Do not Lower the Legal Drinking Age

"Adults under 21 are able to vote, sign contracts, serve on juries, and enlist in the military, but are told that they are not mature enough to have a beer?," said Ruth C. Engs, a professor of Applied Health Sciences at Indiana University (Engs). No matter what is done, teenagers and young adults all over America are going to drink if they want to. The question is, why can 't they start legally drinking when they enter adulthood? An alternative to simply lowering the minimum legal drinking age could be thought of, such as, having a learner 's permit for responsible drinking for people between the ages of 18-21. In other cultures where the minimum legal drinking age is lower, there is not as large of a problem with drinking. Lowering the minimum legal drinking age would stop criminalizing a large amount of people for the minor crime of underage drinking, which on your record makes it hard for young people to apply for jobs or apply to colleges.

The legal drinking age in the United States will always be a point of contention. No one can settle upon a drinking age that everyone is in agreement with; should it be 18 or 21? Ages 18 and 21 are the most popular options, yet neither one has 100% of the vote. With the current legal drinking age in America standing at 21, meaning that people under the age of 21 cannot purchase or consume alcoholic food or beverages, there is the question of whether or not to lower it to 18 or 19 years old. This paper will argue that the drinking age should be lowered, and examine its impact on State University.

Everyone knows that it is illegal to consume alcohol under the age of 21. Why is 21 the "magical" age that makes a person intelligent and mature enough to consume alcohol? Sure, some adults abuse alcohol and some teenagers would be perfectly able to drink responsibly, but why not 18 or 35 or 40? This seemingly random number, 21, is associated with adulthood, as if the day a person turns 21 they know everything and are mature. The drinking age should be lowered to where one can learn to drink responsibly.

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

Around the world new adults are flaunting their new found responsibilities consuming alcohol at the average age of 18. However, unlike most countries in the world the United States has determined to establish their drinking age to be set at 21 years of age. This antiquated position is unjust to many young American adults. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 should be revised and reconstituted to the legal age of 18. To provide a more suitable America that is secure and reasonable for all young adults. The drinking age needs to be lowered so that it can reduce traffic fatalities, reduce binge drinking, and allow young adults to understand an old ongoing tradition. It’s time to reconsider the drinking age to allow a safer environment for everyone.

There are numerous problems involving alcohol in the world today, including alcoholism, drunk driving, and alcohol poisoning leading to death. Many of these problems involve minors and are linked to drinking underage. The legal drinking age in many states is twenty-one years old. The purpose of this law is to keep minors out of danger: away from drunk driving, alcohol poisoning, and injuring the brain before it is fully developed. The government supports the belief that people are not ready or responsible enough for alcohol until this age. However, various professors and researchers are discovering ways to disprove this belief. These people think that reducing the drinking age to eighteen would influence our country in a positive

When people think of drinking, they think of fun games and parties. However, this depiction is wrong. When individuals under twenty-one drink, consequences emerge. In the United States, the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) is twenty-one. According to the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA), the legal drinking age set at twenty-one saves about 900 lives on the road annually (James C. Fell). By having the drinking age at twenty-one, the amount of alcohol consumed decreases. Less drinking results in a drop in potential risks and dangerous acts often associated with alcohol. Individuals under the age of twenty-one are not mature enough to make good choices. Therefore,

The minimum drinking age became a hot topic ever since it was set to twenty one years old. It is a law not everyone welcomes with open arms, one that has the most impact in the lives of adolescents and if violated, one that can put a state at risk of forfeiting ten percent of its annual federal highway appropriation. John M. McCardell Jr., president of Middlebury College; founder and president of Choose Responsibility, a non-profit organization, clearly states his desire for the National Minimum Drinking Age Act to be lowered to avoid binge drinking. On the other hand, Melanie Fonder and Misty Moise, among others, clearly express the benefits of this law and the

Underage drinking has been occurring since laws were set in place for age qualifications, but it is better serving American society by continuing it because we can’t accept lowering the national age? Ruth C. Engs, a professor for Applied Health Sciences at Indiana University, finds that the mandated drinking age should be lowered to 18 or 19. If young adults were legally allowed to drink in controlled environments, then responsible drinking methods could be taught, resulting in mature behavior when consuming alcohol (Engs, 1). By keeping the drinking age so high, students or young adults are forced to hide drinking and more often than not, turn to binge drinking, an unhealthy, addictive, and extremely dangerous form of drinking that often results in blackouts and alcohol poisoning. Engs states, “For example, 22% of all students under 21 compared to 18% over 21 years of age are heavy drinkers.” This is not the only issue that arises from underage drinking. Newsweek writer, Jeffrey A. Tucker, sees that this law is only causing “over-indulgence, anti-social behavior, disrespect for the law, secrecy and sneaking and a massive diversion of human energy.” To diminish these issues, people are turning towards the examples of other nations that have managed to maintain low drinking age laws, with low risk results. In other countries, alcohol is seen as a cultural norm and are taught at young age how to responsibly consume. However, it is treated the opposite in America, instead, it is seen as how Wil Fulton from the Huffington Post sees it, “forbidden fruit”. Fulton states through a claim made by the World Health Organization, that while Europeans tend to consume more alcohol, Americans still die from more alcohol-related causes. In efforts to change this law and hopefully encourage safe and responsible drinking, many are turning towards the Amethyst Initiative, a movement created by John

"The presidents of 135 colleges have called for lowering the drinking age from 21. They note that the age restriction hasn 't stopped binge drinking on campus and argue, not without reason, that it has turned alcohol into forbidden fruit begging to be picked. Perhaps teaching young adults how to imbibe in moderation is the safer direction to go (Harrop)." Having the drinking age at 21 does not teach young adults who are starting to pledge anyway, how to drink responsibly. It makes them hide away from adult supervision and makes alcohol seem that a great deal more appealing. Office of the trill of drinking underage is hiding and getting away with it, so lowering it to 18 would take the thrill of drinking underage away. Things cannot go on this path.

Studies show that keeping the drinking age at twenty-one improves lives. When the United States raised the age limit to twenty-one in 1985, a shortage of drinking occurred at a whopping 40% by 1991. As a result, fewer students drop out of high school, less motor accidents occur, and suicides rates dropped significantly. However, lowering the drinking age to eighteen will bring serious consequences on young adults by reversing these statistics. Lowering the drinking age will cause significant health problems, draw youth to poor judgment situations, before they are even old enough to handle the responsibility of drinking.

This era of teen indulgences has become an issue across the country. The problem is the bizarre and reckless drinking habits of the young adults in America. Focusing on college campuses, this is where many mishaps with alcohol takes place. When some young adults in the age range of eighteen to twenty-one think of the word "college," the word "party" also comes to mind. Partying in college is like a general tradition which is being depicted in many movies; although, they usually end with incidents regarding an irresponsible, intoxicated teen. With all of these real life and terrifying events, some U.S. states want to lower the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) anyhow. Missouri, South Dakota, Vermont, and Minnesota would still like their MLDA lowered. As reported from the Guardian Unlimited, there are bills in Missouri, South Dakota, Minnesota and Vermont that would lower the drinking age for the general public; Kentucky, Wisconsin and South Carolina have introduced bills that would make alcohol available to those under-twenty-one that are serving in the military. Although, there are several organizations that support the Country’s decision on the MLDA of twenty-one. These organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), and the Gallup Organization try to develop smart ways to empower the movement of lowering the risk of unsafe drinking. All we simply have to do is keep the legal drinking age, for all states, at twenty-one.

Without a doubt, the United States has been facing serious national problems with underage drinking. Depending on personal ideologies, some people might not agree that the current minimum drinking age of twenty-one is based on scientific facts rather then ideology of prohibitionism. For example, since 1975 over seventeen thousand lives have been saved since the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) was changed to age twenty-one (Balkin 167). This shows that even over a short amount of time, a higher MLDA helps decrease the risk of teen suicides, accidents and overdose deaths. However, this widely debated topic has inevitably brought attention to the plethora of supporting and opposing viewpoints. The minimum legal drinking age of twenty-one

For countless young adults after high school the next stepping stone is college, however, students are not only learning from the classes they attend, but also from the parties. Consequently, they are being introduced to alcohol and plenty of it; learning how to shotgun a beer or attempt a keg stand is all the rage. Suddenly, people are viewing college binge drinking as a right of passage for even their youngest students. Thus, demands the questioning of lowering the drinking age to counteract college binge drinking. “The reality is that at age 18 in this country, one is a legal adult. Young people view 21 as utterly arbitrary—which it is. And because the explanation given them is so condescending—that they lack maturity and judgment,

College life is filled with changes. It is filled with many new experiences. As college students, we are on our own, adults. As adults we are responsible for keeping up to date on information that affects us. One issue that affects college students nation wide is drinking. The current legal drinking age in the United States is twenty-one years of age. The Federal government raised the legal drinking age from 18 to 21 in 1984. Even with the current drinking age at twenty-one, many people under that age choose to drink anyway. In fact, a government survey from 1996 showed that 56% of high school seniors reported drinking in the last 30 days (Hanson). With so many underage drinkers, many people