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Pros And Cons Of Lowering The Drinking Age

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For a long time, there have been debates about lowering the drinking age in the United States from 21 to 18. Some argue that if a person can enlist in the armed forces or vote in elections, they should be allowed the right to drink alcohol. Others feel that it is far too dangerous to lower the drinking age and the outcomes would be disastrous. There are many arguments presented for both sides of this topic. Despite the arguments for lowering the drinking age, there is a lot of research that proves it would be a negative action. I personally believe that the legal drinking age should be lowered because whether it is legal or not, people under 21 will still consume alcohol. No one can deny the fact that alcohol is a big part of the American …show more content…

The drinking age was first lowered to eighteen years old in most states during the Vietnam War. During this time, the number of alcohol-related accidents began to rise exponentially, and a large majority percentage involved young drivers. And so, once again, the drinking age was taken back to twenty-one. “According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, while the drinking age was 21, the number of traffic fatalities involving 18 to 20-year-old drivers has decreased by thirteen percent, saving an estimated 19,121 lives since 1975” ( DUIanswers.com). Because the consumption of alcohol is considered an illegal activity for people until they reach age twenty-one, oftentimes teens are never really taught how to drink in moderation beforehand and therefore are more likely to abuse alcohol and binge drink. According to Doctors around the world, Alcohol consumption can interfere with the development of the young adult brain's frontal lobes, needed for functions such as emotional regulation, planning, and organization. When alcohol intake interferes with this early adult brain development, the potential for serious problems such as greater chance of addiction, dangerous risk-taking behavior, reduced decision-making ability, memory loss, depression, violence, and suicide percentage go up as well. People also argue that if the age

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987 Words | 4 Pages

In this article there are two sides to the debate of whether or not the states should be able to set their own drinking age. The pro side, represented by John McCardell says that if eighteen year olds are capable of being drafted for a war, they should be able to legally drink as well. The con side James C. Fell says that a lower drinking ages hel a higher risk of suicide and homicide, and thus keeping the drinking age at twenty one would be preventing nearly twelve hundred suicides and homicides combined. Things cannot always be easy, and this debate that the article focuses on is no exception. Throughout the history of America there have always been disputes of just how much power the federal government should be able to wield, and how much they should be able to limit the state's power.

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370 Words | 2 Pages

In the 1970’s the drinking age was raise from 18 to 21 the reason the government pass this law was to stop drinking and driving. The government believes that adults 21 were more responsible to not drink and drive. However, why do we still have such a problem with drinking and driving in America? That a drinking age of 21 did not solve our problem.

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818 Words | 4 Pages

Statics show that the most common source of alcohol among 18- to 20-year olds is from their 21- to 24-year-old peers. As presented by the drinkingage, a website with the pros and cons of reducing the drinking age, reducing the drinking age will would give high schoolers and even middle schoolers easier access to alcohol. As the drinking age would be reduce the chance of keeping younger children away from the presence of alcohol would be diminished as well. As the high school is effected so is the grade school, as the senior is introduced to alcohol so is the 6th grader, reducing the drink age will cause great harm not just to the allowed genera As the high school is effected so is the grade school, as the senior is introduced to alcohol so is the 6th grader, reducing the drink age will cause great harm not just to the allowed generation but also the younger generation beneath

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1507 Words | 7 Pages

Should the legal drinking age be lowered back to eighteen years of age of age or do you believe it should stay? The topic of traffic accidents caused by drinkers especially newly legal drinkers will be brought up. I will then bring up the problems that alcohol being illegal to anyone who is under twenty one can bring to highschool and college students. Then I will talk about the reasons the drinking age was raised in the first place. I will later bring up what issues that are around now that could be stopped if we were to lower the drinking age back down to eighteen.

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1177 Words | 5 Pages

If they allow alcohol on campuses, dropout rate would increase and less teens would be pursuing their goals. At the age of eighteen, teens are viewed as adults that supposed to mature enough to purchase all the above wish list they have written down. Consuming alcohol at an early stage can develop alcoholic diseases such as destroying brain cells and also introducing diabetes and much more and most of all interfering with their success. Research has shown that the harmful effects of alcohol abuse are magnified in a teenager's still-developing brain. In the research Alcohol- related brain damage in humans, Amaia Erdozain states “, The production of toxic ethanol metabolites, and their post-translational modification (PTM) and damage of cellular proteins is one of the proposed mechanisms that contribute to neuronal damage”( 1), which other words, it destroys brain cells that would make a teen forget some memories that they used to know”.

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607 Words | 3 Pages

The drinking age should be lowered Student’s Name Institution: Drinking Age should be lowered Nineteen Years The problem with drinking has been in existence in America for a long time. Young children have been caught drunk despite the laws in place meant to curb their drinking. However, the drinking problem does not have anything to do with age. Adults cause accidents due to drunk driving and engage in drunken fights.

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738 Words | 3 Pages

One main point that is argued is that younger brains are more susceptible to alcohol consumption and by lowering the drinking age, it would be approving the damage that alcohol causes in the developing brain. Emotional development, organization, and planning are all affected by alcohol consumption. Though it’s true that kids will still likely drink, that doesn’t mean society needs to approve of that decision. Another argument that is used is that more people drinking could create more unsafe environments. When people have too much alcohol, their decision-making skills are extensively lowered.

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994 Words | 4 Pages

If we supervise our teens they should definitely be able to drink they are to the age where they can handle themselves for the most part. Traffic accidents and fatalities are most common among newly-legal drinkers, regardless of the drinking age. Drivers are susceptible to drunk driving no matter what age they are allowed to drink legally so it wouldnt make much of a diffrence it would just now be happening a little sooner than before. Teens are going to drink and drive if they want to regardless of the drinking age punishing all these adults for the few immature teens is wrong and needs to stop(Mcintyre 2007). There are fewer drunk driving traffic accidents and fatalities in many countries with a drinking age of 18.

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864 Words | 4 Pages

There have been recent increasing statistics of alcohol uses among young Australians. This means that more and more Australians are being effected and the drinking age is still 18?! Evidence in study’s over the recent years has seen that the impact of alcohol on young Australians brains. This study found physical changes in the brain, which effected your skill in problem solving and cognitive functioning which you need in your life.

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1834 Words | 8 Pages

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.

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1423 Words | 6 Pages

Some states are considering reducing the age at which a person can drink to 18 again. People are all over the idea that once you are 18, you can indulge in an alcoholic beverage. But, decreasing the age creates a whole new array of problems most people are not aware of. Drinking at a young age puts teens and other motorists at risk, so the legal drinking age should not be lowered to 18 to protect our nation’s youth.

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195 Words | 1 Pages

Underaged drinking in the first place is wrong,if you lower it to 18 instead of 21 there would be more teen drinking than there used to. The right to drink should have a higher age initiation because of the dangers it poses like drinking and driving or getting drunk. Lowering the drinking age would mess up the teens brain, it wiuld make them make more stupid decisions. People also say that at the age of 21 you are able to make more decisions by yourself so lowering the drinking age to 18 would make the teen less able to make more mature decisions. There would also be a higher percentage of car crashes if lowered to 18.

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1341 Words | 6 Pages

Although some studies showed that teenage heavy drinkers might face problems with bone density, growth, hormone development and liver function, and effect on their brain’s memory. As said before human bodies keep growing until mid-20s, so is that a reason to not let people younger than that drink? No, because they already do, so to be honest there is no problem with that, since the memory loss can happen in any age. The legal age of consumption of alcoholic beverages should be

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757 Words | 4 Pages

Two parts of the brain is damaged when drinking alcohol under the age of 21. “The hippocampus, which is responsible for memory and learning, can be damaged or destroyed by the long term use of alcohol” (National Health and Medical Research Council). This indicates that adolescents must refrain from

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827 Words | 4 Pages

People will oppose to this law, but at the age of 18 an adolescent's brain is not fully developed yet. Underage drinking is a common action in today’s society. What kids do not know is the effect that underage drinking has on their brain. Since the brain is not fully developed at the age of 18, drinking

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