Pros And Cons Of Lowering The Drinking Age To 18

Lowering the minimum legal drinking age may have many beneficial outcomes within social lives of society. People drinking alcohol for a number of reasons: peer pressure, celebrations, anxiety, boredom, rebellion, and so on. As agreed by many, the legal drinking age of 21 is set for many accurate reasons, but lowering the legal drinking age will resolve rather than create common under age drinking issues, resulting in a positive outcome on social wellness. By connecting with other cultures who have a positive outlook on having a lower legal drinking age, it will give our society a whole new perspective to influence a change. Whether it be increased supervision amongst young drinkers, more responsible drinking habits, or a lower interest in teenage

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.

I believe that the drinking age should be lowered to the age of 18. I took this stance in my health class debate last year and it was a success. There are many reasons why the drinking age should be lowered that I will discuss in this paper. These reasons are very convincing and should be considered by the government. I will also look into what action is being taken on decreasing the yearly amount of DUI’s.

The debate for the legal drinking age of eighteen or twenty-one has been a topic of discussion for a long time. Personally, most people support the side that they should just leave the legal age at twenty-one. There are many reasons as to why people would support this side of the argument. If the drinking age gets lowered to eighteen, it would lead to cause more car related accidents, there will be an easier access to alcohol, and that it would be medically irresponsible to drink at a younger age.

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.

The minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) in all 50 states is set at 21, but the question is if it should remain the same or should it be lowered. As said on the background information on ProCon.org many people who are for lowing the MLDA says setting it to 21 “pushes underage binge drinking into private and less controlled environments which leads to more life thearenting behaviors. People who oppose lowering the MLDA says that teens are not responsible enough to handle alcohol and can bring harm to themselves. In the beginning states we allowed to set there own alcohol consumption laws but in 1976 the US Supreme Court said the difference of age violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Even though Americans can legally qualify for the military, army, marines, navy, and etc. at the age of 18 and over, women and men under the age of 21 cannot legally drink alcoholic beverages. Not only can Americans qualify to fight for the United States, but they are also suppose to be able to drive, attend college, take on careers and bills, do anything without parental supervision, vote state and federal, sign legal documents, charge as an adult, and live the life of an adult. The list of rights that an 18 year old can do, continues to grow throughout the years. If an 18 year old is enlisted into the United States military and stationed in the U.S., they should be able to consume alcoholic beverages. On a day in 1942, the legal drafting age lowered to the age 18 and the highest age raised to the age 37 (history.com np). By 1988, all 50 states in the United States, had raised their legal drinking age because the National Government prompted them to, so all states had the same minimum legal drinking age (drinkingage.procon.com np). At this point in time, the National Government announced it completely clear that even if you are 18, you can be drafted into the military and etc., can draft you, but you cannot consume or purchase alcoholic beverages. Only a couple of statistics have changed from 1942 to present day.

Lowering the drinking age will result in life and death consequences. By keeping the drinking age at 21, the rate of fatalities for drinking and driving decrease drastically. During the short period during the late 1980’s when the drinking age was lowered to 18, the number of fatal car crashes involving young adults who were under the influence dropped from 61% to 31% (Wil Fulton). By bringing the age down to 18-years-old, alcohol would be more accessible to the lower age group. For example, an 18 year old, who is still in high school, is more likely to sell alcohol to a 16 year old than a 21 year old, who is away at college. In recent studies, researchers found that 77% of the population are opposed to lowering the drinking age to 18 (Brandon Griggs). MADD is supported by influential government companies such as the American Medical Association, National Transportation Safety Board, National Safety Council, International Association Chiefs of Police, Governor's Highway Safety Association, Surgeon General of the United States, and U.S. Transportation Secretary to name a few (John H. Barnhill, PHD). Overall, young teenagers lack the proper wisdom collected to make right judgments about alcohol. The 3 years between the age 18 and 21 are filled with change and responsibilities, making one more suitable to make appropriate

Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) laws are defined as the legal age when an individual can purchase and publicly consume alcoholic beverages. The MLDA in the United States is currently 21 years and this has sparked quite a bit of controversy about lowering or even raising the MLDA.  However, prior to the law being passed ,the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, the legal age when alcohol could be purchased varied from state to state.

I don't believe that youngsters have the obligation or capacity to handle drinking while attempting to grow up and adapting new things all in the meantime. Would you have the capacity to handle everything? I feel that bringing down the base drinking age will impact more strategic alcoholism and more youngsters to misuse liquor. Bringing down the drinking age might likewise prompt more motor vehicle accidents among teenagers. If the drinking age is left where its at, then there may be less deadly mishaps than if United States brought down the Minimum Legal Drinking Age to 18. The writer of the essay, " Redefining the Problem Won't Make it Go Away", Linda Chavez, believes that, the drinking age should be left as it is, because he thinks that lowering drinking age is not a solution. Chavez say's, " Lowering the drinking age to eighteen won't solve these problems and would likely make them worse."(334). Moreover, the fact suggest that, in the 1970's 30 states brought down the drinking age, on the other hand it didn't keep going long. On the

As many people know the age at which one can legally consume alcohol in the United States is 21. At one point alcohol itself became completely illegal but I am writing this paper to argue that it should be lowered to 18. It is 18 or lower in many other countries and I willing be presenting an argument as to why the United States should be next to lower the age.

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.

Ten thousand four hundred ninety-seven. This is the number of people who died in 2016 from drunk-driving related accidents (“Motor Vehicle Safety”). People have brought up the debate about lowering the drinking age once again. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 originally raised it from eighteen to twenty-one years old. The government convinced everyone to raise each of theirs by threatening to lower their state’s federal transportation funds. Some states have exceptions to this law in appropriate situations ("Background Of The Issue - Minimum Legal Drinking Age - Procon.Org."). Lawmakers should not approve of lowering the minimum legal drinking age because it would otherwise result in more deaths, higher risk for younger kids,

The national drinking age in the United States has been 21 years old since 1984. Most people support the law, but what are the real consequences if the minimum drinking age is lowered? In Henry Wechsler’s article called “Will Increasing Alcohol Availability by Lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Decrease Drinking and Related Consequences Among Youths?”, shows both sides of the argument about whether the legal drinking age should be lowered.

It’s the big 18; as an official adult one can go out and vote for the country’s next president, one can become a real patriot and fight for the country they love, one can even purchase tobacco that they have been dying to try. These are just some of the benefits as a legal adult so why is it that in the United States it is still illegal to drink under the age of 21? Consuming alcohol is a right and just like any other right there are consequences that one must endure for abusing them. Lowering the drinking age has always been a controversial debate, on one hand with a stricter drinking requirement than majority of the world America is taking the precaution to keep their citizens out of harm’s way. But on other hand, even though America has