Should the Drinking Age be Lowered?

A common debate in American Society today is whether or not the drinking age should be lowered from 21. Some people argue that a majority of people, especially those in college, will drink alcohol anyways, so the drinking age should be lowered to avoid legal conflict and perhaps take the “thrill” away from drinking. On the other hand, others believe that people are not mature enough to handle the responsibilities associated with alcohol consumption until the age of 21. As a college student, I wanted to look deeper into this issue and analyze the effects of consuming alcohol prior to 21 years of age.

First, I will begin with the pros to lowering the drinking age. From a psychological standpoint, lowering the drinking age would allow people in the 18-20 year range to drink in safer, more regulated environments while taking away the thrill of binge drinking. An article in the Huffington Post estimated that 90 percent of underage drinking is done by binge drinking. Teenagers get a thrill from binge drinking because the drinking age forces society to view alcohol as forbidden. Breaking the rules only entices teens to drink even more. The founder of Choose Responsibility, John McCardell, says that the legal drinking age does not even diminish the amount of alcohol consumption among young people. As a matter of fact, the legal drinking age pushes underage drinking underground into more dangerous and less regulated environments. In other words, the drinking age of 21 is only making drinking more dangerous for young people. The law is clearly ineffective and should be altered in order to eliminate a large amount of legal trouble.

Image courtey of http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_srOhGcGHvik/S9qH7BgAR1I/AAAAAAAAD84/3l01PB_HQ4E/s800/mclovin.jpg

Image courtey of http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_srOhGcGHvik/S9qH7BgAR1I/AAAAAAAAD84/3l01PB_HQ4E/s800/mclovin.jpg (Fake ID from the movie “Superbad”) 

Now, I will discuss the cons of lowering the drinking age. The most concerning consequence of consuming alcohol below the age of 21 is interference with the brain’s frontal lobe development. The results could include dangerous risk-taking behavior, reduced decision making ability, depression, suicide, and violence. I do not see the purpose of promoting activity that would damage brain development amongst millions of teens across the nation. Also, studies have showed that when the drinking age is 21, those underage tend to drink less through their low 20s and those who wait to drink until the age of 21 tend to drink less as adults. Chuck Hurley, the executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), explains that 900 more teenagers per year would die if the drinking age was lowered to 18. When certain states attempted to lower the drinking age back in the 1970s, death rates skyrocketed from 10% to 40%. After the drinking age was raised again, the fatalities began to fall. There is clear evidence that drinking is a dangerous activity that causes death, and lowering the drinking age would result in more deaths among teenagers.

Image courtesy of http://healthresearchfunding.org

Image courtesy of http://healthresearchfunding.org

To conclude, this issue has two sides to it. One, the law is ineffective and difficult to enforce. Second, drinking underage is dangerous and harmful to brain development. Even though this is not a successful piece of legislation, I do believe the drinking age is most appropriate at 21. If the drinking age of 21 saves lives, I do not see how you could possibly justify lowering the drinking age.

Sources:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-debate-on-lowering-the-drinking-age/3/

http://drinkingage.procon.org/#background

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/16/us/legal-drinking-age/

https://star.txstate.edu/node/1704

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/02/10/you-must-be-21-to-drink

2 thoughts on “Should the Drinking Age be Lowered?

  1. Zachary Michael Barone Post author

    I hear what you are saying. I am the youngest in my family and have older friends that are 21 as well. I believe some bars have a system where they put a stamp/bracelet on everyone over 21 but let people over 18 years of age in, but I am not sure if they have any here in State College. There is no doubt that lowering the drinking age would make life more convenient for just about anyone on this page, but it is not worth the risk of all of those lives.

  2. Chane Jeter-Smith

    This post was definitely an eye opener. I feel like when it comes to topics like this, no one thinks about the bad that could come out of it. Like me personally, I was ready to read an article about reasons why we should. Then after reading the reasons not to, it made me think twice about my “for” power. I would only want it lowered for entrance abilities to places. All my friends except for like 2 are all older than me. They are all seniors that 21 or turning 21. What I think is annoying is that when they all want to hang out, whether or not they want to drink, they go straight to bars. Unfortunately in my case, I’m only 19. So there’s no way I’m getting in that bar. Thing is, I DON’T EVEN WANT TO DRINK. It’s the fact that I’m not allowed to be near alcohol at all like I’m allergic to it. So my friends, trying to make sure I’m counted in the plans, decide to change the location. Sometimes I let them go without me because it’s not fair that I’m being a lag. I just want to be able to hangout in a bar just to sit and watch a game with friends. Yes, I hear what you are saying with the “not lowering the drinking age” but situations like this make me for it. But overall, I would not risk lowering an alcohol consumption age just so I can get to sit on a stool and watch a small TV. This post has definitely me me think more into my opinion.

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