Should Drinking Age Be Lowered Essay

Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered?

At this moment in the United States, a popular topic being debated is whether the legal drinking age should be lowered. Lowering the drinking age is not as easy as it seems, though. It is a matter of both state government and federal government, because in 1984 the National Minimum Legal Drinking Act (MLDA 21), a federal law, was put into effect, which required all state to have a minimum legal drinking age of 21 years old. If states did not comply with the act, then the federal government would cut off 10% of that state’s federal highway construction funds. So, the real debate is for the MLDA 21 to be abolished so that states are able to decide whether the legal drinking age should be lowered on a state by state basis and without the fear of dampening their federal funding. In order to keep young adults safe and drug free, the legal drinking age must be kept at 21 years of age or older.

Those who fight for MLDA 21 to be abolished argue that lowering the drinking age to 18 is reasonable because at that point U.S. citizens are adults and deserve to have the right to make their own decisions, including drinking alcohol responsibly. One of the most common arguments is, “If I'm old enough to die for my country, I'm old enough to drink a beer.” This is a valid argument, but allowing newly legal adults the ability to drink also gives them access into places such as bars and nightclubs. A survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration showed that “{in}

citizens, but these things are not worth gaining if it means causing much more harm than gain. Lowering the legal drinking age would risk in the health of younger drinkers and could result in much more traffic accidents. Overall, to keep young adults safe in the U.S. we must keep the legal drinking age at 21 years