Lowering The Drinking Age Essay

In 1984, the federal drinking age was raised to twenty-one. Since that time, there have been many positive results, such as the increase of brain activity in the frontal lobe of young people before the drinking age. However, there have also been some negative effects such as an increase of binge drinking near the legal age to drink. As over 100 colleges presidents who favor considering the federal drinking age point out, college students are binge drinking to the point of passing out and potentially dying of alcohol poisoning. MADD and others, however, argue against lowering the drinking age, noting that young adults and alcohol do not mixed because it can result in drunk driving which leads to accidents that can kill or maim people. Granted,

In “Alcohol and Those Under Twenty-One Don’t Mix,” the author says that reducing the drinking age would not reduce the misuse of alcohol on college campuses (Glasser). This is true; however, advocates for this change insist to decrease the minimum age. One aspect those advocates do not know is alcohol disrupts brain activity in young people. The human brain fully develops around the age of twenty-one, and anything to it before that can have lifelong impacts, such as alcohol consumption. Alcohol destroys brain cells in the frontal lobe which is responsible for decision making and critical thinking. Once a brain cell dies, it cannot regenerate. Therefore, drinking alcohol before the brain fully develops encompasses life threatening consequences. “Drinking is more dangerous for youth because there’re still developing mentally and physically” (Voas). Even other authors such as Voas agrees that drinking is dangerous before the brain fully develops. Critics will say that college students will continue to binge drink if the minimum age remains the same; however, the “21 law… has most certainly resulted in fewer accidents, because the decline occurred even when there was little enforcement and though penalties had not yet been enacted” (Voas). Keeping the minimum age at twenty-one will resume to save lives, even though people think