Lowering The Drinking Age From 21 Essay - 1214 Words

Underage drinking. It’s all the rage in this generation. Youths everywhere are subjecting themselves to excessive amounts of alcohol at illegal ages, and the consequences are evident all around us. Every year over 5,000 kids under the age of 21 die from alcohol abuse, 1 in 5 10th graders will resort to binge drinking, and alcohol continues to damage developing teen brains (Let’s Stop Teen Drinking Tragedies). While they may not be seen in night clubs in bars, people between the ages of 18 and 21 are subjecting themselves to unsafe usage of alcohol in private or at high school parties simply because it’s â€Å"fun† and â€Å"reckless†. So how do we as a country end this monumental epidemic? Some believe that lowering the drinking age from 21 could benefit society and decrease the amount of underage â€Å"binge drinking† in uncontrolled, private environments (Top Pro Con Arguments). However, the MLDA (minimum legal drinking age) is extremely important to the safety of not only youths, but everyone. Imagine the number of traffic fatalities that would occur due to drunken teenagers after high school parties. It is true that teenagers already drink illegally, but if it was legal then the number of high school students drinking and driving would sky rocket due to the fact that they would no longer be in secret. I believe that lowering the legal drinking age would be incredibly destructive to the future of this generation because it damages developing brains, increases traffic fatalities, andShow MoreRelatedLowering the Drinking Age from 21 Would be Irresponsible Essay577 Words   |  3 PagesLowering the drinking age from 21 would be irresponsible. People argue that lowering the drinking age is not smart because most youths still have not yet reached a mature age to handle alcohol. Teens that include themselves in an unsafe environment are likely to endure in self-harm and encounter in binge drinking. The Alcohol Policy Information System says, â€Å"Annually, about 5,000 youth under the age of 21 die in incidents due to underage drinking† (â€Å"Drinking†). I believe the drinking age shouldRead MoreLowering Legal Drinking Age Essay1417 Words   |  6 PagesLowering the Drinking Age Half the United States population starts drinking at the age of 14.When you are 18 you have privileges like joining the army. (Mitch Adams Lowering the drinking age page 1) You can go to war and die for your country but you still can not enjoy an ice cold beer. (Mitch Adams Lowering the drinking age page 1) How is being 21 different from being 18? How does three more years of not drinking make you mature enough to drink? The longer you drink the more you start toRead MoreThe Minimum Legal Drinking Age1594 Words   |  7 PagesThe Drinking Age is Safer than You Thought As Americans, we are always wondering what we can do to save lives. We suspect cancer, disease, suicide, violence, and distracted driving as taking the lives of our fellow Americans. What you may not know, is that we are already saving lives, and we have been since 1984 because of one simple law. The Uniform Drinking Age Act of 1984 moved the minimum legal drinking age from 18 to 21. Lowering the drinking age is a step backward for our safety and ourRead MoreThe Minimum Drinking Age Act1692 Words   |  7 PagesMinimum Drinking Age Act. This act stated that all states must raise their minimum drinking age to 21. Individuals under the age of 21 would now be prohibited from purchasing or being in public possession of any alcoholic beverage. Though not every state was keen on this idea, they all jumped to raise the minimum drinking age due to the government threat that they would lose up to 10% of their federal highway funding if they ignored the request. However, since the Nation al Minimum Drinking Age Act wasRead MoreLower the Drinking Age Essay examples1430 Words   |  6 Pagesalcohol. Lowering the drinking age to 18 would help prevent the crime and personal injuries that are caused by alcohol abuse. Although many states are trying to get the drinking age lowered, there are many groups and national statistics that are keeping the drinking set at 21. For example, â€Å"The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says laws setting the drinking age at 21 have cut traffic fatalities involving drivers by 13 percent† (Keen). They are hoping that by keeping the age set at 21Read MoreThe Minimum Drinking Age Act1700 Words   |  7 PagesMinimum Drinking Age Act made all 50 states raise the legal drinking age to 21(Dejong). The debate is on whether the age should be lowered or not. Statistically, having the age at 21 has been very helpful in keeping the nation safe. If there is not an issue with age now, would it make sense to lower the age and create unnecessary problems? In this case, the negative effects outweigh the positive. Simply because there is no good in lowering the age. The legal drinking age has been set at 21 for 30Read MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered988 Words   |  4 PagesThe Legal Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered There are copious amounts of people who believe that the legal drinking age should be lowered to eighteen. Others think the drinking age needs to remain the same. A few of those also conclude the legal age of adulthood should be raised to 21. The belief is if the adolescent brain has not matured enough to support alcohol use by age 21, it cannot make the responsible decisions required at 18 years of age. Voters should make the decision toRead MoreMinimum Legal Drinking Agre1173 Words   |  5 PagesThe legal age of adulthood in the United States for most purposes is 18. At the age of 18, a person enters the realm of adulthood and is assigned the rights and responsibilities associated with this legal status. For example, an 18 year old can legally sign a contract and is bound by the terms and conditions of the contract. An 18 year old can marry without parental consent, serve on a jury, and vote in state and federal elections. An 18 year old who is charged with a cri me is not tried in theRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered From The Age Of 21 Essay980 Words   |  4 Pagesconsidered â€Å"adults† cannot even make their own decisions? The drinking age on alcohol is a controversial social and cultural issue in today’s society; all fifty states have a minimum drinking age of 21. The legal drinking age should be lowered from the age of 21 to 18 allowing young adults to be granted the right to drink in restaurants, bars, at social events, in the comfort of their own home, and so on. If anything, lowering the legal drinking age would have a positive impact on the United Sates economyRead MoreBinge Drinking vs the Drinking Age Essays829 Words   |  4 PagesEnglish 101 March 13, 2013 Binge Drinking VS the Drinking Age Presidents of college campuses around the nation face issues of underage drinking and binge drinking on a regular basis and realizes that it is a danger and a problem. â€Å"Alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., a major contributing factor to unintentional injuries, the leading cause of death for youths and young adults, and accounts for an estimated 75,000 or more deaths in the United States annually† (Wechsler