The Consequences Of Lowering The Legal Drinking Age

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.

"Adults under 21 are able to vote, sign contracts, serve on juries, and enlist in the military, but are told that they are not mature enough to have a beer?," said Ruth C. Engs, a professor of Applied Health Sciences at Indiana University (Engs). No matter what is done, teenagers and young adults all over America are going to drink if they want to. The question is, why can 't they start legally drinking when they enter adulthood? An alternative to simply lowering the minimum legal drinking age could be thought of, such as, having a learner 's permit for responsible drinking for people between the ages of 18-21. In other cultures where the minimum legal drinking age is lower, there is not as large of a problem with drinking. Lowering the minimum legal drinking age would stop criminalizing a large amount of people for the minor crime of underage drinking, which on your record makes it hard for young people to apply for jobs or apply to colleges.

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.

On July 1, 1971 the 26th amendment was passed which lowered the minimum age to vote from twenty one to eighteen years old. Shortly after the amendment was passed twenty nine states across America started lowering the drinking age from 21 to either 18,19, or 20 years old. This new freedom for young adults only lasted for a brief time by 1984 the Uniform Drinking Age Act was passed. The Uniform Drinking Age Act forced states to change the drinking age back to twenty one years old; by reducing the federal transportation funding, for each state that did not have a minimum drinking age of21. This act has caused controversy for years, there even is group of 136 college presidents called Amethyst Initiative that support a lower minimum legal

appropriations (Haevens). This is the main reason the legal drinking age has not been lower below 21 years of age.a large number of the general population desires a lower drinking age. In the 25 years since the legal drinking age was set at 21, seven states have tried to lower it. (Wechsier ).It is unfair for the federal government to withhold money from states if they exercise their rights to set the legal drinking age to what they think is right. Twenty-six states do allow underage drinking of wine at religious ceremonies ( "Drinking Age" 1). The legal age to drink alcohol should be lowered to 18 to allow for parental guidance, to help prevent binge drinking, and to help reduce the amount of drinking and driving.

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 1984, the United States’ federal government passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act. Under this act, the federal government gives highway funds to States that forbid people under the age of twenty-one years old from “purchasing or publicly possessing alcoholic beverages”(23 U.S.C. § 158). The incentive created a sense of a standardized minimum drinking age when legally there cannot be a federal minimum drinking age. Even though this Act has been in effect for decades, there are many debates on whether or not the age should be changed. The minimum legal drinking age should stay the same because it prevents a large number of drinking and driving accidents; it reduces overall alcohol consumption; and it has very horrible health effects on youth.

The United States drinking age throughout all 50 states has been the same since 1984 when a law was put in place by the U.S. Congress punishing all states who did not abide by the legal age limit of 21. Since this law was put into place, it has become one of the most widely studied laws in history. While there are many arguments and new bills being created to reduce this age, especially among college universities, all have failed to become law. Over half of adults agree that lowering the drinking age would increase binge drinking among teens, and 72% believe that it would make alcohol more accessible

Most states established a minimum legal drinking age of twenty-one after the Twenty-First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution revoked Prohibition in the year of 1933 (Wechsler 986). Between 1970 and 1975, twenty-nine states reduced their minimum legal drinking age between eighteen, nineteen, or twenty after the Vietnam War draft influenced the legal voting age to be lowered to eighteen years old (Toomey 1958) as the 26th Amendment ("Background" 1). Congress enacted the National Minimum Drinking

In 1934, the Original ABC Act stated that the legal age for purchase, possession or consumption of any alcoholic beverage was twenty years of age, in 1974, the legal drinking age for beer lowered from twenty one to eighteen. In 1983, it was raised to nineteen years old for all sales of beer. In 1985, people who were born on or after July 1, 1966 would be able to purchase beer, wine and liquor after their twenty first birthdays. People born before July 1, 1966 would retain the privilege to purchase, possess and consume beer. In 1987, the legal drinking age was raised to twenty one for all alcoholic beverages. The government feels that at the age of eighteen there were more accidents and they feel that eighteen year olds aren’t that responsible.

The legal drinking age in the United States is 21, while in other countries the legal age ranges from 16-18. The argument in the United States is, “Should the United States lower its drinking age?” There are many sides to this argument but research has given many good points to back up both sides of the question. First issue is the difference between a teen’s brain with alcohol and an adult’s brain with alcohol. Another concern is that drinking at a younger age can help teach culture. Lastly, the more alcohol that people are exposed to, there is an increase in death rate. I believe that it is a good idea to keep the legal drinking age at age 21 because in our past we have had many problems with increased deaths due to the drinking age being at different ages. My research used uses pathos, logos, ethos and kairos to help persuade the reader that 21 should stay the legal drinking age.

In conclusion, these reasons are just a few of why the legal age should be lowered. Most individuals would agree that responsible drinking should definitely be practiced anywhere that drinking occurs, while many people believe that individuals under the age of twenty-one or incapable of drinking responsible.The reasons listed in this passage will hopefully persuade individuals

When looking at the drinking age in many nations, a trend of relatively young minimum legal drinking ages (MLDA) can be seen around the world. As it stands, all of America’s 50 states employ a MLDA of 21 making America one of only seven countries in the world to have a drinking age set at 21; the oldest age set as the minimum legal drinking age in the world. Where many of our friends in Europe are happily drinking away at 18, many here in America are left wondering why we don’t employ the same age requirement. Why is it that America has set the age so high as opposed to everyone else? How much more dangerous could drinking at 18 be as opposed to 21? The reason that the MLDA in America is so high is not because America is ignorant or

It may seem counterintuitive, but lowering the age will make kids safer. It’s like the old days of prohibition. From the suburbs, to college campuses, to inner cities kids find ways to get around to 21 year old limit. It’s so widespread it's the norm. This law has been an abysmal failure, it hasn't reduced or eliminated drinking. It has simply driven it underground, behind closed doors into the most risky and least manageable of settings. Like basements, fraternity houses, and locked dorm rooms, where kids go to hide from the law and from adults including parents who might teach them some moderation. The law has created a dangerous culture of irresponsible and reckless behavior. Unsupervised binge and extreme drinking. Kids try to perfect the art of getting drunk as fast as possible by playing drinking games, and pre gaming- downing as much

In conclusion, the minimum drinking age should be lowered to the age of eighteen. The legal drinking age of twenty-one has not been effective and has not been fully enforced to stop underage drinking. With this in mind, lowering the drinking age will now allow underage drinkers to drink legally. At the age of eighteen the law claims to have many rights and privileges such as purchasing cigarettes, buying property, marriage, voting, and enlisting in the military but they are not able to consume and purchase alcohol. Young adults should be allowed to make their own decisions and the consumption of alcohol should be one of them. Not only will these young adults be able to drink legally, but also they will be more supervised. They are afraid of