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Alcohol Consumption And Underage Drinking

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Alcohol consumption and underage drinking has been a major social problem and public health concern for centuries. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), “Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug among youth in the United States, more than tobacco and illicit drugs, and is responsible for more than 4,300 annual deaths among underage youth (Fact Sheets - Underage Drinking). Alcohol has always been part of our culture as well as a debatable topic in our society and the controversy over alcohol consumption, in general, has been a long-standing issue in America. In fact, the legal history of alcohol helped shape our country because of the way that it closely correlates with both economic and social shifts. People who oppose the use of alcohol have made several failed attempts to put restrictions on its production, sales, and consumption. This dates back to the late 1700’s, starting with the Whiskey Rebellion, followed by the Temperance Movement in the early 1800’s, and subsequently by the more renowned era of Prohibition, which started when the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed in 1919.
Alcohol was banned for almost 14 years during Prohibition, but was repealed with the passing of the 21st amendment in 1933, and later followed by the adoption of minimum legal drinking age policies in all states. Most states decided the legal drinking age to be 21 until 1971, when congress passed the 26th Amendment, which lowered the legal age to vote
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