Lorianne Berbano November 28, 2011 Rogerian Essay Eng100, Emma White Lower The Legal Drinking Age At the age of 18, you are already considered as an adult, so why do you have to be 21 to purchase or consume alcohol? There has been multiple debates over the years whether or not the age of 18 should be the appropriate legal drinking age than the age of 21 here in the United States. There are numerous theories as to why 18 should be the legal drinking age. As an adult you can do whatever you want and have your freedom of rights. The legal drinking age should be lowered to 18 because most teens under 21 drink anyways.
Britney Pickering Mary Fahey English 1A; 2-3:20 16 April 2014 Legal Drinking Age: The American drinking culture is a nice chunk of American history, especially when one targets the youth and their rambunctious acts of drinking alcoholic beverages. All around drinking culture tends to be a very important factor when it comes to youth’s social life and although the legal drinking age is 21, everyday that law is broken. According to a study conducted in 2007 by NESARC, in the past years, 46% of young adults involved themselves with extensive drinking that were well over the suggested limits (Nakaya 39). This subject is crucial for others to investigate, especially that of the younger generation, because it will allow insight behind the
Unfortunately many states have taken the easy road and have become over-reliant on the federal government for support. In return they are forced to relinquish power and freedom. This is one of the “cons” to following the federal mandate of the universal MLDA of 21. The main argument against lowering the MLDA again, is the inevitable rise in drunken driving related deaths. 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.
Drinking privately is extremely unsafe and when kids are in a situation they can't handle, they can then ask for help. Majority of teens are capable of being responsible and can handle the low age. This will alleviate all the problems with college students. Underage drinking is a huge problem in the United States because it has one of the highest ages in the
10-08-12 The Alcohol Drinking Age Should the alcoholic drinking age stay at age 21? In the United States “The federal legislation passed in 1984 required all states to set the legal age for the purchase and public consumption of alcohol at 21 years” (Drinking). Many people believed that it is safer to keep it at age 21, because for safety of the teenagers and the community. However, the regulation for alcohol drinking age should be changed to age18; because 18 years old consider like adult. In matter of fact, many teenagers in the United States weather or without their family consent they consume a lot of alcohol.
The Dangers Of Teen Drinking While alcohol is legal to people age twenty-one and up, most teenagers partake in events that involve alcohol. However teens do not realize that alcohol is a drug. Averaging from the age of twelve to seventeen, alcohol is the highest used drug. (DiscoveryHealth.com) Teenagers may just think of this as a beverage to become more social or to fit in but do not realize the hard facts of alcohol. It has lasting effects on a developing brain of a teenager, it can affect everyday life, and the long term effects of alcohol can permanently damage one's body.
So why can’t they enjoy a few beers legally? That is the question asked by many and has yet an exact and final answer on whether it will be allowed. According to David J. Hanson, an alcohol policy expert at the State University of New York-Potsdam, “Raising the drinking age to 21 was passed with the very best of intentions, but it’s had the very worst of outcomes” (Johnson, 1). Drinking in young people is becoming a serious problem as days move on, but having the drinking age at 21 is not helping solve these problems. Something
Make 18 the Age to Drink Many people begin experimenting with alcohol in their early teenage years. During these experimental times all of the users are underage. This underage drinking has become a major problem in America’s schools throughout the nation. If the drinking age was lowered to eighteen there would be fewer incidents where students get caught with alcohol and receive minor in possessions charges, drinking wouldn’t seem as appealing if it were legal, and if an eighteen year old can be drafted and risk his life for this country he or she should be allowed to have a drink at the end of the day. Lowering the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen would lower the amount of alcohol related tickets, make drinking less appealing, and give young soldiers have an easy way to relax and help them cope with what they have seen at war.
This sends a conflicting message to the young person, that drinking is permissible at an earlier age than 21. Scientists conclude that early drinking by adolescents increases the lifetime likelihood of alcohol dependence, and that overall drinking levels in a society are directly linked to drinking problems (NIAA p. 2). The peers of an individual can also have a strong influence upon drinking habits. A person is likely to behave according to their friends’ standards in order fit in and be accepted. If peers encourage others to drink alcohol underage, often teens will drink to feel more accepted by their peers.
This controversy can be broken down into three main points of argument: safety, bingeing behavior, and maturity. The legal drinking age has always been a source of debate in this country, but in 2009, when “the 1984 drinking law that helps determine the drinking age [came] up for renewal,” the debate became a very popular and heated topic. According to a national survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, “Alcohol Use Among Persons Aged 14 to 20,” in 2005 was “28.2”