The Pros And Cons Of The Legal 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.

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.

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.

The drinking age has been a controversial topic in the United States for years; should the drinking age be lowered to 18 similar to many other countries around the world? Or should the drinking age remain at 21, which has been the MLDA (minimum legal drinking age) since 1986. There for a couple of strong points for both sides on this debate. One of the strongest points for lowering the drinking age is that at 18, you’re considered a legal adult in the United States. Since the United States trusts teenagers with the ability to join the military, sign contracts, go to jail, and many other things but the United States does not allow drinking at the same age. If we also compare the drinking age with other countries around the world, one will see that the United States has a the highest drinking age in the world, and that other countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Italy, India, France, etcetera. Some say that the minimum legal drinking age of 21 shouldn’t be changed. People who oppose lowering the drinking age say that allowing 18 year olds to drink can mess up their development and brain growth. Also, many state that the minimum legal drinking age reduces traffic accidents and fatalities. There are great points for both sides in this debate of changing the minimum legal drinking age.

Because the law states this, and even states that a person of the age of eighteen can also be arrested and charged as an adult in a court of law, eighteen year old adults should have the right to decide for themselves whether to drink or not, like adults. Since people of the considered age are adults by law, then why should they not be able to act out as adults? Alcohol should be no different. People from the ages of eighteen to twenty should be able to buy alcohol because the society we live in starts to accept these people as adults years before the legal drinking limit of twenty-one. One might could argue that this is somewhat unfair to a specific age of individuals. Does it not makes sense that if an individual is accepted and qualified by law as an adult, that he/she should be able to participate in all adult activities? This is yet another reason why the legal age to purchase alcohol should be lowered.

Students in states with a minimum legal drinking age of 18 had a 13 times greater chance of dropping out of high school compared to states with a minimum legal drinking age of 21 (CDC). More than ninety percent of the alcohol consumed by those under the age of 21 are consumed by binge drinkers (CDC). There were 189,000 emergency department visits by teens under the age of 21 for injuries and other conditions linked with alcohol consumption (CDC). The list of facts and statistics goes on and on about underage drinking, although in neighboring countries with a lower legal drinking age theses statistics are way higher. Although some believe that the United States drinking age should be lowered to 18 when one is legally considered an adult, in

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 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

Should the age drinking be lowered in the US to 18 years old? For the past 25 years there has been a lot of talk about changing the drinking age limit. Some States back in the 1970’s try this approach and weren’t successful. Evidence show that between 1970 and 1975, the states that lowered their minimum legal drinking age to 18 suffered significant teenage traffic fatalities. Young teens have not reached an age where they can handle alcohol responsibly and are more likely to harm themselves or someone else by drinking before they turn 21. This led to a movement to reestablish the minimum legal age drinking back 21. 16 states increase their drinking age to 21 between 1976 and 1983. In 1984 The Federal Uniform Drinking Age Act signed by President Ronald Reagan put a stop to all this changes. He threatened to hold back all highway construction funds from all the states that did not increase their drinking age. By 1988 all stated had a minimum legal drinking age of 21. Does the minimum legal drinking age help

First of all the United States is one of only twelve countries in the world that still uses 21 was the minimum drinking age. The majority of the world (115 countries) are either 18 or 19. In America 18 is the age of adulthood you can vote, smoke cigarettes, serve on juries, get married, sign contracts, and be prosecuted as an adult. I would also add that at 18 you can join the military but underage drinking is legal for any military member well at a base but when they return home the same rules apply to them as well. With having to hold the same responsibilities as a 21 year old why not allow one to consume alcohol. Secondly by not allowing people under the age of 21 to drink in public it forces them to binge drink in unsafe and unmonitored locations as opposed to a restaurant or bar. According to CDC.gov 90% of underage drinking episodes constitute as underage drinking. Binge drinking is defined as having BAL or blood alcohol level over 0.08, which is the legal limit. This usually occurs when a male has about 6 drinks or female 5 in under 2 hours. Binge drinking can lead to serious health issues such as alcohol poisoning, liver disease and high blood pressure. On top of this young adults under age will try to do all their drinking before they go out which can lead to a dangerous amount of consumption of alcohol. In a lot of cases this can lead to alcohol poisoning and even death. When underage drinkers partake in drinking it is usually at house parties and private locations with no type of supervision or public safety measures such as a bar. This can lead to another serious issue sexual assault. It is reported that 80% of sexual assaults that occur under the age of 21 are alcohol related according to thedailyreporter.com. This is due to underage drinking being pushed underground and being consumed in larger quantities. Another issue faced is when

There are many sides to one argument just like in whether the drinking age should be lowered. Many people think that it should be lowered, so young adults don’t drink in unsafe or unsupervised environments. Although, many people think that it shouldn’t be lowered because brains aren’t done developing until 22 and drinking can lead to health problems later in life. There are many positives and negatives to lowering the drinking age, but there are also some advantages such as diminishing binge drinking in young adults.

Have you ever wondered why when you're 18 years old you're old enough to join the army and move out, but not drink or buy alcohol? People are trying to lower the drinking age to 18 because they think they're mature enough. They think if you can be in the military you should be able to drink. If you're old enough to fight in a war and live by yourself you're old enough to buy alcohol.

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.