Persuasive Essay On Lowering The Drinking Age To 18

Over the years, there have been debates about lowering the drinking age in the United States to eighteen. People argue that if a person can fight in the military or vote in elections, then he or she should be allowed the right to drink alcohol. Others feel that it is not wise to lower the legal drinking age because the results would be dangerous. Although there are arguments for lowering the drinking age, there is also an abundance of research that proves lowering the drinking age would be destructive. The legal drinking age should not be lowered to eighteen because it will give high school and even middle school students greater access to alcohol, interfere with brain development, adult rights begin at twenty-one, and increase traffic accidents among the youth. Lowering

and adults should have the right to make their own decisions about alcohol consumption. I feel that this is a good argument but, this is what I say, while eighteen year olds have the right to vote, in many others respects they have not reached adulthood. Biologically, their brains are still developing, few support themselves economically, and most importantly many lack the emotional maturity and judgement to use alcohol safely (Drinking Age). Even though they are old enough to fight for our country is doesn’t mean they are mature enough to handle alcohol correctly. Especially when he or she is put in stressful environments. It can cause depression and he or she can develop criminal behavior which can lead to death. It has been shown that when the drinking age is lowered teens increase drinking. When Arizona lowered their age to nineteen, teenage drinking increased by thirty-five percent. Car accidents have been known to come from alcohol and research has proven that with the age being twenty-one, suicides, DUIS, and crime rate have decreased