National Institute On Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism. N.p.. Web. 24 Feb 2014. "Underage Drinking Statistics."
http://www2.potsdam.edu. Web. 04 Apr 2014. “Alcohol Alert”. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
According to David Hanson of the New York State University in Potsdam, it was officially changed July 17, 1984 when President Ronald Reagan signed the National Minimum Legal Drinking Age Act (Hanson “Minimum Legal Drinking Ages Around the World”). To guarantee states’ compliance with the law, Congress punished any state that chose to maintain their below 21 legal drinking age with a ten percent cut to their federal highway fund (Hanson “Minimum Legal Drinking Ages Around the World”). Although the minimum legal drinking age is technically 21, there are many exceptions to the law. For example, in most states, underage drinking is permitted for established religious purposes. Other less common exceptions include drinking with a parent’s consent, and drinking for educational, governmental, or medical reasons (Alcohol Policy Information System).
Scherer, Lauri S. Underage Drinking. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Print. Ogilvie, Jessica P. Is lowering the drinking age a good idea?.30 May 2011. www.latimes.com/2011/may/30/health/la-he-drinking-age-20110530. 14 Jan. 2014 Buratti, Anthony.
Web. 11 Feb. 2014. Garcia, Sherri. "Alcohol: Effects on the Body and Behavior." Www.cdc.gov.
The most important question is whether or not the drinking age anywhere in the United States should be lowered, raised or if it should stay the same. Statistics prove that the legal drinking age should remain at the age of twenty-one in the United States. Alcohol dates back to tens of thousands of years ago in history, but no one knows exactly when it was first used. Here in the States, "The seventeenth century saw the Virginia colonists continue the traditional belief that alcoholic beverages are a natural food and are good when used in moderation" (Hanson). Alcohol was known to be both helpful and harmful.
Web. 8 Apr. 2014. "Alcohol Dependence (Alcoholism)." Guide: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment Options.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). N.p., Dec. 2012. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. "Why Do People Do Drugs?
“In fact, it is one of the most researched public health laws on the books. When the law was raised to 21, alcohol-related deaths for young people decreased; when the drinking age was lowered, deaths increased.” (CNN, 2015) If anyone were to look at all the negative effects of raising the drinking age, by far, it would outweigh the positive. If they were to lower the drinking age it would put an end to a big problem in America.