Pros And Cons Of Lowering 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.

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.

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 over 100 countries across the world, the act of legally possessing and consuming alcohol is permissible below the age of 21, most often within the age range of 18-20. Nevertheless, there are many additional countries such as Spain and Haiti, which enforce a minimum age of 16 years among citizens. With the ratification of the controversial 1984 National Minimum Drinking Age Act, the United States federal government now requires each state to conform to the drinking age restriction of 21, or otherwise endure a penalty, encompassing a 10% reduction of federal highway transportation funds, attributed to the state in violation. Unfortunately, despite the conviction that a higher minimum drinking age prevents destructive, irrational actions conducted as a product of holding an underdeveloped brain, this federal ruling not only increases the seductive temptation of underage drinking, but additionally and equally promotes organized crime within the United States-a toxic societal conflict which would effectively be negated by a reduction of the minimum federal drinking 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.

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

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.

The legal age of drinking should be raised to twenty-one as it will be beneficial for all Canadians. Primarily, this act would promote an increase of security for young adults that on occasion fail to realize the repercussions of alcohol. Studies have shown, taken from International Survey Associates, that adolescent brains aren’t fully developed at age eighteen. In fact, there is reason to believe, experts representatives from Mental Health Daily explain, that our brains aren’t fully developed until well in our twenties; age twenty-five more specifically. That is due to the synaptic pruning, a process by which brain synapses are selectively eliminated which peaks during puberty and can remain that way for many

Following in the Path of Other Countries: Why the U.S. Should Lower the Legal Drinking Age

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

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.

The minimum drinking age should be raised because younger people tend to make more irresponsible decisions, many DUI's that occur involve people in their twenties, and drinking and driving causes more traffic accidents than anything else.

Alcohol. Most adults drink it and it is present in the majority of history. When Prohibition was enforced the ban only stayed active from 1920 to 1933 and during that time alcohol was still sold illegally. It’s obvious to everyone that it’s not something we should drink, but that doesn’t stop people. Although, there’s debate over whether the drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18. Lowering the drinking age would be terrible idea because it would interfere with brain development, increase alcohol consumption, lead to more bad behaviours later in life and also increase traffic fatalities.