Research Paper Zack Means 4* Period Should you be allowed to drink alcoholic beverages at 18 years old? After all 18 is when most adult privileges are received anyway. The drinking age should be lowered to 18 in the United States. For about 40 years ago there have been discrepancies about the drinking age. In the late 60s and early 70s exactly 29 states lowered their drinking age. They did this because they wanted to at least match the enlistment and voting age. Which was and is 18. This resulted in drunk-driving accidents. This cause 16 out of the original 29 states to move their drinking age back to 21 in early 1983. Then, July 17, 1983 President Reagan signed to a “uniform age of 21” for legal …show more content…
It increases risks for “addiction”, “memory loss”, “suicide” and “depression”. This is the number 1 Con on procon.org. Lowering the drinking age will increase traffic fatalities more than they already are. In the New York Times Tara Watson say traffic fatalities will become more frequent. So many 22 year olds die due to over alcoholic consumption, so lowering the MLDA would be irresponsible to increase the chance of more fatalities. According to Cdc.gov “excessive drinking contributes to more than 4,300 deaths among people below 21 in the US each year”. Lowering the LACA (Legal Alcohol Consumption Age) would just increase that …show more content…
There is a lot of websites that say that if the US lowered the drinking age will increase drunk driving accidents. In procon.org “since 1982… driving fatalities occurred across all age groups….therefore it can not be reliably attributed to MLDA 21”. The biggest argument against lowering the drinking is the driving fatalities. But know there is reason to believe that it will not affect the fatalities. The alcohol flow has not been stopped by MLDA 21. It has just been “pushed underground” causing more risky behaviors and situations. The MLDA will not affect the underaged drinking age accidents because the already occur in most
Drinking during that time can damage short and long term brain growth, and that damage can be permanent.” (John Carpenter) Eighteen year olds are trusted enough to drive, can vote, and fight in the military so why can’t they drink? Teenegers will drink no matter what so why not let them do it legally? Having twenty-one as the legal drinking age has driven drinking to the riskiest of settings.
Robert Voas states teen pregnancy, sexual assaults, and crime rates have increased due to underage drinking. Alcohol consumption at a college age leads to 600,000 physical assaults and 70,000 sexual assaults yearly according to a study (464). Joyce Alcantara claims if the age were lowered back to eighteen then it would put younger teens at risk (468). People tend to have friends around their same age. So, if eighteen year olds were allowed to drink then their friends which are roughly around the age of sixteen or seventeen would likely have an alcoholic drink in their hand as well.
“If the legal age were lowered in the US it would have to come with much more education in this area, not just the shock-value of Every 15 Minutes” said Ulrike Skillman, math teacher at Saugus. Skillman suggests the lowering of the drinking age will have to come with more alcohol education and that is the exact purpose of a “drinking license.” Which would allow 18 year olds to consume alcohol, with strict regulations, then take classes to officially receive a “drinking license” at 21 years old. The license would replicate a driver’s license, but be geared toward consuming alcohol.
Alcohol is the drug of choice for most teenagers regardless of the rules that are in place. On April 14, 1982, President Reagan established the Presidential Commission Against Drunk Driving (PCDD). These were 39 recommendations on how to stop the drunk driving epidemic at the time. One of the recommendations was raising the drinking age to 21 which they did and it was very effective for its time, but is it time to update the law? Each side has good and bad reasons for lowering the drinking
Now most of these are not significant increases but are still evidence that shows the increase in visits after MLDA. We have a total of approximately 9.6% increase in self-inflicted injuries, a total of approximately 2.2% in assaults, and a total of approximately 3.4% increase in external injuries. All these were recorded while the person was under the influence of alcohol. The one major increase we can all see as the minimum legal drinking age has gone down is that the number of alcohol poisoning related visits has significantly gone up in numbers, for males and females. In males, we saw an increase of about 17.3% in alcohol poisoning related visits to the hospital.
Getting married and voting for the next president has a larger effect on one’s life, and is more difficult than consuming alcohol (“9 Prevailing Pros”). If the drinking age was lowered it would be better on the economy, because there would be more people going to bars and night clubs, so they would be making more money (Drinking Age). Another reason why the drinking age should be decreased to 18 is that is would potentially reduce the amount of underage young adults drinking. Many young adults that are underage binge drink being that it is against the law for them to drink (Brown). If the drinking age was lowered than it would also reduce the thrill of breaking the law.
With all due respect, I truly think that the drinking age should not be lowered to 19. In my perspective drinking is bad for everyone. Drinking is dangerous to everyone. I am going to explain why not to drink through health issues, younger age people and not to drink and drive. The risks of drinking alcohol are health issues, your body wouldn’t stay fit if you are drinking too much.
Alcohol abuse and alcoholism seems like an issue that keeps getting increasingly worse each year in the United States. According to USA Today and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention both say that approximately 6 people die from alcohol poisoning, caused from binge drinking, each day, which amounts to roughly 2,200 people each year. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says that “In 2013 an estimated 697,000 adolescents ages 12–17 (2.8 percent of this age group) had an [alcohol use disorder]” (“Alcohol Facts”). Something has to stop and something has to change from preventing this more because 6 people dying each day from binge drinking alone is a lot, not to mention that 12-17 year olds are having alcohol problems at such a young age. Lowering the drinking age will enforce this act even more, promoting more drinking in fact.
Lowering the drinking age: risky or safe? When teenagers turn 18, they are told that they are adults and are sent into the world. They go to college, get a job, marry or join the military. They do grown-up things like vote, pay taxes and become parents, but they can 't go to the bar for a beer.
Should the legal age for alcohol consumption be lowered? In the United States, The legal drinking age is 21, but in my research, I have found that it is actually allowed, under certain circumstances and situations, to people of even lower age. Though all 50 US states have set their minimum drinking age to 21, exceptions do exist on a state-by-state basis for consumption at home, under adult supervision, for medical necessity, and other reasons. In fact, all but 5 states, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, New Hampshire, and West Virginia, under age drinking is permitted. Parents are allowed to furnish alcohol to minors if they are under proper supervision.
However, “90% of drunk driving deaths in the United States were found in the over 21 age group” (Gruenewald). For this reason, drunk driving is not directly correlated with the drinking age. In addition, the percent of drunk driving deaths in the United States has reduced at a slower rate than European countries where they have their legal drinking age at eighteen. This suggest that if lowering the drinking age was a success in Europe, it may also be effective here in the United States to diminish the amount of drunk driving deaths. This is because people that become injured due to alcohol or alcohol poisoning are afraid to report their injuries to the hospital or authorities out of fear of illegal consequences for underage drinking.
A lot people question whether the legal drinking age should be lowered, or remain at 21. Some may think it isn’t such a good idea, because of the lack of maturity, and others may think it a good idea, because some people are going to do it anyway. However there are many pros and cons of lowering the legal drinking age. One pro is that the actual age where a person is considered to be an adult is 18.
People will oppose to this law, but at the age of 18 an adolescent's brain is not fully developed yet. Underage drinking is a common action in today’s society. What kids do not know is the effect that underage drinking has on their brain. Since the brain is not fully developed at the age of 18, drinking
In the United States, turning 18 is a huge step for people as it marks individuals entering the adult world. At that age they are considered an adult in society. Open to more liberties, these young adults can drive, vote, join the military, and die for their country; however, they cannot possess or purchase alcohol. The current minimum legal drinking age, also known as MLDA, in America is 21. Numerous debates still occur today about the minimum drinking age.
And the public agrees: 72 percent of adults think that lowering the drinking age would make alcohol more accessible to kids, and nearly half think that it would increase binge drinking among teens, according to a new Nationwide Insurance poll. She also states that: Since the 21 law was widely enacted, the number of young people killed annually in crashes involving drunk drivers under 21 has been cut in half, from more than 5,000 individuals in the early 1980s to around 2,000 in 2005. By the end of 2005, the 21 drinking age had saved nearly 25,000 American lives—approximately 1,000 lives a year.