In 1971, the United States ratified the 26th amendment which lowered the voting age in America to 18. As a result of that change many people believed the drinking age should be lowered as well, and because the drinking age was the power of the states, many states country wide began to lower the drinking age to 18, 19 and 20 years old. By 1983, 28 of the 50 states had lowered their legal drinking age but on July 17th, 1984 President Ronald Reagan passed the Minimum Drinking Age Act, increasing the legal drinking age to 21. As a result, States were given an ultimatum which was to either raise their legal drinking age to 21 or face a 10 percent cut to their federal highway funding, and all states eventually raised their drinking age. Ever since …show more content…
What does it do? What does it feel like to be drunk? Although the drinking age is 21, 11% of all alcohol consumed in the country per year is consumed by individuals aged 12 to 20. Many underage drinkers consume alcohol because of the “thrill” they get for breaking the law and experimenting what the effect of drinking alcohol feels like. According to the procon.org article “Minimum Legal Drinking Age” previously used, lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 will reduce the “thrill” that is investing in so many underage individuals. According to Jennifer Korszun’s timesunion.com article titled “Lower the drinking age?”, lowering the drinking age may actually benefit society. “Lowering the drinking age will take away the thrill many young people associate with breaking the law. Learning to drink in moderation as a youth can benefit young adults and prevent them from turning into binge drinkers.” Allowing 18 year olds will not only mature the individuals, but it will also decrease the thrill of getting drunk because it will not be an illegal action anymore. 61% of countries worldwide have a legal drinking age of 18 years old and although it may seem ironic, countries with a drinking age of 18 have a fewer number of drunk driving accidents compared to the United States. If consuming alcohol is legal, then the excitement of getting drunk will not be as high and those who consume legally will be more inclined to make better decisions with more of a knowledge of the risk that comes with
There are several controversies in the world today, but one that really catches my attention is on the topic of whether or not the drinking age in the United States should be lowered from 21 to 18. Many people have debated about this topic for several years, and there are several different opinions on this topic. Some people think it is dangerous to lower the drinking age; some people support it. Some children think it is stupid to lower the drinking age; some children support it. However, I strongly believe that the legal drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18 for several reasons, such as 18 year olds are allowed to do several other adult activities, other countries have the legal age at 21, and people who are under the age of 18 are still going to drink alcohol whether it is illegal or not.
When people turn eighteen they are finally considered an adult. They can join the army, vote, buy cigarettes or tobacco products, get a tattoo and even die for our country. Although everyone considers that person to be an adult, they are still not old enough to buy or consume alcohol. A person can be responsible enough to live on their own, make their own money, pay their own bills, and yet they are still not considered old enough to purchase or consume any type of alcohol. Lowering the drinking age to 18 would help prevent the crime and personal injuries that are caused by alcohol abuse.
It’ll reduce the thrill of breaking the laws. Teens find it exciting to break the law. Once they start breaking the law, it’ll get them addicted to the thrill of breaking the law. They’re going to want to keep breaking the law just to be cool. (“Reasons”). When they break the law, they think that since other people won’t do it, that it’s going to be cool to break the law and look bad. Most parents should know that almost all kids drink. If they know that their kids drink, why not let them have legally drink at 18, with not having their kids get in jail for drinking under age. (“Age”). For example, why would you go through the trouble if your child drinks and gets caught because they’re not 21 yet, but are in college and over 18 and you have to bail them out? Therefore most college kids aren’t even 21 yet, but are still exposed to alcohol and drink.
My chose to do the policy where we should lower the drinking age from twenty one to eighteen. There are many arguments where you could lower the drinking age. Some say that lowering the drinking age would stop underage drinking and control binge drinking. I think it would stop those things to like lowering the drinking age would cut out a lot of underage drinking because most kids don’t start liking alcohol until there about eighteen anyways.
There always has been controversy as to should the united states lower the drinking age to 18. Eighteen year olds should have the right to drink. By lowering the drinking age to eighteen it will give people supervision, teach responsibilities, and eighteen years olds are already considered adults; however, it may cause binge drinking, it will lead to more deaths, and drinking damages brains cells and especially the body itself.
“Prohibition... goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes... A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.” - Abraham Lincoln
Half the United States population starts drinking at the age of 14.When you are 18 you have privileges like joining the army. (Mitch Adams Lowering the drinking age page 1) You can go to war and die for your country but you still can not enjoy an ice cold beer. (Mitch Adams Lowering the drinking age page 1) How is being 21 different from being 18? How does three more years of not drinking make you mature enough to drink? The longer you drink the more you start to drink responsibly. (Katherine Reilly Why 21? Page 1) The legal drinking age should be lowered to 18 because most teens under 21 drink, when you turn 18 you get tons of privileges, at you 18 are considered an adult and what is so special about the
On July 1, 1971 the 26th amendment was passed which lowered the minimum age to vote from twenty one to eighteen years old. Shortly after the amendment was passed twenty nine states across America started lowering the drinking age from 21 to either 18,19, or 20 years old. This new freedom for young adults only lasted for a brief time by 1984 the Uniform Drinking Age Act was passed. The Uniform Drinking Age Act forced states to change the drinking age back to twenty one years old; by reducing the federal transportation funding, for each state that did not have a minimum drinking age of21. This act has caused controversy for years, there even is group of 136 college presidents called Amethyst Initiative that support a lower minimum legal
Upon turning eighteen you are considered to be legal adult and receive all of the responsibilities that accompany the title. At the age of eighteen year olds you receive and are expected to use the rights and responsibilities to vote, serve on juries, get married, sign contracts, join the military--which includes taking on the responsibilities of life and death--and be prosecuted as an adults in the court of law along with many other things. In 1984, the national government raised the drinking age from 18 to 21. Mothers Against Drunk Driving was a key contributing organization that influenced the change in the minimum drinking age. While there are arguments for both sides, it is said that if the national minimum legal drinking age is
This discussion has been going on for long on many forums without a decisive conclusion or agreement. This is mainly because both the arguments for lowering the age to 18 years and not lowering have some substantial facts to support them. The people who are against lowering the drinking age come up with a number of arguments which are explained below.
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.
A very controversial argument amongst Americans is determining that the current legal drinking age which is 21 should be lowered to eighteen or not. Researching the following propaganda made me understand the dangers to the youth and people in America if the drinking age were to lower. Therefore i will argue with whoever disagrees with me that the drinking age should be lowered.
In the United States. Every state has the right to set its own legal drinking age. However, according to George Will in an article he wrote in the Washington Post about the legal drinking age, “drinking age paradox” “lowering the drinking age will cost the state ten percent of its federal highway funds and cause a significant uproar from contractors and construction unions.” It is therefore in the best interest of every citizen as well as the state not to lower the legal drinking age, to prevent States funding from the negative affected if the legal drinking age is lowered (The Chilgren 's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2015).
Despite the positive results that have come about since this law was passed, it is pretty clear that it has not prevented people under 21 from obtaining and drinking alcohol. College campuses across the country report problems with students binge drinking and students who drink deliberately to get drunk (Smith). “Today, the generally accepted definition of binge drinking is the consumption of five or more drinks in a row at least once in the past 2 weeks” (Binge). Some of the reasons given for binge drinking range from being curious to trying to escape from the ever-present stress in our lives. The latter reason is more prevalent in college students. “College students are more likely to engage in heavy drinking than their peers who do not attend college with 2 in 5 students nationally engaging in binge drinking on at least 1 occasion in the past 2 weeks” (Wechsler). Some believe that making the drinking age 21 is one cause of the current
The laws concerning the minimum drinking age in this country sometimes seem ridiculous and unnecessary. In this paper, I will discuss why certain laws are unfair and I will provide alternatives to certain problems concerning underage drinking and binge drinking.