The United States has the highest minimum legal drinking age in the world and is one of the countries most scrutinized laws. I'm sure that many students would argue that the current drinking age being 21 is unfair and should be reduced back to 18. However there are certainly people that think that this is absurd. The consumption of alcohol has been a heated debate ever since it was originally banned in the 1920's with the establishment of the eighteenth amendment. This didn't stop people from drinking however. Home brewing become more popular and drinking still went on in secret. Todays problem is that the current drinking age of 21 isn't working. The number of students drinking under age is rising and studies show that the number of students ages 18 to 20 who binge drink and drive under the influence is on the rise. We become adults at 18 and assume all the rights of an adult other than the right to enjoy a drink. The enemy of a lowered drinking age is in the facts and the facts show that the number of traffic fatalities involving 18 to 20 year olds has dropped by 13 percent since the minimum drinking age was increased to 21. I believe that because of the fact that American teens tend to start driving at an earlier age we are prevented from joining the majority of all other countries with a minimum drinking age of 18.
Pros
- Turning 18 opens the doors to adulthood, it gives us the right to vote, get married, join the military, serve on a jury, and even be tried as an adult in a crime. It should also include the freedom to drink.
- The national alcohol prohibition from 1920 to 1933 failed, this shows that strict regulation of drinking is counterproductive, unenforceable, and lead to an increase in illegal, underground drinking.
- Enforcing the minimum legal drinking age of 21 is expensive and inefficient. Drinking is still a major problem among teens.
- Drinking in moderation has proven to be good for ones health, this means 18 to 20 year old adults as well.
- Reducing the minimum legal drinking age to 18 would help boost our economy just like repealing the prohibition in 1933 did.
- The earlier a person starts using alcohol the more likely they are to become an alcoholic later in life
- Lowered drinking ages in European countries is inappropriate for our standards because of the fact that American teens generally start driving at an earlier age.
- Alcohol related traffic accidents have declined since 1984 when the minimum drinking age was raised to 21.
- Countries with a minimum drinking age of 18 or lower have had serious problems with binge drinking.
- Lowering the drinking age to 18 increased traffic related fatalities by 10 percent.
I believe that the drinking age should be keept at the age 21. Even though we have a major issue with American high school and college students whom argue against the law and partying, it is very beneficial for people to wait to drink. We should have learned when the drinking age was lowerd before; it did not work out and had to be changed back. So why dont we skip the whole changing process and keep the drinking age at 21.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job laying out the facts. Since our drinking age has been raised to 21 there have been less drunk driving deaths, but how about more people dying because of alcohol poisoning. Since the drinking age is now 21 people under 21 need to pre-game before they go out and tend to drink a lot more. They are binge drinking and harming their liver. If the drinking age got lowered people under 21 wouldn't have to binge before they go out and could than drink a safe amount at a bar. At the age of 18 we are considered adults by court so why not let 18 years old be the legal drinking age?
ReplyDeletei dont believe the drinking age should be changed because it would be too much freedom at once. Young adults would take advantage of the situation seeing that the are legal for everything. I believe changint the drinking age would put alot of us at risk for drunk driving accidents more if the age was lowered because youths will be able to drink anywhere! Will they go back to selling cigs to 16yrs?
ReplyDeleteI believe the drinking age should be lowered to 21. Regardless inking age of what the drinking age is, most teens can easily get their hands on alcohol. When you turn 18 you're considered and adult, which means you should be able to have the freedoms of an adult. If I'm able to serve my country in the armed forces, i think you are older enough to have a drink. Furthermore, when you look at other countries who have lower drinking ages, they tend to be less reckless about drinking. I think this is because they are exposed to alcohol at a younger age and it doesn't really come off as something you have to sneak off and do, they have more respect for drinking and it's dangers and it's just part of their life.
ReplyDeleteI belive drinking should not be leagalized. I believe that drinking is about hte worse thing leagalized other than guns. because people abuse the right to drink and rather than drinking resonsible that get drunk. The statisstics are proof to the damage that drunken people do. So I believe that it shouldn't be 21 or 18, but it should be banned.
ReplyDeleteI believe the drinking age should stay at 21 because if the law were to change and make it 18 to drink, so much bad things could happen. I know a lot of people under 21 who drink and they dont drink responsibly. I would never be like okay since you drink anyways go ahead and make it legal. No! If they get caught they deserve to get in trouble because they were probably doing something to get themselves into trouble. If the law were to make the legal age 18, its giving too much freedom to those who aren't responsible. Yes there may be those who are responsible under age drinkers but those who aren't ruin it for everyone else. It's too dangerous to let 18 year olds start drinking. I just think the law should keep the drinking age to 21.
ReplyDeleteThey provided some valid points to both sides of this argument. There are pros and cons for each minimum age but its hard to say which would be the best choice. But i feel like the drinking age should stay at 21 for now. I feel like changing the law right now would just complicate an already confused economy. But its tough to say exactly cause there is so much to consider on a topic like this.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the drinking age should be lowered to 18. If someone can choose to join the military and risk their life at 18 then why not be able to drink? I feel that the freedoms of becoming an adult at 18 should include being able to drink. Being tried as an adult at 18 seperates us from adolecence and to me seems much more severe than being able to drink alchol. I have been to Europe countries that have a low or sometimes no age limit to drinking at all and I have to say I disagree that they have a binge drinking problem. It is just their way of life and has been accepted and controlled and now they have little to no problems with it.
ReplyDeleteI think that the drinking age should remain the same, at age 21. If they government were to lower the drinking age, it would become to dangerous. The earlier someone starts drinking, the more they become dependent on it, so that would mean a lot more people will become addicted to alcohol later on in their lifetime. Despite this law, people under the age of 21 still drink but it is much harder for them to acquire, and there are still some people will not drink if they are not of age.
ReplyDeleteBefore I turned 21 I had little to no problem getting and drinking alcohol. I had my first fake ID at age 17. My point being is that kids are gonna find ways to get alcohol. You can not stop it if you you have a motivated teenager that wants to drink. The main reason the national government said that the drinking age has to be 21 nation wide was because of driving accidents. Kids would go across state lines to get alcohol from a state where they were legal and then drive back to their home. While doing this they would often get loaded and drive home. The government could have just as easily made the age 18 and that would have made it pointless drive across state lines also. The drunk driving issue is the big reason for the law being at 21. The thing about drunk drivers is that they are gonna drive drunk regardless of what age they are. Many successful people have a DUI or two. So people are gonna drink if they want to and drive drunk if they want to. So they might as well let a person drink at the age they become an adult and can be drafted to go to war where they could die for their country. Certainly if your government thinks you are old enough for war then you are old enough to drink.
ReplyDeleteI believe the drinking age should not be lowered to 18. I see people under the age of 21 who drink and don't know how to be responsible drinkers. Alcohol can really mess up someones life if not drinking responsibly. Not everyone just drinks to get drunk or "messed up" but those who do ruin it for everyone else who is responsible. There are too many car accidents with drunk drivers that are under the legal drinking age. Some kids are stupid and do stupid things when they are drunk. It should stay 21 for the legal drinking age.
ReplyDeleteI think if marijuana is illegal, than drinking should be illegal as well. However, this is not the case. Probably because of tradition, as well as economical circumstances. Alcohol is a big money-maker in America.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of lowering the drinking age to 18, I think it would be a good idea. The government is always trying to put rules on everything. We all know that people under the age of 21 are going to drink. When you deprive a young adult from a freedom like being able to legally enjoy oneself, abuse occurs.