Did you know that in the year 1980 the legal drinking age was only 18? In 1987 there was a law passed that said in order to drink legally and to buy alcohol a person had to be 21. At the age of 18 people are allowed to buy tobacco, vote, get married without parental consent, and even join the armed forces, so why can’t some one who is 18 by alcohol. This is a question I have; I believe that the legal drinking age should be 18. Dr. Ruth Engs, a professor of Applied Heath Sciences at Indiana University, agrees with me also. She states, “the legal drinking age should be lowered to about 18 or 19 and young adults should be allowed to drink in controlled environments.” (Engs) These controlled places include …show more content…
They are not getting the right to drink freely and so they go out and deviate from the laws. Professor Engs has tested this theory by using a student alcohol questionnaire. The questionnaire tested 3,375 students that were both underage and of legal age. The questionnaire showed that 81.2% of the underage students were drinkers, which was compared to the legal age students that had a percentage of 75.3%. Out of the 81.2% of the underage drinkers about 24% of them are heavy drinkers. This compares the lower percentage of heavy drinkers that are legal age; they only have a percentage rate of 15.93%.
In Boulder Colorado is a similar debate going on, whether to lower the drinking age or not. Tom Koby, Police Chief of Boulder Colorado, also believes that the drinking age needs to be lowered. He thinks that they need to focus on the underlying issue of alcohol abuse more than on people who are consuming alcohol illegally. “The problem is we’ve forgotten to teach people how to use alcohol. There is nothing fundamentally bad about alcohol.” (Bregman) Professor Engs says, “responsible drinking can be taught through educational programs and role modeling.” Both Police Chief Koby and Professor Engs think that by educating students about the effects of alcohol and what may happen while intoxicated will help lower the percentage of binge drinkers. Along with Professor Engs, Koby thinks, “when used properly alcohol can serve important societal functions.” Professor Engs
The 21-year-old limit may be less effective at curbing binge drinking on college campuses, however. Prohibitionists who argue otherwise say that alcohol affects teens performance in school. For example, a teen's performance tends to be affected only when consumed in abundance. Statistics show that this happens less in countries open to alcohol and educating their youth, unlike America where underage drinking is completely prohibited. In conclusion, more students drink when knowing they aren't supposed to, getting more thrill out of rebellion with their
The Centers for Disease Control reported that young people between 12 to 20 drink 11% of all the alcohol consumed in the U.S. and more than 90% of it is consumed during the binge drinking. In an article that states lowering the U.S drinking age, “When you’re that impaired, you do things you wouldn’t normally do.” (Cary), reveals the college-aged students’ mind on binge drinking. Research showed that alcohol is responsible for more than 4,300 deaths annually among underage youth. When the younger people are prohibited to obtain the abilities to have exhilarating fun, such as no drinking even after turning to be an adult, they tend to bring to college fake ID and against the prohibition.
Should the legal drinking age be lowered from 21? In all fifty states the legal drinking age is 21 years of age. Now there are exceptions to this law including drinking at home, under parental supervision and for medical reasons. Those who agree in lowering the legal drinking age believe that the set age at 21 has not stopped teens from drinking but encouraged underage drinking to less safe and controlled places. Those who are against lowering the legal drinking age believe that teens are not developed enough to drink responsibly which makes them more likely to harm or kill themselves or others.
A huge debate in the United States in the past has been whether or not the drinking age should be lowered or raised or just stay right where it is. I believe that it should be lowered. If we are able to vote, die for our country, and rot in a jail cell why should young people not be allowed to have a few drinks every once in awhile. I think that if in the eyes of the law I am considered an adult the day I turn eighteen why am I not allowed to make a decision about whether I am able to consume alcohol or not.
The drinking age should be lowered to eighteen because there has been many problems that have caused life threatening dangers to these teens. The age eighteen is where you start to become an adult so people should have the right to drink when they turn eighteen (“Drinking Age”). It also should be allowed
In the United States, 18-year-olds are considered adults. They can vote, get married and get a license for a gun yet they are not allowed to drink. Many people think that the drinking age should be 18, but others strongly believe it should be 21 for doing all kinds of things. Drinking in the United States has become a controversy for the drinking age; 18 or 21. There are many reasons why the drinking age should stay the same and many of why it should be 18. Even though many Americans think that people under 21 do not have the capacity to handle drinking, in my opinion, drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18 because teenagers at the age of 18 can make important decisions, so drinking should be a decision they can too decide whether to
Is it worth it to let teens to ruin their whole future by allowing them to start drinking at a younger age? Annually about 5,000 youth under age 21 die from motor vehicle, other unintentional injuries, and homicides and suicides that involve underage drinking.(“Underage Drinking”) It is a current debate on whether or not the minimum drinking age should be lowered to the age of 18 from 21. Though, the reasons why the drinking age should be 21, clearly triumph the reasons for the opposing side of minimum legal drinking age 18. When a young boy named Brian started drinking as a teenager, it resulted into increasing issues into adulthood. According to Brian, he started to drink with friends in middle school. As his drinking led on, his grades became progressively worse and he became less involved with school activities. When his drinking continued into adulthood, Brian notes that he became depressed and wanted to die. ("I Started Drinking as a Teenager"). Underage drinking is a widespread offense that results in serious or fatal physical, neurological, and legal consequences, the minimum drinking age of 21 years old is an effective way to keep these consequences from occurring and lets young adults have a safe and successful future.
Young teens all get a bad rep when it comes to drinking alcohol. Especially college students that are considered “binge drinkers”. When in reality a nation wide survey of students at 168 colleges and university’s found some interesting things about the underage corrupt youth. 93% of all students have never received a lower grade in a class because of drinking too much. 98% of all college students say that they have never gotten into trouble from an administrator from excessive drinking. While the media continually gives the under twenty one community a bad rep, in reality they are continually practicing safe drinking habits and in some cases not drinking at all. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse by the Institute
A very controversial argument amongst Americans is determining that the current legal drinking age which is 21 should be lowered to eighteen or not. Researching the following propaganda made me understand the dangers to the youth and people in America if the drinking age were to lower. Therefore i will argue with whoever disagrees with me that the drinking age should be lowered.
“It [minimum legal drinking age] hasn’t reduced or eliminated drinking. It has simply driven it underground behind closed doors into the riskier and past manageable of settings.” John Mccardell a vice principal at the South in Sewanee. Mr. Mccardell says that this law was changed because congress thought the brain was fully developed at twenty-one. However, researchers show that the brain is completely developed at eighteen. Change the age to eighteen instead of twenty-one.
Although the debate began many years ago, it still continues to this day. Should the legal drinking age be lowered, or should it not be lowered? The argument has always been massive, with both sides spitting out rebuttals left and right. Despite the fact that both sides showcase decent evidence, only one brings hard-hitting facts that truly make a difference: the legal drinking age should not be lowered because it helps prevents youths from driving drunk, it helps prevent youths from committing violent crimes, and it helps prevent incomplete develop of the brain.
Without a doubt, the United States has been facing serious national problems with underage drinking. Depending on personal ideologies, some people might not agree that the current minimum drinking age of twenty-one is based on scientific facts rather then ideology of prohibitionism. For example, since 1975 over seventeen thousand lives have been saved since the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) was changed to age twenty-one (Balkin 167). This shows that even over a short amount of time, a higher MLDA helps decrease the risk of teen suicides, accidents and overdose deaths. However, this widely debated topic has inevitably brought attention to the plethora of supporting and opposing viewpoints. The minimum legal drinking age of twenty-one
In order to be legally drinking alcohol you must be of 21 years of age or older. But, contrary to that law many teens drink alcohol anyway. This is what helps spark the debate of whether the legal drinking age should be lowered to 18. Many argue that at 18 years old, being a legal adult you should be able to drink alcohol. Also, in many countries where the legal drinking age is 18 years old many of the problems we face in our country aren't even relevant in their country. But, on the other hand alcohol can interfere with development of the young adult brain's frontal lobes, which has many long term effects. Also, many seniors in high school are 18 which means that they can drink, even when
When it comes to an alcohol safety policy, the United States has never attracted more research and public attention than the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA). In the U.S., the legal drinking age is one of the highest worldwide. The MLDA of 21 is to control traffic fatalities, protect young teens from killing themselves while driving under the influence, and prevent damage medically to a developing brain of a young adult. Many Americans believe that the drinking age of 21 has not stopped teen binge drinking events in uncontrolled environments; however, studies have shown that teens have not yet reached an age where they can handle alcohol responsibly, thus the drinking age should remain at 21.
College life is filled with changes. It is filled with many new experiences. As college students, we are on our own, adults. As adults we are responsible for keeping up to date on information that affects us. One issue that affects college students nation wide is drinking. The current legal drinking age in the United States is twenty-one years of age. The Federal government raised the legal drinking age from 18 to 21 in 1984. Even with the current drinking age at twenty-one, many people under that age choose to drink anyway. In fact, a government survey from 1996 showed that 56% of high school seniors reported drinking in the last 30 days (Hanson). With so many underage drinkers, many people