The debate of the drinking age has been long discussed throughout America. The drinking age has been 21 for the last 22 years, and people around the country have wondered weather or not this was the right call. People say that 18 year olds may not be mature enough to drink alcohol and might not know when to stop. It isn’t that teenagers don’t know how to stop, but rather have not been properly taught when enough has been consumed or how to drink responsibly. Changing the drinking age from 21 to 18 years old will take the thrill that teens get from breaking the law while drinking, will no longer give them the idea that drinking is the final stage of adulthood and full maturity, and will no longer force teenagers to drink in unsupervised areas. A major reason behind teenagers drinking is because of the thrills that it entails. Not only does it give teenagers the feeling of being drunk, but it also give them the thrill of breaking the law. According to Ruth Engs, drinking by teenagers is seen as a “forbidden fruit, a badge of rebellion against authority and a symbol of adulthood.” (Why the Drinking Age Should Be Lowered) ProCon.org says that if America changed the drinking age back to 18, then drinking for these youths would become more of a normal activity. They wouldn’t hide it from their parents or law officers, so they would be less prone to injuries or deaths. Then they would be under proper adult supervision, and at a place where they can learn how to drink responsibly (Drinking Age). According to John McCardell, the change of the drinking age to 21 has become counterproductive. McCardell told 60 Minutes that, “This law has been an abysmal failure. It hasn’t reduced or eliminated drinking. It has simply driven it ... ... middle of paper ... ...orced to drink in unsupervised areas instead of with an adult present. As long as the drinking age is 21, teenagers will continue to do these things in order to drink, and they will not learn the responsibilities that go along with drinking and ‘binge’ drinking will continue to be the result of it. Works Cited Cloud, John. "Should The Drinking Age Be Lowered?" Time. 6 June 2008. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. "Drinking Age." ProCon.org. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . Engs, Ruth C. Why the Drinking Age Should Be Lowered: An Opinion Based upon Research. Rep. Indiana University. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. Miron, Jeffrey A., and Elina Tetelbaum. "The Dangers Of The Drinking Age." Forbes. 15 Apr. 2009. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. "The Debate On Lowering the Drinking Age." 60 Minutes. CBS. New York City, New York. Cbsnews.com. CBS, 22 Feb. 2009. Web. 30 Mar. 2010.
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.
In the contents of this paper, four points of view will be discussed on an extremely controversial issue that has an effect on a large percentage of citizens in the United States. The issue at hand is whether the legal age to consume alcohol should be lowered from 21 to 18, and will state a pro and con side, as well as 2 stakeholders for each side of the argument. The stakeholders on the pro side are as follows: Underage consumers of alcohol, businesses that sell and the companies that produce alcohol. The people on the con side of the argument that would want the legal age to remain at 21 include State and Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, as well as the demographic of Parents that would prefer to keep their children from being exposed to alcohol at a potentially young age. As you continue to read the stakeholders opinions and arguments will be explained, after which the author’s personal opinion will be advanced. After doing my own in depth research on the topic, the legal age to consume alcohol should remain at 21 as set by the United States Congress when they passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act (NMDAA) in July of 1984. This act punished every state that allowed persons below 21 years of age to purchase and publicly possess alcoholic beverages by reducing its annual federal highway apportionment by ten percent. (National Minimum Drinking Age Act) This caused all fifty continental U.S. states to set their legal drinking age to 21, and it has remained there for thirty years.
McCardell Jr., John M. “Drinking Age of 21 Doesn’t Work.” CNN.com. 16 Sep. 2009. Web.
Which may cause some issues. An article by New York Times “Lowering the Drinking Age Has Serious Consequences” by Tara Watson explains the only reason why the drinking age was raised to 21 was because of the serious issues happening on a daily basis. “…when many states moved from minimum of 18 to 21. Our study found that a lower drinking age was associated with a statistically higher risk of unintended pregnancy and… worse infant health.” (Watson) Not only was unintended pregnancy the only issue happening Watson also explains there will mostly likely be higher crime rates to last much longer, and this is all associated with alcohol. Not only does Watson explain that lowering the drinking age limit has and will cause a huge impact psychologically it will cause young adults to binge drink as they get older. Furthermore, having the availability to drink as a young adult will cause huge impacts such as fatal car accidents, unwanted pregnancy, and higher crime
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.
Liquor stores, bars, and clubs all want to make money, and if they can get away with selling to underage teens, then they will. A study done by the Academic Search Premier agrees that,?By now it is obvious that the law has not succeeded in preventing the under-21 group from drinking? Michael Smith - 1st place. There are a lot of benefits to having the drinking age change to eighteen. The amount of binge drinking would lessen, and the amount of outrage to drink would also decrease.
The main reason the drinking age was increased was the persuasion by large interest groups, such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). Their main arguments for raising the legal drinking age to 21 was so that the law could protect people under that age and keep them safe. Authorities state that they enforce the underage drinking law for personal safety. MADD’s goal is to put “mandatory ignition interlocks in place for all convicted drunk drivers and the development of advanced technology that will one day make cars inoperable by someone who is drunk.” They believe this will save hundreds of thousands of lives.
Muhlenfeld, Elisabeth. “Seeking a Drinking Age Debate.” University Business 11.10 (2008): 53-4. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Mar. 2010.
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.
...drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based upon research. 1998. Oct 13 2002. <www.indiana.edu/engs/articles/cqoped.html>.
Time to Lower the Drinking Age? U.S. News -. U.S. News & World Report, L.D., 07 May, 2014. Web. The Web.
Drinking Age Limit I. A. HOOK A-1. Everyone knows that it is illegal to consume alcohol until the age of 21 in the United States. Many people are in agreement with this legal restriction. Some would even say that it should be raised. However, the legal drinking age sometimes causes more problems then it prevents. B. I am here today to persuade you that drinking age limit should be lowered. C. Why? Because we care. We care about people who abuse alcohol and in that way harm themselves, their families, and innocent people around them. II. A. First, it is necessary to question this law. Why is 21 the "magical" age that makes one intelligent and mature enough to consume alcohol? Surely, some adults abuse alcohol and some teenagers in this ver room would be perfectly able to drink responsibly. Why not 18 or 35 or 40? At 18, people are considered adults. It may seem unfair to many observers to allow 18-20 year olds to marry, to have children, to own cars, homes, pay taxes, vote, fly planes, risk their lives in the armed forces own firearms and to be financially and socially independent, and yet to be legally prohibited from drinking a glass of wine in a restaurant, or even a glass of champagne at their own wedding. I think it is a problem to have a limit higher then the age of maturity. B. Teenagers look at drinks as something glamorous. It is view as an adult activity; and teenagers want to be adult ASAP.
There has always been controversy as to whether the drinking age should be lower from 21 to a younger age, like 18. Though there are drawbacks to lowering the drinking age such as, one It may cost for use of illicit drugs. two Its easier to access other drugs, and alcohol. tree it may decrease unsafe drinking activity’s. The benefits would be that it would one get rid of feelings increasing , two people should have freedom of choice and tree, it is wrong to drink at such a young age.
Despite the problems that would arise, many people are beginning to feel that the drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen. Studies have been made; however, no hard evidence suggesting lowering the minimum drinking age would help have surfaced. Although there are countless studies of how alcohol has many harmful effects on teenagers, there is a great deal of negative criticism about what if the drinking age is lowered. Some would say the morally right decision is to not allow teens the chance to hurt themselves. Everyone is entitled to having his or her own opinions and beliefs. However, the overall health of the youth of our country seems a little more important than some personal belief. The drinking age should not be lowered due to the fact drunk driving, juvenile delinquency, and alcohol-related medical issues related to teens will increase.
The debate of whether the minimum legal drinking age should be lowered or not has been around for many years even since the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 raised the MLDA to age 21. Prior to that, the government has t...