Lowering The Drinking Age Essay

One of the largest questions still up for debate is whether to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18. We know that this issue is very mundane to you if you’re from the 70’s and 80’s. We can also recall learning about prohibition in the 1920s. Banning alcohol wasn’t the answer then and it isn’t the answer now. It is time America has lowered the drinking age.

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.

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.

Is a 19 year-old responsible enough to go to war yet not order an alcoholic drink at a bar? The minimum drinking age has proven to have saved young citizens lives throughout America. In 1984, Congress refused to give funding for highways to any state that did not comply with raising the minimum drinking age to 21. “The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 required all states to raise their minimum purchase and public possession of alcohol age to 21. States that did not comply faced a reduction in highway funds under the Federal Highway Aid Act.

(Engs) Additionally, as stated by many supporters of the legal drinking age being lowered, the legal Bagby 2 drinking age laws are generally considered to be ineffective at actually preventing underage drinking. Along with the argument that the minimum legal drinking age helps to prevent the consumption of alcohol in youths, many who do not support lowering the legal dr... ... middle of paper ... ...t of the countries of the world, especially those in Europe have largely had success with lower drinking ages. This just reinforces the concept that lowering the minimum legal drinking age would better help to integrate responsible drinking into society with young adults more seamlessly and responsibly than how things currently do in the United States. In conclusion, the minimum legal drinking age in the United States should be lowered to the age of 18. This age has already been proven to be effective on a global scale and could definitely be implemented in the American culture.

When people drink alcohol when underage, they will do it in a place where it’s not supervised, that will lead to binge drinking, which is a huge problem with students who don’t know how to act responsibly, because they might not have experience or know the effects and dangers of drinking a lot. Demand will always create supply, so if there is demand for alcohol for undera... ... middle of paper ... ...be responsible will help a lot. This class should be mandatory for everyone, because it can reduce the fatalities that happen while being drunk. I also think that a parent should also teach their kid how to be responsible for their acts, drinking is a serious issue that should be taken seriously. No one should even drink without knowing the consequences, specially drinking unsupervised.

Sure teens drink less often than adults but when they do drink they definitely drink more than adults. This practice is known as binge drinking. These harmful and unsafe activities that many teens are engaging in definitely prove the argument that the Minimum Legal Drinking Age 21 lowers the number of underage drinking wrong. If, as adults, people have the right to serve on juries and make major decisions that can influence a whole nation, then at 18 people should be able to consume alcohol without having to worry about breaking the law. Lowering the drinking age to 18 would encourage people to drink responsibly and it would reduce traffic accidents that are caused by people driving under the influence.

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. If they lowered the drinking age to 18, there would be a lot fewer problems related to alcohol. Lowering the drinking age would take away the excitement of teens drinking. People who are under the age and drink see drinking as a rebellious act. Under age teens will drink less than they did before since the thrill of is gone.

(“Alcohol Abuse and Youth” 1) 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... ... middle of paper ... ...Drug Rehab Treatment Centers. 2 Dec. 2009. http://www.drugrehabtreatment.com/girlswhoparty.html.

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. My argument is as follows: There a few different reasons why the drinking age should be dropped and why it would help the problem of alcohol abuse in younger people in America. Most of Europe has no drinking age and does not have the same types of problems that underage Americans do with alcohol. When limitations are set on adolescents and young adults they tend to rebel against rules and abuse the limitation that is set on them. Finally, there is a sense of rights that comes into play with this issue, at the age of 18 a person is considered to be an adult and is given many different responsibilities (basic ones being: charged as an adult and going to war for this country.)