Legal Drinking Age Essay

Although teens are legally considered adults by the age of eighteen and the minimum legal drinking age prompts underage teens to exhibit risky behavior, the age restriction should not be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen because young teens would have easier access to alcohol, the minimum legal drinking age has decreased alcohol-related problems, and alcohol can cause damage to underage drinkers. In the United States, there have been a numerous amount of laws and restrictions put into place to regulate and control the use of alcohol. During the twentieth century, most states had drinking age restrictions ranging from ages eighteen to twenty-one. Many states lowered their limits to eighteen in 1971 due to the lowering of the voting age, although the states re-raised their age restrictions when they received discontent over the increase in drunk-driving accidents. The lowered age also created problems between states.

The effects of lowering the drinking age to eighteen could be very harmful, such as permanent damage to the brain, and risks that could lead to death. There are enough fatalities with the drinking age being twenty-one and by lowering it, we would just be asking for more. To save lives and keep people healthy, we need to keep the legal drinking age at twenty one. Works Cited Reynolds, Glenn H. “Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Drink.” Wall Street Journal: A.17. Apr 13 2011.

People find it bizarre that the tobacco age is 18, but the drinking age is 21? People care more about alcohol than they do tobacco products, but tobacco is one of the leading killers in the U.S. today. Allowing 18 year olds to start ingesting tobacco products, such as cigarettes or chewing tobacco, at the age of only 18 will give them an earlier start to becoming addicted, and in the long run, shorten their life span. Some think it is absurd letting people smoke, but they cannot go out with friends and drink. Smoking and drinking are both addictive and can have negative effects if used improperly, but smoking one cigarette is more harmful than drinking one beer.

There are many different views on drinking alcohol especially underage drinking. Everyone is different in his or her views on the drinking age. Some think it should be lowered and other believe that it should be raised. Then there are some that believe that is should remain the same at age of twenty-one years old. Keeping the alcohol consumption age at twenty-one limits the dangers to only those not over twenty-one.

The government supports the belief that people are not ready or responsible enough for alcohol until this age. However, various professors and researchers are discovering ways to disprove this belief. These people think that reducing the drinking age to eighteen would influence our country in a positive way. Not only do minors support this idea, but there are numerous people and organizations that support the idea of lowering the drinking age as well. The current drinking law is counterproductive in our society because it’s not effective in eliminating underage drinking, and leads to unsafe situations such as drunk driving and alcohol poison instigated deaths.

These rights consist of being able to adopt a child, allowed to get certain licenses, and to supervise a learner driver. (M. Yong) Raising the drinking age would make that right, one of the few that are not gained at age eighteen and would only infuriate eighteen-twenty year olds which would then lead to more problems and illegal activities. The drinking age is seen as a privilege rather than a right because having a low drinking age seems to have more of a positive effect rather than a negative one on the Virgin Islands. However, Alcohol is a volatile flammable liquid that contains ethanol and is the intoxicating constituent of wine, beer, sprites, and other drinks. Turning 18 gives these young adults right to legally buy and consume alcoholic drinks and foods i... ... middle of paper ... ...eaking and entering, etc.

In America, the law is extremely strict with the policy of being 21 or older to have the right to drink. I feel that age is not very necessary when it comes to limitations on drinking. The drinking age should be lowered to a younger age if not lifted all together. I believe that a positive results will come from the drinking age being dropped. In this paper I am going to defend why there should not be a drinking age, because I believe that it is essential to help solve the underage drinking problems we have in our nation.

There has been much debate over the years on what the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) should be. Many people have said that the m.l.d.a should be lowered to the age of 18. The primary reason they support lowering it is because 18 years olds are considered to be adults and have many privileges that come with that such as a being able to vote and smoke, but they can’t drink. The people who support the m.l.d.a be kept at 21use scientific studies to prove their points. I think that the m.l.d.a should be kept at 21 but there should be an exemption to enlisted military.

If the age was lowered to 18 it would create safer environments for younger drinkers. If the age was lowered teens would go out to bars and nightclubs where alcohol consumption can be monitored. It would help reduce the amount of underage drinking and driving accidents. Accidents themselves are the most common thing among new legal drinkers disregarding the MLDA. In facts there are fewer drunken driving accidents and fatalities in c... ... middle of paper ... ...a new type of freedom at age 18 and it is probably not a good idea to make it legal for them to consume alcohol.

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.