Pros And Cons Of The Drinking Age At 21

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.

During the 1960s most U.S. states established 21 as the Minimum Legal Drinking Age, also known as MLDA. Since a few states still kept their MLDA at 18 Congress passed the Uniform Drinking Age Act; which stated that the federal government would not give any highway funds unless those states whose MLDA has not been changed to 21 would change to 21. Ever since the

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.

The minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) has propelled national debates on the subject, primarily promoted by university students, who argument that implementing the MLDA at 21 encourages

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 MLDA also comes into play with why the drinking age should be lowered. Enforcing an MLDA of 21 is expensive and inefficient. Setting the MLDA at 21 is unconstitutional because it is discrimination against the particular age group of 18- 20 year olds. IT would be more effective to spend money on educating youth about alcohol than to spend it on enforcement of drinking laws for 18- 20 year olds. The pie chart below shows the proportion of 83 countries MLDAs from ages 14 to 21.

The United States has been debating on whether or not to lower the minimum drinking age or have it remain at 21 for several decades. Supporters argue that teenagers are not fully developed and ready to consume alcohol until their early twenties. Also, statistics prove that drunk-driving incidents among 18

By avoiding alcohol before the age of 25 you could be saving many of your brain cells. People who drink before the age of 25 are putting their prefrontal cortex in danger. Your prefrontal cortex is the front part of your brain that helps you focus and stay organized. The legal age to drink is 21, but should be changed because people are killing their developing brain cells that they will not be able to get back. Drinking before your brain fully develops can cause irreversible brain damage. This essay will demonstrate how drinking before you are 25 can kill brain cells, damage your prefrontal cortex and get you to do things that you wouldn't want to do.

Many say the MLDA should be 18-years-old since that’s when you become an adult, but many also say it should be 21-years-old since 18 is too young of an age. Is 18-years-old too young of an age to consume alcohol? Is there a reason why the MLDA is 21-years-old? "Age-21 MLDA laws have reduced traffic fatalities involving 18 to 20 years old by an estimated 13 percent and saved an estimated 20,042 lives since 1975. The age-21 MLDA has also led to decreases in the number of teen DWI arrests, youth suicides, marijuana use, crime, and alcohol consumption by youth,” (“Addressing the Minimum Legal Drinking Age in College Communities”). Even nowadays, teenage drinking leads to many other controversial issues that will just become bigger if the MLDA is lowered. People, especially the youth, don’t look at the statistics and don’t realize that alcohol does affect deaths and injuries of themselves and of other people who aren’t involved. “Lowering the drinking age in Massachusetts caused an increase in total fatal crashes, alcohol-related fatal crashes, and alcohol-related property damage crashes among 18 to 20 year-olds,” (“Addressing the Minimum Legal Drinking Age in College Communities”). The youth is not ready to consume alcohol, no one really is ready to consume alcohol, so why lower the MLDA age? Alcohol is not a bad thing, but it

Globally, many of the states hold the minimum drinking age laws have been initiated for decades and they have never been changed at all excepting one or two countries. One of the exceptions is the US. The minimum drinking age laws are much effective in the US. After the repeal of Prohibition in the US in 1993 the MLDA laws were established (David & Jon, 54). Very many countries at that time set the MLDA at the age of 21. Most countries lowered the drinking age from 21 to 18 in the year 1971 when the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18. As a result of an increase in alcohol-related crashes which involved very many youths between the age of 18 and 21 many countries that lowered the drinking age to 18, returned to an MLDA of 21 years. The earlier

Drinking generally increases in popularity amongst teenagers each year, which fuels the controversial issue of lowering the drinking age to eighteen or keeping it

Society normally views teenagers as rebellious kids with an impulse to live new experiences. These experiences range from going to their first party to having their first alcoholic drink, and are sometimes as drastic as trying their first drug. Drinking alcoholic beverages is something that involves a lot of responsibility and can bring a plethora of negative consequences. This is the main reason why the United States has established a legal drinking age that I consider to be relatively high. With the legal drinking age being so high, while intending to avoid harmful situations, brings many repercussions that are equally as harmful.

The United States’ minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) of twenty one is almost a perfect example of a policy with unrealistic expectations and serious unintended consequences. The current policy that the United States has in effect criminalizes youth who consume alcohol at less than twenty one years of age. Young adults are going to drink under twenty one, so why shouldn’t the United States lower the MLDA to eighteen? Following Prohibition in 1933, many states made their MLDA twenty one. During the 1960’s and 1970’s, many states lowered it to eighteen to match the drafting age (Alcohol Policy MD). President Reagan passed The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 which required all states to raise their minimum purchase and public

The Public and MADD will like to request a immediate action to leave the minimum drinking age at 21 and never to lower to 18. The advantages of this order can decrease teenage drunk driving, helped support the victims of the violent crimes and to prevent underage drinkers. Also the drinking age of 21 is sustainable because it will decrease mortality and decreased jail rate for teens under 21. The minimum drinking age keep teenagers from consuming huge amounts of alcohol becoming permanently brain damaged before making to 25 the fully developed age of the human body.