Pros And Cons Of Keeping The Drinking Age To 18

In 1984 Ronald Reagan proposed a new law that declared that the legal drinking age must raised up to 21 instead of the age of 18. The law was forced upon the states by threatening them by stating that the government will reduce their highway funding until the states passed the law. Of course all the states eventually change their legal drinking age to 21. Some critics believe that this law’s results have been very successful, however the law possesses many insecurities, but certain programs can be arranged to help educate teenagers on alcohol.

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.

Everyone in today’s society knows that the minimum legal drinking age in the U.S. is 21. But nobody really knows why. In the year 1984, President Reagan informed the states that if they didn’t change their drinking age to 21, they would lose 10% of their federal funding for their highways(Why is the Drinking Age 21?). In fear of losing their funding, all the states changed their MLDA (minimum legal drinking age) to 21, instead of 18. Some people were outraged that the age had been raised, and believed that if they were 18+ whenever the law was changed, they should still be able to purchase alcohol. However, the states disagreed. There are many different opinions on the MLDA. Many people believe that it should be lowered back down to 18, while some people believe even 21 is almost too young. But what are these people’s arguments?

They even say there are less drinking and driving fatalities in many other countries that have the drinking age at eighteen (“Drinking Age”). It shows that the percentages of fatalities that occur have nothing to do with the MLDA (“Drinking Age”). The MLDA is having no effect because teens are are still consuming alcohol illegally. The drinking age of 21 promotes teens to get fake identification so they can get alcohol. Lowering the drinking age would decrease the number of false identifications. Especially since there is a lot of terrorism and fake identifications right now we need to get rid of that stuff (“Drinking Age”). I believe that there are a lot kids that like alcohol at the age of 18. They should have that right to have a drink and enjoy it.

The national minimum drinking age in The United States is stated to be anyone under the age of 21 years can not consume or purchase any alcoholic beverage; this law was passed on July 17,1984 by President Reagan. Nearly 88,000 people die from alcohol-related causes annually making it the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Many People would agree that alcohol should not be present to children under the age of 21 years. There has been many debates on whether or not the drinking age should be lowered to 18 years of age. “Between 1970 and 1976, 29 states lowered their age for drinking alcohol. The results were catastrophic. Highway deaths among teenagers and young adults skyrocketed. Immediately, states began raising the minimum

The legal drinking age should not be lowered to 18, but stay at 21 because It leads to irresponsible behavior and decisions. Young adults who drink tend not to care about their actions. Robert Voas who has worked for the National Highway Administration Office, claims that it would not be a good idea to lower the drinking age to 18. According to Voas, (Believe me when I say that lowering the drinking age would be very dangerous; it would benefit no one except those who profit from alcohol sales.) Young adults who are not 21 years of age tend to make irresponsible decisions like getting behind the wheel drunk. Being a young adult and driving under the influence of alcohol can lead one to a major accident or even death. Lowering the requirement of drinking may benefit underage adults but the death rate of drunk driving will increase rapidly. Robert Voas has studied drunk driving for 40 years and he has seen numerous accidents and deaths of immature young adults drinking under the influence.

There have been arguments, more so now than before, about lowering the legal drinking age from 21 to 18 years of age. Realistically, to do so would be unideal. From 1609 when the first colonist arrived in Jamestown in 1919, in the United States of America there were no age restrictions on alcohol consumption or purchase. Prior to Prohibition drinking laws varied by state, and there was no national law in concerns to a drinking age. Most states had no laws establishing a legal drinking age. In 1920, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, making the sale and consumption of alcohol in the United States illegal. When Prohibition ended in 1930 the legal drinking age was 18 until 1984, when Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, it forced states to alter their age requirements to legally buy and possess alcohol. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act raised the age limit from 18 to 21 by October of 1986. If states failed to do so, they would lose 10% of their federal highway funding. The goal of the act was achieved by October 1986, which still stand until today. Yet, there are arguments over lowering the drinking age back to 18. To lower the drinking age to 18 would be a defective idea for numerous reasons. The age limit should remain at 21 because all things that can kill you must have restrictions, 18, 19, and 20 year old’s brains are not fully developed, and because it would be in the best for the public interest.

In the United States, the legal age of drinking is 21. Drinking is huge everywhere you go, some people do it for fun and celebration and some other people do it because they are stressed and need to release stress. Most people in the United States like young people binge drink when I mean “young” I mean like 18 years old young. At the age 18 many people are heading to college or just graduating high school and younger adults look forward on that beer being handed to them. When the young adults are out of high school they want to celebrate freely and just have fun and drink a beer, but guess what they can’t because they are considered underage, and they can’t buy their own beer. And banning the sale of alcohol to people under 21 is certain to encourage binge drinking. So should the legal drinking age be lowered? It can have many pros and cons on this situation. The legal drinking age should be lowered. We should lower the drinking age because it would decrease binge drinking, 18 is the legal age of adulthood, and lastly it is an enjoyable activity and is a freedom everyone should have.

The drinking age should definitely not be lowered from 21 because, drinking can lead a teenager to have many dangerous risk in their life. Such as having a drinking problem or even become a violent person in their future. Also drinking at a young age can lead to have future health problems such as pancreas damage,liver damage,and also damage the brain and the heart. Alcohol can also lead a person to depression which can make a person have suicidal thoughts. Also alcohol doesn't only damage your health, but it could also have effects on women who are pregnant and drink during the 9 months of pregnancy time, it could cause for the baby to be born with birth defects.

All 50 states in the United States of America had adopted their minimum age of drinking as 21 since 1980s. The main goal of the increasing legal age of drinking is to reduce traffic incidents. Everyone knows that setting 21 as the legal age of drinking does not stop minors from drinking but it does decrease and prevent lots of young adults form drinking and driving. Nowadays, more and more people consider lowering the drinking age from 21. There are some good arguments for this.

Reviewing these statists one may be able to analaze and see that even drivers between 21 to 24 were high at risk. What would make a person want to lower the drinking age to 18. Young adults at eighteen are new drivers and less expierenced then the 21 + drivers and logically would produce more fatal crashes.

Students in states with a minimum legal drinking age of 18 had a 13 times greater chance of dropping out of high school compared to states with a minimum legal drinking age of 21 (CDC). More than ninety percent of the alcohol consumed by those under the age of 21 are consumed by binge drinkers (CDC). There were 189,000 emergency department visits by teens under the age of 21 for injuries and other conditions linked with alcohol consumption (CDC). The list of facts and statistics goes on and on about underage drinking, although in neighboring countries with a lower legal drinking age theses statistics are way higher. Although some believe that the United States drinking age should be lowered to 18 when one is legally considered an adult, in

Many states already allow some alcohol Consumption under age. Even though the legal drinking age is 21. Eighteen is the legal age of adulthood and adults should make their own decisions about alcohol consumption, if they can make other grown up decisions. Most people think that lowering the drinking age will cause more car accidents. In reality a lower minimum legal drinking age does not Protect America from traffic accidents. Alcohol consumption can be a good or bad thing when it comes to lowering it . Should the drinking age in America at least be lowered to 18.

One of the biggest concerns about drinking is drunk driving.(4prevention) You are legally allowed to drive a car at age 16. If the drinking age was lowered to 18 this would give them a short 2 years to learn responsibilities. It would also

Teenage drinking has became a mass problem in today’s society. More than half your average high school drinks on a regular basis, which is super crazy. Although the legal drinking age is 21 many teens abuse the use of alcohol, some even think the legal drinking age should be 18. Just think about one of your loved ones getting into a motor vehicle accident due to drunk. Why would you want to lower the age of drinking if dangerous things could and will happen. Drinking Alcohol can and will ruin the lives of many young adults. Underage drinking is a huge problem most teens face.