Chris Goode's Monkey Bars

The drinking age is kind of an experiment around the world. In many places around Europe, people who are below the age of twenty-one are allowed to drink by law. Many teenagers around the US find this law biased, because teens aren't given enough credit for how responsible they can be. In Northern Europe, people see alcohol as a culture issue. In many countries it is traditional to have a glass of wine or two during each meal. The drinking age in other countries vary but the normal legal age is between 16-18 years of age. A recent "study that compared DUI laws in the United States to those in comparable nations, such as the European Union States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Brazil, found that the United States had the highest proportion of traffic fatalities that were alcohol-related among the 12 countries reporting data." It was reported that the United States had "relatively lax enforcement" in comparison to other countries ("National Minimum Drinking Age-Choose Responsibility").

The legal drinking age is a highly debated topic in the United States and Canada. The drinking age refers to the age when people are allowed to buy and consume alcohol. The drinking age varies from country to country, and in some cases state to state. South Dakota, for example, allows teens to drink at 18 with adult permission unlike many other states in the U.S. Many people are happy with the current drinking age where it's at, but many want it lowered to 18. Those people that want it lowered think that when people turn 18, they are considered adults and should have all the rights and privileges that 21 year olds possess. Many people disagree with this and think adolescents are not fully responsible until they are 21. This has become a major debate in our country over the past few years as we have seen an increase in underage drinking. Being a legal drinker requires lots of responsibility and smart decision making.

Well, you are telling me that I can legally kill someone at the age of eighteen, while I sign up with the military and go to war but I can’t have a sip of alcohol. Due to this none senseless situation, age should be equaled. In other words, if voting and military sign up is eighteen, then drinking should also be eighteen. Besides at the age of eighteen you are legally an adult. Why can’t we drink then? Drinking age in Australia is eighteen, and in UK is as low as sixteen in restaurants. Studies have showed that those teens/adults are perfectly fine. In fact, Dr. Ruth Engs; professor of Applied Health Sciences at Indiana University in Bloomington, uses this examples to propose the following: “……the drinking age be lowered to about 18 or 19 and permit those of legal age to consume in socially controlled environment such as restaurants and official school and university functions” (direct quote from Dr. Engs).

Society proposes at the age of eighteen an individual is mature and responsible to make decisions without the consent of a parent or guardian. In the United States an eighteen-year-old is considered a legal adult. By law you are able to fight for your country, vote, and buy cigarettes. Some impose, giving a newly young adult the privilege to consume alcohol would enhance their responsibility as an adult. Mary Cary from

In the United States, the minimum age required to legally consume alcohol is twenty-one years, being allowed in some states for young people under the minimum drinking age to consume alcohol under specific controlled circumstances. This particular age is controversial as it does not correspond to the age of majority of 18 years embraced by 47 states, which entitles the individual to vote, get married and join the army, among other decisions inherent to adulthood. It is thus seen as contradictory to consider a young person mature enough to take decisions of this nature, but not mature enough to drink alcohol.

First, the drinking age used to be 18 in some states. Many of today's parents were legally allowed to drink at 18. Today, teenagers are faced with more responsibility and are treated more like adults

When I was young I was told 18 would be the age when I would become an adult. When I turned 18 I could get a tattoo or piercing without permission, I could buy cigarettes, and I did not need permission for most everything. Most everything except drinking alcohol. In the United States the drinking age is 21 years old, 4 years after a teenager legally turns into an adult.

Many negative effects come with drinking alcohol. Since teenagers’ brains are not fully developed until they are in their mid 20’s, it is especially dangerous to them. The legal alcohol age should not be eighteen because it harms the teenage brain and body, it has negative (and potentially fatal) effects on school, and it has negative effects on driving.

In the United States the legal drinking age is 21 years old, while quite drastically all over the world the drinking ages in many countries are 18. If these countries have lower drinking ages and statistically better education scores and crime rates it could be beneficial for the government to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18, or it may be detrimental to the society.

The drinking age in the United States is a contradiction. At the age of eighteen, one can drive a car, vote in an election, get married, serve in the military and buy tobacco products. In the United States you are legally an adult at eighteen. An eighteen-year-old, however, cannot purchase alcoholic beverages. The minimum drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one in the United States.

The legal drinking age in the United States is currently 21, which is four years shy of when the brain stops developing. Previously however, the legal age was 18. Countries around the world have varied laws on the drinking age. In some countries, drinking is not allowed no matter what age. In other countries, the drinking age is 16.

     First, the drinking age used to be 18 in some states. Many of today?s parents were legally allowed to drink at 18. Today, teenagers are faced with more responsibility and are treated more like adults

The United States is one of the four countries in the world with a legal drinking age as high, or higher, than 21 years of age. Reportedly the reason for this is because it helps to lower th

When I went on a vacation to Punta Cana after my eighteenth birthday It was legal for me to drink at that age in this country. This was a great experience but the thing it taught me most of all is that you need to be responsible while you are drinking.

Eighteen-year olds throughout the United States are considered legal adults in almost every way, with one notable exception: the privilege of having an alcoholic beverage.