Pros And Cons Of The Drinking Age

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.

The issue of underage drinking has become a major problem, especially on college campuses. But, underage drinking is not purely the root of all accidents related to alcohol. The real problem lies within the unsafe underage drinking habits amongst youth. There are ways that these alcohol-related accidents can be avoided. Several organizations have been created that are targeting a change in the legal drinking age laws. One key way to lower the risk of unsafe drinking is to lower the minimum legal drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen.

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.

In order to safely lower drinking age, the federal government should instill more training courses over alcohol safety into the criteria in our nation's high schools. Along with the idea of providing more alcohol based education in the public school system, if students were to complete certain courses they should be eligible to apply for a drinker’s ID. In order to obtain a drinker's ID, 18 year old adults still in high school would be required to take courses such the chemistry of alcohol, the physical impacts to one's body as a result of alcohol abuse, and the consequences because of driving under the influence and possible addiction (“The Debate On Lowering The Drinking Age”). The chief of police in the college town of Boulder, Colorado, states that “The abuse of alcohol and the overconsumption of alcohol and DUI driving. Those are the areas we've gotta focus our efforts. Not on chasing kids around trying to give 'em a ticket for having a cup of beer in their hand" (“The Debate On Lowering The Drinking Age”). Even though the age restriction would be lifted, a drinker's ID may be revoked if tampered with. For example, if a young adult with a drinker’s ID drove while under the influence or bought alcohol for a minor then his ID would become invalid and ineligible to be reclaimed. Efforts by the United States government to put effective, drinker’s ID programs into action would stimulate teenagers to stop revolting against law enforcement and comply

One side to this debate is that the legal drinking age should be lowered from 21 to around 18 or 19 years old, and that young adults should be allowed to drink in controlled environments. This idea is presented by Ruth Engs, a professor of Applied Sciences at Indiana University. She states that environments such as taverns, pubs, restaurants and official university functions can be considered to be controlled environments. “In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs. Mature and sensible drinking behavior would be expected” (Engs). In her article, Engs uses phrases such as “forbidden fruit,” and “a badge of rebellion against authority” to describe how teens view drinking. In her opinion, if the drinking age were to be lowered, young adults would no longer feel the pressure to drink in order to “be cool.”

It’s no doubt that alcohol has a major sway on today’s society across the board both culturally and globally. When we take a look into past history, we can see how alcohol has been the fundamental measures to religious, professional, and social concerns. It seems that no matter how far our history books go back, the United States has had a question about the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Through the years of Prohibition halting the sale, shipping, and ingestion of alcohol and the constitutional acts delegating who is accurately fit to drink. Today’s controversy is a lot less infringing on personal rights. It’s regarding whether the legal drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen. This has been a huge controversy geared exclusively towards college students due to the fact that alcohol consumption at universities is the definitive part of campus life even though the greater part of students are not legally permitted to drink. It is apparent that through the regularity and risks of binge drinking across universities and the high percentage of DUI and alcohol related fatal crashes, that something needs to shift in this country. Lowering the drinking age to eighteen would be an expedient and positive step in reducing binge drinking, nurturing the safe practice of drinking alcohol, and permitting those students of legal drinking age the chance to fully and sensibly make mature adult choices.

On February 3, 2017, Tim Piazza, a sophomore here at Penn State, tragically lost his life at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house. This horrific event was a result of irresponsible consumption of alcohol and binge drinking. Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. Around the nation, countless young adults have lost their life due to the thoughtless consumption of alcohol. Unfortunately, the common census between the majority of the average day Americans is that the most effective way to make drinking safer for young adults is enforcing a minimum drinking age of twenty one. This law, as well as the common census, are a direct result from the efforts of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) more than thirty years ago (“Drinking Culture”). MADD’s objective and goal is quite understandable; they want the young adults of today’s world to be safe and not put themselves into dangerous situations with alcohol, but they doing more harm than good. (“The Problem”). Safety is the single objective from each side in this argument, but MADD’s flawed logic and ignorance to reality has formed a belief that results in an unsafe drinking culture, resulting in more deaths, such as the tragic passing of Tim Piazza, unless the drinking age is lowered to eighteen, as well as establishing an open dialogue about drinking itself.

On the flip side, if the age restriction were lower, young adults will not view alcohol as a forbidden fruit, so they will feel less encouraged to drink for the sake of rebelling or exploring. In addition, they will have the comfort of knowing they can drink again in the near future, so they will be less likely to drink large quantities at once. Not only will the intent of drinking change, but also it would be more acceptable for educational programs to teach high school upperclassmen a thorough understanding of what it means and how to drink responsibly. Proponents for the current age minimum counter this by saying that the lower age minimum would increase drinking among young adults and result in more drinking-related violence and accidents; they do not believe lowering the age restriction will help increase responsible drinking. In response, when looking at similar countries such as Europe which have lower drinking age minimums, there are fewer issues with alcohol-related traffic accidents and violence, showing that a less strict

The debate of the drinking age has been long discussed throughout America. The drinking age has been 21 for the last 22 years, and people around the country have wondered weather or not this was the right call. People say that 18 year olds may not be mature enough to drink alcohol and might not know when to stop. It isn’t that teenagers don’t know how to stop, but rather have not been properly taught when enough has been consumed or how to drink responsibly. Changing the drinking age from 21 to 18 years old will take the thrill that teens get from breaking the law while drinking, will no longer give them the idea that drinking is the final stage of adulthood and full maturity, and will no longer force teenagers to drink in unsupervised

This article merely states that we need to lower the drinking age to 18 or 19 to prevent the excitement factor. If the kids are “allowed” to do it then it’s not as exciting to them, they won’t drink to that extent. They have done it at a few campuses across the nation that have had a good out come. Either that or kids will start going to colleges on other parts of the world. As he mentioned towards the end of the essay about a Montreal college (“I saw on the one campus I visited where the legal drinking age is 18: Montreal's McGill University, which enrolls about 2,000 American undergraduates a year. Many, when they first arrive, go overboard, exploiting their ability to drink legally. But by midterms, when McGill's demanding academic standards must be met, the vast majority have put drinking into its practical place among their priorities“). This is what was predicted for the outcome if we lower the drinking age in the united

Once the allure of alcohol is no longer a social trend, parents would be stripped of their worries of their “rebellious teenagers sneaking off to basements and backwoods to binge drink far from adult supervision” (Griggs). Parents cannot protect their children from every hazard in the world, but they can educate their kids and desensitize their kids to the thrill of drinking out of adult supervision. Opposers claim that the current law “...[diminishes] the number of traffic deaths caused by young drunk drivers...” but they fail to realize that “...tougher seat belt and D.U.I. rules have contributed to the decrease, too” (Glaser). “Raising the drinking age hasn't reduced drinking -- it’s merely driven it underground..” (Glaser). With the legal drinking age at 18 and the incorporation of alcohol awareness classes, citizens would develop safer habits when consuming

Throughout history, the United States has taken on several policies regarding the minimum legal drinking age that vary in age as well as in state and federal enforcement of the limit. To this day, there is quite a bit of controversy surrounding the subject because advocates of higher, lower, and limitless age regulations all provide decent arguments towards their suggested policies. Regardless of the policy, they all have the same aim: reduce alcohol addiction, binge drinking, drunk driving, and other alcohol related public health risks. The current minimum legal drinking age has made improvements in the number of alcohol related health problems. Times are changing, and advocates for a lower drinking age are on the rise, but with open

The drinking age in America has been a hot-blooded debate of whether it should be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen, or if should remain twenty-one. In recent years’ many American citizens have argued that twenty-one being the legal age to consume alcohol is a useless tactic to stop underage drinking. That the current age has driven more teens to drink recklessly and behind closed doors. But are teens mature enough to learn to drink properly prior to twenty-one? Although some teens still drink regardless of the law, with a higher drinking age young adults can learn to drink responsibly and reduce harm to themselves and others.

In fact, of all underage drinking, some 90 percent is consumed through binge drinking [as of March 2014]” (Hall). That being said, by making alcohol more readily available it will reduce pregaming and excessive drinking on and off campus. “ The main consequence of this law has been to drive college-age alcohol consumption underground, which has in all likelihood increased that consumption and probably actually increased drunk driving,” says Gordon. Nevertheless, pregaming can lead to heavily intoxicated individuals driving drunk to their final party destination; which could cause more alcohol related traffic fatalities. By lowering the drinking age young adults could safely drink a reasonable amount of alcohol, legally, without the fear of getting in trouble for doing so.

Ever since the Prohibition ended, drinking has been a prominent part of American culture. With the rise of the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA), from eighteen to twenty one in the nineteen eighties, came a sharp increase in the amount of underage drinkers and outraged Americans. Still, thirty years later, underage drinking is a huge controversy amongst not only everyday people, but also important political and educational figures. By being a legal citizen at the age of 18, the drinking age should be lowered to match the standard of responsibility that is given to individuals at this time in their lives. There are many benefits that come with lowering the drinking age to 18 such as creating a more clear and concise knowledge of the law, lower binge drinking rates, and creating a positive impact on the social and economic aspects of the country.