Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug among youth in the United States. To control alcohol use, the United States set a minimum legal drinking age. The drinking age is currently 21 but has been 18 in different states throughout the years. Ultimately the U.S. just wants to avoid teen drinking because of the damaging effects it has on their bodies and the possible consequences of them consuming alcohol. “The national minimum legal drinking age of 21 years is a primary alcohol-control policy in the United States. An advocacy group supported by some college presidents seeks public debate on the minimum legal age and proposes reducing it to 18 years.” Some think the drinking age should be lowered because 18 year olds receive responsibilities …show more content…
Every 2 minutes a person is injured in a drunk driving crash. Teens drinking is a poor choice in itself, but the actions that come along with it can be even more dangerous. Lowering the drinking age has been done before, but deaths increased because of it. The legal got swept up in the political upheaval of the era, as states generally reexamined their age-of-majority laws. Between 1970 and 1976, 29 states lowered their age for drinking alcohol. The results were catastrophic. Highway deaths among teenagers and young adults skyrocketed. Death is tragic and the fact that more death is happening among teens if the drinking age is lowered shows that teens are not the most responsible with alcohol. Drinking can often change a person’s behavior, but not for the good. For example, one may think they have the ability to drive, even though they are drunk. High school students aged 16 years and older who, when surveyed, said they had driven a vehicle one or more times during the past 30 days when they had been drinking alcohol. The decision to drink while intoxicated is harmful for both the driver and passengers that ride with