In the 1960’s and 1970’s when many states had lowered the MLDA, besides the rise in drunk-driving deaths, studies showed that people raised from childhood in under-21 states were involved in higher rates of alcohol and drug use as adults, and had a higher rate of homicides and suicides. (Moses, 2011) This in turn convinced federal law makers to raise the MLDA again to 21. However, in order to encourage states to comply, the federal government would tighten their purse strings and states would receive little or no funding towards highways. So while there are those who do not necessarily care one way or the other about the actual age limit on alcohol consumption, they do prefer having the federal
Their are several penalties for drunk driving. I don't understand why the alcohol limit is so low for DUI's when just one drink can make you over the alcohol limit even though you're still sober. I believe they should give out DUI's when people appear to be visibly
This is an astounding 0.3 percent of the national population. (NIDA, 2008). Of the 259,000 who used methamphetamine for the first time in 2006, the mean age at first use was 22.2 years, which is up considerably from the mean age of 18.6 in 2005. From 2005 to 2006, lifetime methamphetamine abuse increased among those 26 and older, particularly among those 26-34 years of age. (NIDA, 2008).
legal drinking ageRyan Adams Dr.Curl 2/06/2013 Legal drinking age Statistics show that at least 72% of teenagers have consumed more than a few sips of alcohol by the end of high school. In fact in the past 30 days 17.4% of teens have binged on alcohol in the US. ("Fact Sheet for Underage Drinking." CDC)Most teens will graduate at the age of 18, are they considered mature enough to drink responsibly? If not then why isn’t the legal age of an adult considered 21 years old?
The drinking age should not be lowered to 18. Lowering the drinking age from 21 years old to 18 years old could lead to an increase in dangerous behavior such as drunken driving and car accidents, risk of developing alcoholism and people under the age of 21 do not fully understand the dangers of alcohol. A teenage driver and alcohol is a dangerous combination. Drinking and driving accidents are the number one cause of death among teenagers. “Traffic deaths from drunken driving have fallen steadily, with those involving teenagers 16 to 19 declining by 39.1 percent from 1982 to 1990, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)”.
However, after legalization, these drugs would be much more widely and easily available. Not only will they be more available for adults, but they will also be available for the American youth. Legalization of illegal drugs could cause a pediatric pandemic of drug abuse and addiction. For example, 87% of high school seniors report using alcohol, more than half in the past month. Opposite the high rates of alcohol and tobacco use by teenagers, only 18% of seniors use illicit drugs, which are illegal for the entire society.
One right is that they can buy tobacco. Tobacco is a very dangerous substance that kills over 435,000 people per year compared to the 85,000 deaths caused by alcohol. Also an 18 year old can vote in the United States. It seems strange that the government thinks that a person is mature enough to vote in this country but not mature enough to have a drink. There are definitely people who are as young as 15 years old who have more maturity than some 50 year olds.
It seems quite plausible that were alcohol to be illegal for those under the age of 18, the 15.1% of 18 to 20 year olds who drink before getting behind the wheel would decrease significantly. The fatalities caused by drinking and driving would be likely to fall as well. There are so many other things a person could be doing and spending their money on then something as pointless and inconsequential as
MADD was supported by those individuals who had suffered the loss of a loved one due to a drunk driver and wanted a safer future. The goal of the program initially was to lower drunk driving traffic deaths and because of this organization there has been a high number of people that disapprove of others that drive while intoxicated. There is a dramatic drop in alcohol related deaths much due to the efforts of the MADD organization (Canada Safety Council 2003). The most significant problem in lowering drunk driving deaths consists of the most drastic alcoholic drivers who continuously drive with high concentration of alcohol in their blood stream. A Social Problem In America alone people take about two hundred and thirty three trips in cars each year, of all these, one out of two thousand of these trips are being taken by drunk or drugged individuals.
Therefore that is why the drinking age shouldn’t be lowered to less than 21 years of age. Descriptive Argument: Alcohol is a big problem in the United States of America. In fact; more than 75,000 deaths are attributable to alcohol consumption each year and the economic costs associated with alcohol problems total more than $184 billion annually (US Department of justice2002). While about 43 percent of adult drinkers report heavy drinking on one or more occasions in the past month, 50 percent of 12- to 14-year-old drinkers, 65 percent of 15- to 17-yearold drinkers and 72 percent of 18- to 20-year-old drinkers report heavy drinking in the past month (US Department of Justice 2002).While Americans are bombarded with $4 billion of alcohol marketing each year. Alcohol advertising and product placements are very common and often occur on television and in radio shows for which the majority of the audience is underage, on Internet sites attractive to young people, and on billboards and in retail outlets where young people are frequently present.