Legal Drinking Age Analysis

Today in the United States the legal drinking age is 21, but numerous younger people want this changed. Many people argue that once a person turns 18 they are a legal adult. At 18 someone can legally vote, run for mayor, serve on a jury, buy a house, get married, and enlist in the military. People can also argue that can give a person a right to drink alcohol. The big question is do people think long and hard about the circumstances changing the drinking age could be. Many researchers have found it isn’t one hundred true percent to consume alcohol until an older age. People have consumed some sort of alcohol before the legal drinking age. The drinking age should stay at 21 because it can cause more traffic related accidents, could play a major

In some states people don’t even get their driver’s license until 16 years old or even 18 years old. Their experience behind the wheel is not very long. Adding alcohol into the equation could end up being very dangerous. According to Kypri, K., Davie, G., McElduff, P., Connor, J., and Langley, J., (2014) “four studies of the short-term effects of that law change on young people have been published in the scientific literature; they showed increases in emergency department admissions for intoxication, increases in disorder offenses and drunk driving, and higher traffic crash injury rates than would have been expected in the absence of the change (p. 1396). Those four studies took place in New Zealand right after they changed the drinking age from 20 to 18. Another big concern with lowering the drinking age is drunk driving. Drunk driving is prohibited at any age, but young inexperienced drivers taking the wheel is a whole new level. To make the argument clearer, men are four to six times more likely to drive while under the influence, claimed Kypri, K., Davie, G., McElduff, P., Connor, J., and Langley, J., (2014), (p. 1400). Not saying women are perfect and would never drink and drive, but males tend to have more adrenaline and are more fearless. By lowering the drinking age to 18, the United States is at risk to

Studies have shown that on average, a person’s brain does not fully mature until the age of 25. When underage drinking occurs, there are many risks that go along with it. According to Silveri, M. M. (2012), brain maturation and associated improvements in decision making continue into the third decade of life (p. 189). Kids don’t understand how much alcohol can affect the development of their brains, and to legalize alcohol at 18 could make the situation worse. According to Silveri, M. M. (2012), brain maturation and associated improvements in decision making continue into the third decade of life, reaching a plateau within the period referred to as emerging adulthood (18–24 years). This review highlights neurobiological evidence indicating the vulnerabilities of the emerging adult brain to the effects of alcohol (p. 189). If congress decides to change the legal drinking down 18, they really to think long and hard about science. Science has proved the brain needs a healthy environment to mature and develop