The Benefits Of Lowering Drinking Age

There are several controversies in the world today, but one that really catches my attention is on the topic of whether or not the drinking age in the United States should be lowered from 21 to 18. Many people have debated about this topic for several years, and there are several different opinions on this topic. Some people think it is dangerous to lower the drinking age; some people support it. Some children think it is stupid to lower the drinking age; some children support it. However, I strongly believe that the legal drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18 for several reasons, such as 18 year olds are allowed to do several other adult activities, other countries have the legal age at 21, and people who are under the age of 18 are still going to drink alcohol whether it is illegal or not.

When people turn eighteen they are finally considered an adult. They can join the army, vote, buy cigarettes or tobacco products, get a tattoo and even die for our country. Although everyone considers that person to be an adult, they are still not old enough to buy or consume alcohol. A person can be responsible enough to live on their own, make their own money, pay their own bills, and yet they are still not considered old enough to purchase or consume any type of alcohol. Lowering the drinking age to 18 would help prevent the crime and personal injuries that are caused by alcohol abuse.

The legal drinking age in the United States is 21, while in other countries the legal age ranges from 16-18. The argument in the United States is “Should the United States lower its drinking age?” There are many sides to this argument but research has given many good points to back up both sides of the question. First thing is the difference between a teen’s brain with alcohol and an adult’s brain with alcohol. Another thing is drinking at a younger age can help teach culture. Lastly the more alcohol exposed the increase in death rate. I believe that it is a good idea to keep the legal drinking age at age 21 because in our past we have had many problems with death increases due to the drinking age being at different ages and the research used uses pathos, logos, ethos and Kairos to help persuade the reader support that 21 should stay the legal drinking age.

Throughout history drinking and the drinking age has been a controversial topic. There have been many criticisms regarding the drinking age, many of which have some valid points. Some of which believe there should be no drinking age others believe drinking should be banned. The United States government passed a law in 1984 restricting persons under the age of 21 from purchasing alcohol. Brain growth, body growth, and maturity are all factors when looking at why the drinking age is 21. We should also consider the upside of no legal drinking age less abuse, more tax revenue, tradition.

Prohibition was a time in American history where any type of alcohol consumption, production, and distribution was banned. The thirteen-year, dry period finally came to an end because of the temptation and social urges alcohol presents. Throughout these thirteen years, people corruptly consumed, produced, and distributed alcohol as if the regulations instituted by the government were suggestions. Speakeasies would be held underground where drinkers would distribute gin they produced in their own bathtubs and have parties without law enforcement knowing (“Prohibition”). After the Prohibition laws were lifted in 1933 to create more revenue to aid the failing economy during the Great Depression, the drinking age was set at 21 but was later lowered

In the United States a large topic of discussion is the drinking age, should it stay at 21 or should the age be dropped. Somewhat recently the age has been changed from 18 to 21 and a lot of people want to be changed back. By 1988, all 50 U.S. states and the federal government had set the drinking age at 21 years of age, but is it time to lower the MLDA (minimum legal drinking age) to 18 years of age? Those who argue against lowering the MLDA claim that teens have yet to reach an age of maturity in which they can responsibly drink alcohol, and thus are more likely to develop binge drinking habits and endangerment of themselves and others by drinking prior to the age of 21. Those in favor of lowering the MLDA argue that the current MLDA doesn’t stop underage drinking and promotes binge drinking into private less controlled environments. Not only this, but lowering the MLDA strengthens the economy and can gradually expose people to drinking without overdoing it.

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

Alcohol is a depressant. It slows down the activity of the central nervous system, including the brain. A debate amongst our nation has been “Should the minimum drinking age be lower than 21?” I personally do not think so. Even though at age 18 you are technically an adult and responsible for your own actions, I do not think the legal alcohol consumption age should be lowered because it causes health risks, bad decisions, and endangers others.

However, in my view this point is wrong because consuming alcohol at all while the brain is developing creates a high amount of health risks. Therefore, the drinking age should be 21 as similar to the United States, as I conclude that more possibilities of risks are apparent when teens are legally able to consume alcohol.

The debate for the legal drinking age of eighteen or twenty-one has been a topic of discussion for a long time. Personally, most people support the side that they should just leave the legal age at twenty-one. There are many reasons as to why people would support this side of the argument. If the drinking age gets lowered to eighteen, it would lead to cause more car related accidents, there will be an easier access to alcohol, and that it would be medically irresponsible to drink at a younger age.

Should the drinking age be lowered from 21 to 18? Many people are thinking that it should, but then others think it should stay the same or even be risen. The thought of lowering the drinking age scares people, but it has many advantages to it. I feel the drinking age should be lowered for a number of different reasons that some people may agree with, but others simply do not. They think the negative consequences outweigh the positive consequences, but that is not true. There are many benefits of lowering the drinking age that many people do not consider.

Lowering the drinking age will damage the teenagers’s still -developing brain. Different sections of the brain develop at different times. The human brain is not fully developed until the mid-twenties. The use of alcohol before full development can cause many issues down the road. “The brain’s frontal lobes are important for planning, forming ideas, making decisions, and using self-control” 5 Lowering the drinking age to eighteen leaves room for six to eight more years of development. If teens are allowed to drink, their ability to make decisions and their self-control is affected; this puts them in harm’s way and could put them in difficult situations that they are not able to handle. Too much alcohol can make someone act without thinking or even become violent at times. “Drinking alcohol over a long period of time can damage the frontal lobes forever.” 5 The frontal lobes are responsible for so much a person’s life and if they are damaged before they are developed then there can be long-term. A lower drinking age will make teenagers more susceptible to brain damage in their underdeveloped brains both at the moment of intoxication and long-term.

Many health experts believe that modifying the legal drinking age is not the right solution. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that keeping the legal drinking age to 21 will increase safety when driving and save about 800 lives a year. Research by experts has demonstrated that if kids consume alcohol before reaching the age of 14, there are vast chances of addiction, accidents and the urge to get into a fight. The process of learning how to drink responsibly is a learning process of life and should start at a young age but Shots, Health News from NPR states that "lowering the drinking age will not change much as accidents will still have a great chance of occurring."

In-The-21-year-old drinking age: I voted for it; it doesn't work by Morris E Chafetz. Chafetz voted yes on a bill to make the minimum drinking age to 21. He knew he had made a mistake. Chafetz even says “It is the single most regrettable decision of my entire professional career”(526). He goes on and talks about how this drinking age was assigned to stop drunk driving deaths which it did but it also increases in alcohol related deaths off roadways. Chafetz goes on and tells us of he founded The National Institute For Alcoholism And Alcohol Abuse in 1970. He believes that the drinking age should be lowered or even abandoned altogether because the problem isn't the drink it's the drinker. In-The-21-year-old drinking age: I voted for it; it doesn't work by Morris E Chafetz. Chafetz work did not persuade me to think we needed to lower the drinking age. He never showed the opposition views and his sources were outdated and at times nowhere to be found.

Someone always asks the questions, “ why doesn't someone lower the drinking age?” “ These teens are old enough to know that they perfectly conscious when they do this stuff?” A lot of people also say, “ Even if they do it, nothing will happen to them.” I will be giving my opinion on this. First of all, I am completely against lowering the drinking age. I have three main reasons why I am against lowering the age. The first one, it gives the youth time to grow and mature. Second, I have had family and friends die because of drinking at a young age. And last but not least, all of the long term problems that underage drinking bring to society.