Lowering The Legal Drinking Age

1279 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: lowering the drinking age to 18 with supporting evidence.

Lowering the Legal Drinking Age Almost everyone can agree that alcohol should not be given or allowed to children under a certain age. Alcohol is a substance that is very dangerous and if you used incorrectly or immaturely the consequences can be a great danger to the users or the ones around them. The recent discussions regarding drinking are about whether the legal drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen. This controversial issue has been specifically relevant to college students because drinking has become a big part of college life and can be found all over college campuses. Proponents of lowering the legal drinking age from 21 argue that it has not stopped teen drinking, and has instead pushed more illegal underage drinking. On the other hand, however, Opponents of lowering the legal drink age argue that teens have not yet reached an age where they can handle alcohol responsibly. The legal drink age should stay at twenty-one because people tend to be more mature and responsible at 21 than at 18. 18-year-olds are typically entering a new phase of independence from their parents through college or the workforce, and are more susceptible to binge drinking, risky sexual activity, and other irresponsible behavior due to lack of maturity. Even though there are only a couple of years between these two ages I feel that a lot of growing and maturing happens in those years. The right to drink should be held at a higher age because of the dangers posed by drinking. There are many risks associated with improper alcohol intake, and we need to make sure people are mature and responsible enough to realize the major effects it can have in one’s life. Alcohol can negatively affect us in many ways including our social s... ... middle of paper ... ...” effect which will result in illegal drinking; giving high school students and even middle school student easier access to alcohol. In conclusion, I believe that the legal drinking age should not be lowered because drinking can be dangerous to the health and well-being of anyone. As the prominent philosopher, Whiting puts it, “Alcohol is the oldest and the most widely used drug in the world” (Whiting). Drinking should be restricted due to the responsibility required when using alcohol. S, Teens do not fully understand the serious effects of drinking at an early age. It can lead to many long-term problems like alcohol abuse, addictions, car accidents, brain injuries, and even death. I think that by leaving the legal drinking age at 2, it gives young adults more time to mature and realize the long term problems that can take place when alcohol is used irresponsibly.

Show More
Related

  • The Consequences of Lowering the Legal Age for Consumption of Alcohol

    604 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lowering the legal drinking age would create problems such as infringing on the mental and physical development of the young drinker. As a respected author, Matt Nagin puts it, “The late teens and early twenties are formative years where character building, leadership in the community, and scholastic excellence should be emphasized. Alcohol detracts from all of these.” In other words, Nagin believes that the teen years are an imperative time of growth in a person’s life. Scientists have proven that the brain is not fully developed until the age of twenty five. If Nagin’s argument is correct, and I believe it is, then people should understand that scientists have proven the negative affects that alcohol has on the development of the brain. Alcohol has the power to kill brain cells and damage growth hormones. By making alcohol legally accessible to an eighteen year old, we are literally poisoning his or her brain.

    Read More

  • Underage Drinking and the American Citizen

    1119 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...s would mean seniors could provide alcohol to freshmen, as young as 14- to 15-years-old. I believe this would get out of hand because if kids that young can have and keep alcohol in their possession, that means they could provide it to even younger kids. I wouldn’t want my young cousins to begin drinking at 12 or 13 years old, when legally they shouldn’t start until 21.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Lowering The Drinking Age

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 vote at the age of 18 then, they should be allowed to purchase alcoholic beverages. In an article “Should the U.S. lower its drinking age?” written by Brandon Griggs, he 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.

    Read More

  • Why the Drinking Age Should Be Lowered to 18

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Lowering the Drinking Age

    1529 Words  | 4 Pages

    Primarily, the drinking age should be lowered to teach responsibility and safety in young adults. The idea seems paradoxical; however, the high drinking age that is present in the U.S. today has only pushed underage drinking underground (Balko 458). In fact, America has the highest minimum drinking age in the world (Balko 459). Even though the American drinking age remains high, America still remains with an astonishingly large number of alcohol-related accidents and deaths. Is this statement a coincidence? Throughout the years alcohol has become more and more of an issue in young adults, but the correct actions are not taking place. If alcohol were to legally be put in the hands of Americans eighteen and above, these individuals would likely be forced to learn a sense of safety and responsibility. As stated by Caryn Sul...

    Read More

  • Lowering the Drinking Age

    1790 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Lowering the Drinking Age to 18

    2613 Words  | 6 Pages

    were drinking to get drunk than their counterparts a decade earlier, and one recent study reported an increase, just since 1994, in the number of students who drink deliberately to get drunk? (Smith 1). I interviewed my friend Shelly Mitchell who recently turned twenty-one and asked her how she felt about finally being legal to drink. She quoted, ?It is not as exciting to drink anymore, I mean I still like to go out with my friends to bars, but the fun is all over, in high school and college it was so exciting trying to get alcohol by using a fake ID.? All of these factors could be changed by lowering the drinking age to eighteen. In a study done by the Harvard School of Public Health, binge drinking is defined as five drinks in a row for boys and four drinks for girls. And when they did a survey they found that 44% of the students attending Harvard binge drink (Jeffrey Kluger 1).

    Read More

  • The Minimum Legal Drinking Age

    1713 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...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.

    Read More

  • Debating the Minimum Legal Drinking Age

    1610 Words  | 4 Pages

    Engs,Professor at Indiana University has been studying the topic of lowering the legal drinking age for the past twenty years. He has found that “a majority of the college students under this age consume alcohol but in an irresponsible manner. This is because drinking by these youth is seen as an enticing “forbidden fruit” (Why the drinking age should be lowered,1). This is not the first time that this policy has been discussed. During the National Prohibition in the 1920s these laws made every state change their MLDA to 21 years old. But these laws were repealed because they were unenforceable and caused other social problems. Facts show that young adult underage are more likely to be “binge” drinkers. 32% of heavy drinkers were underage while only 24% were of legal age (Why the drinking age should be lowered, 1). Research from the 1980s reveal that there has been a decrease in drinking and drinking among students before the law that made every states MLDA 21 years old. But many other factors may have decreased this rate. “There has been an increase in other problems related to heavy and irresponsible drinking among college age youth. Most of these reported behaviors showed little change until after the 21 year old law in 1987. For example from 1982 until 1987 about 46% of students reported "vomiting after drinking." This jumped to over 50% after the law change. Significant increase were also found for other variables: "cutting class after drinking" jumped from 9%

    Read More

  • The Drinking Age Must not Be Lowered

    1746 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lawmakers should not consider lowering the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen. Despite the deep value this country places on freedom, personal liberties, and personal responsibilities, the data shows that public safety is greatly at risk if the drinking age were to be lowered to twenty-one. A variety of groups believe that the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen deeming that the twenty-one law is unconstitutional. On the opposing side, people agree that the law helps to protect our young people and the communities where they live.

    Read More

  • Arguments for and against Lowering the Drinking Age

    1916 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • America Must Lower the Drinking Age

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    The drinking age of twenty-one is a paradox of age eighteen as the age of consent. “The age of consent is defined to be the age at which the person becomes able to make responsible decisions” (“Why the US Drinking Age Should Be Lowered to 18”). The government needs to start genuinely treating eighteen year-olds like the adults the U.S. constitution says they are (Barnes). The United States entrusts eighteen year-old citizens with ...

    Read More

  • Adolescent Brain Development And Underage Drinking By Marisa Silveri Summary

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    The article “Adolescent Brain Development and Underage Drinking in the United States: Identifying Risks of Alcohol Use in College Populations” written by Marisa Silveri, PhD, aims to emphasize the the negative behavioral consequences with underage alcohol use. Silveri is a highly decorated professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who has been studying the neurobiology of brain development and consequences of alcohol and drug abuse using preclinical and clinical models for two decades. Her substantial background in psychology and neurobiology make her a highly credible source, and improves the author’s chance of making the point really stick. The article is easy to follow, and split up in subcategories that each cover a specific point the author is trying to make. Professor Silveri, with great credibility, uses logic and also emotional appeal to effectively convince the reader that alcohol use affects the brain negatively, and the importance to discourage the excessive consumption of alcohol by adolescents.

    Read More

  • Lowering Drinking Age to 18

    1208 Words  | 3 Pages

    “By lowering the minimum drinking age to 21. It would give high schoolers and even middle schoolers easier access to alcohol”. As said in drinking age ProCons.org. Newly legal drinking often purchase alcohol for their underage peers, creating a trickle-down effect. surveys show that the common source of alcohol among 18-21 year olds is there 21-24 year old peers. Believing that their is a purchase to alcohol for their underage peers meaning even if you ...

    Read More

  • Don't lower the drinking Age

    1218 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hanson, David J., Ph.D. “Drinking Alcohol Damages Teenager’s Brains.” Sociology Deprtment. n.d.. Web. 20 March 2014. .

    Read More

More about Lowering The Legal Drinking Age

Open Document