Lowering The Drinking Age Act Essay

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.

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

“What we’re doing now to prevent underage drinking isn’t working; it’s time to try something else.” Although many people argue that the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1964, which lowed the drinking age from eighteen to twenty one, was a good idea. David J Hanson a professor in the State University of New York believed that something needs to be done to make the United States a safer place to live. Is it fair that people in the United States can serve in the military, vote in elections, serve in juries, get married, and enter into legal contracts at the age of eighteen, but not buy alcohol until they are twenty one years of age. Lowering the drinking age in the United States to eighteen will help young adults be more responsible, and

Drinking alcohol otherwise known as ethanol is a legal drug manufactured in different percentages and various drinking beverages. Ethanol is a naturally occurring colorless liquid produced by fermentation which is an anaerobic chemical process which yeast decomposes sugars and is converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide without the presence of oxygen. Normal alcohol percentages range from about 2% up to 60% and while some other beverages can range higher. In the U.S. there has been recent studies to deny the proposal to lower the alcohol consumption laws from 21 to 18. The drinking laws in the United States include The National Minimum Drinking Age Law which was passed on July 17, 1984 by the United States Congress to structure and control the consumption of alcohol. The National Minimum Drinking Age Law prohibits any age limit under 21 to

In 1984 the United States Government approved the National Minimum Drinking Age Act that required that “the States prohibit persons under 21 years of age from purchasing or publicly possessing alcoholic beverages as a condition of receiving State highway funds.” Even though this bill was nowhere near the magnitude of the prohibition act that was passed less than a century before it, the act still damaged the relationship between individuals, firms, and the United States government. Although the intentions of the government were to control alcohol consumption among citizens aged 18-21, the passing of this act affected the equilibrium already established by a consumer-producer market, created a market failure and a black market, and introduced excise taxes into the market.

There are statistics that alcohol consumption has lowered since 1984. Some attribute this to the fact that drinking age is set at 21, but this is not absolutely the reason because even where it is set at 18 people make their own choices of whether to drink or not. It is also evident that setting the drinking age at 21 against 18 does not eliminate teenage drinking problems; instead it just keeps them on hold until the teens get to 21 years of age. In some cases keeping the minimum drinking age at 21 encourages teens to drink more. Hence drinking age should be set at the age of 18. Here are some of the reasons why.

Since the states increased their drinking age to 21 in 1987, every citizen of this country between the ages of 18 and 20 have been oppressed by the very people elected to power to protect their rights. It is evident that the legal drinking age among Americans should be lowered to the legal age of adulthood, 18 years. At this age, any American can marry without their Parent’s approval and can move out of their guardian’s house and live on their own. Why are these adults deprived of their right to consume alcohol? A police officer unexpectedly arrived at a party where many young adults were drinking alcoholic beverages. He asked to see two young gentlemen’s identification to prove that they were of legal age to be consuming. Both were

Many people believe lowering the drinking age to 18 would be very beneficial for our country. 18 year olds are seen as adults in the United States. If they can do so much at this age why can’t they be able to make the choice of purchasing a drink? At 18 you can sign leases and move out of your parents home. You can also get inside of a club.

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

Alcohol is many people's drink of choice in several different situations. Whether it is a casual get together or a crazy out of control party, it is not hard for adolescents to get their hands on the substance even if it is illegal for them to purchase and drink it. However, even the parents and lawmakers of the most respectful teenagers can not ignore the growing rate of adolescents drinking earlier than 21. While it may be fun in the moment teens miss the steps of drinking responsibility and the long-term effects of partaking in it. Even though some lawmakers claim that lowering the drinking age would negatively affect the country, the long term effects of individuals drinking earlier could

“I’m going to lower the drinking age to eighteen. If you’re old enough to die in Iraq, you’re old enough to drink.” Kinky (Friedman)

There will forever be a debate over the legal drinking age. Should it be lowered, increased, or left at the current age of 21? Each side has valid arguments. But is there really a “right” answer?

One concern of legalizing alcohol at age 18 is known as the trickle-down effect. The idea is that if young adults can legally obtain alcohol when they are still in high school, that alcohol will often end up in the hands of much younger kids. The same problem that exists today, where juniors in college who are finally legally old enough to buy alcohol will supply their younger friends with alcohol, would happen but this time the alcohol would be coming from seniors in high school. This would result in giving kids as young as 14 much easier access to alcohol. At 14, the brain is still very much developing and alcohol has been proven to have a very negative effect on brain development especially at such a young age. According to Drug Free World, an organization that works to provide valuable information about the impact of drugs

Was it a good decision to choose 21 as the legal drinking age? Research shows that “alcohol consumption, heavy drinking, and daily alcohol use has declined among young adults age 18-20 since the 1980s” (Wechsler). Along with the decline in consumption, the percentage of alcohol-related traffic fatalities has also dramatically declined from the 1980s until 1997 when it leveled off. (Wechsler).

Sarah, an eighteen-year-old college freshman, walks into a convenience store and moves timidly to the back, hoping that no one she knows will see her. Opening the refrigerator door, she pulls out a chilled case of Coors Light. Sarah nervously approaches the cashier, with her fake ID ready to be shown, and places the case of beer on the counter. Upon first sight, the cashier assumes that Sarah is not of legal age to buy beer, because she is petite and looks young. When she places the case on the counter, the cashier asks her for her ID. Sarah, ready to show her seemingly flawless fake form of identification, hands it to him. At first glance, the ID seems to be real, and the date of birth