has not always contained these restrictions. President Ronald Reagan signed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act on July 17, 1984 (MADD 5). This required that “states prohibit the purchase and public possession of alcohol for persons aged younger than 21 years.” If ...
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Wechsler, Henry, and Toben F. Nelson. "Percentage of alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities among young adults aged 16 to 24 years, by age group: United States, 1982-2007". Graph. American Journal of Public Health 100.6 (2010): 986-992. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 Mar. 2011.
Wechsler, Henry, and Toben F. Nelson. "Will Increasing Alcohol Availability By Lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Decrease Drinking and Related Consequences Among Youths?." American Journal of Public Health 100.6 (2010): 986-992. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 Mar. 2011.
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It really is no secret that if the minimum legal drinking age were lowered, a large number of teens would then drink for perhaps the first time. “The age group with the most drivers involved in fatal crashes with Blood Alcohol Content levels of .08 or higher during 2011 was the twenty-one to twenty-four-year-olds” (“National Highway Traffic Facts”). Young adults are just as irresponsible at eighteen as they are at twenty-one, maybe even more irresponsible. The teenagers will indulge themselves on what they feel is a luxury the first chance they get. The young adults abuse the alcohol, and then go driving because even at twenty-one through twenty-four they are still not as responsible. If the age is lowered to eighteen, many eighteen-year-olds will go out and drink alcohol for the first time. The age group may rise to number one in fatal crashes. The National Highway Traff...
In the late 1960’s to mid-70’s the legal drinking age was 18 because the voting age of 21 was lowered to 18. However, in 1984 a bill was passed that every state in the United States was to change the legal drinking age from 18 to 21. Although this is a highly controversial topic many young adults believe lowering the drinking age back to 18 is best because if they may vote at the age of 18 then, they should be allowed purchase alcoholic beverages. In an article “Should the U.S. lower its drinking age?” written by Brandon Griggs introduces the pros and cons of lowering the drinking age. Griggs explains two generations ago young adults didn’t have to worry much about getting caught drinking or buying their way out to purchase alcohol. Nowadays
Lowering the drinking age to 18 would make a lot of sense in the world. Lowering the drinking age to 18 would make more sense. It would be better for the teens that drink on college campus. The drinking age should be lowered to 18 because you can vote at eighteen, buy tobacco, it’ll reduce the thrill of breaking the law, evidence supports that early introduction of drinking is the safest way to reduce juvenile alcohol abuse, and college people that are not 21 drink also.
Lowering the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen is a good idea because it will most likely promote responsibility, alcohol consumption will be more controlled, and, if not done so, it is posing as discrimination against the eighteen to twenty age group; however, lowering the legal drinking age back to eighteen can be fatal because the brains of the eighteen to twenty year old age groups are not fully developed, binge drinking and alcohol addiction rates will go up, and the drinking and driving rates will increase.
The government is conducting an idea to whether lower the minimum legal drinking age in the United States or not. Many Americans forbid the idea of legalizing the drinking age so that it would be profitable to the businesses. Likewise, there have been many advantages and disadvantages of why should the government allow young adults drink under the age of 21. To prevent this issue, many Americans have provided reasoning that will support the idea of keeping the minimum legal drinking age where it is now. The government should maintain the minimum legal drinking age in the United States at the age of 21.
...e minimum legal drinking age in the United States should remain at twenty-one years old. Since the National Legal Drinking Age Act was ratified, the consumption of liquor among minors has abated significantly. With the restriction in affect, the United States is definitely a safer place when it comes to alcohol use. Even though, the reduction of the drinking age would get rid of the taboo that surrounds alcohol which would result in fewer teens drinking just to be accepted by their peers, young adolescents now have a harder time getting access to alcohol due to the minimum legal drinking age resulting in less alcohol-affiliated problems and a decrease in damage to their bodies. Teens and alcohol are not a good mix so citizens of the United States should keep them separated as best as they can. By having a minimum age limit of twenty-one, that is a great way to do it.
In the 1960s, the drinking age was set as 21, to match the voting age. However, around the time of the Vietnam War, the public began to argue that if an 18-year-old was old enough to fight and die for his country, then he should be able to vote as well. As a result, the voting age was lowered to 18. Between 1970 and 1976, 29 states lowered their legal drinking age as well. In the words of Carla Main, author of Bulldozed and various other published works concerning law and society, the results were “catastrophic,” as “[h]ighway deaths among teenagers and young adults skyrocketed” (Main 33). Many states began raising the legal drinking age up again. In 1984, under the supervision of Ronald ...
While underage drinking is a legitimate problem, it should be mainly the responsibility of the parents to decide whether their child should drink. But if allowed, it should be in a closely supervised place. Teen drinking remains problematic with one-third of American youth consuming alcohol on a regular basis since the government outlawed the consumption of alcohol by anyone underage twenty-one on 1984. Some regulators say that making the federal minimum drinking age twenty-one has made alcohol a “forbidden fruit...
Hanson, David J., and Ph.D.. "The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984." WWW2 Webserver. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. .
According to Center for Disease Control and Protection, about 4,700 people under age twenty one die from injuries involving underage drinking every year. Illegal alcohol consumption has been a major problem with high school students around the nation. Lowering the drinking age from twenty one would result in major consequences for America’s adolescents. By lowering the drinking age, alcohol would be more accessible to those who choose to participate in underage drinking. The desire to drink for teens and young adults between the ages of fourteen and twenty can be caused by peer pressure or an act of rebellion. One beer might not seem like a big deal at the time, but it could lead to a life of addiction and alcoholism.
According to Andrew Herman, “Each year, 14,000 die from drinking too much. 600,000 are victims of alcohol related physical assault and 17,000 are a result of drunken driving deaths, many being innocent bystanders” (470). These massive numbers bring about an important realization: alcohol is a huge issue in America today. Although the problem is evident in Americans of all ages, the biggest issue is present in young adults and teens. In fact, teens begin to feel the effects of alcohol twice as fast as adults and are more likely to participate in “binge-drinking” (Sullivan 473). The problem is evident, but the solution may be simple. Although opponents argue lowering the drinking age could make alcohol available to some teens not mature enough to handle it, lowering the drinking age actually teaches responsibility and safety in young adults, maintains consistency in age laws, and diminishes temptation.
Lyons, Dan. "Don't Lower Drinking Age." Human Events 64.42 (2008): 18. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Apr. 2010.
I most definitely don’t think the legal drinking age should be lowered. Teenagers and those younger than 21 already have so many changes going on and so many new responsibilities. It’s the time when you start figuring out how to do things on your own and how to be responsible for yourself. There is also just so much learning and molding of a person going on in their younger years. I don’t think adding intoxication to this list of new things would have the most positive outcome. Besides, our bodies are still developing before 21. There could be considerable damage done because our systems are just not ready to handle alcohol consumption. Granted, it’s not uncommon for someone underage to not adhere to the law. The video posted discussed the
Allowing 18- to 20-year-olds to drink alcohol in regulated environments with supervision would decrease unsafe drinking activity.Traffic accidents and fatalities are most common among newly-legal drinkers, regardless of the MLDA.There are fewer drunk driving traffic accidents and fatalities in many countries with MLDA of 18.Lowering MLDA from 21 to 18 would diminish the thrill of breaking the law to get a drink.” There are a lot of people who drink form college students to people who go to parties. If there are people there that are 18 and drinking they are going to jail for underage drinking at age 18 they are going to have a record for drinking and that could be the only thing they have done wrong. Most people that are alcoholics are from ages 35 to 64 the reason most people become alcoholics is
In Glaser’s op-ed, who is for lowering the drinking age to 18, she states that the current law hasn’t reduced underage drinking, but merely driven it underground to riskier settings. The 21 drinking age law has created more dangerous drinking habits in the youth such as binge drinking, which is consuming excessive amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. Binge drinking is most likely seen around college campuses where frat houses have massive amounts of liquor and with no parent supervision, and practically no police enforcement college students are exposed to dangerous drinking. This type of drinking can be seen on a smaller scale at high school parties, but this segregation of ages teaches to kids to binge drink rather than to drink in moderation. Glaser (2015), also stated that the current laws in place have lowered traffic deaths from young people drinking and driving, yet this is still outweighed by the number