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Should Drinking Age Be Lowered Essay

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Should the Drinking Age be Lowered?
In the United States turning 18 is a big deal. Young adults are told that at the tender age of 18 they are an adult. They are legally able to purchase tobacco products, register and vote in elections, enlist and serve for the military, be tried as an adult, but they are not legally able to make the choice to purchase or consume alcohol.

Why is the drinking age 21? The drinking age was not always at 21 in the United States. States had the right to choose at which age they wanted their citizens to drink legal. In the beginning of America’s history until 1919, there was no national drinking age. The drinking age varied from state-to-state, but most states did not enforce it properly. Between 1920-1930, …show more content…

There is a stigma that if the drinking age is lowered there would be motor vehicle accidents and more health problems. Lowering the drinking age to 18, would help eliminate the thrill of breaking the law on drinking until able to drink at 21. Since drink is not allowed, many young adults will hide and drink in basemnets, dorm rooms, home, etc, to hide the fact that they drink. This leads them to drink as much as they can in a short amount of time which is not healthy. In a New York Times article by John Cloud (2008), in many other countries but the United States at 28 you are considered legal to do things such as adopt a child, or vote. Alcohol should not be held on until after age 21 it ends up glorifying it. Many young adults are not taught how to drink in moderation and are more likely to abuse alcohol. According to Engs (2014) Because the 21-year-old drinking age law is not working, and is counterproductive, it behooves us as a nation to change our current prohibition law and to teach responsible drinking techniques for those who chose to consume alcoholic beverages. A lower drinking age would allow the chance for people to be watched and guidance on how to drink

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Should we really lower the drinking age from 21 to a younger age? I think not, from what I heard about and researden about. The exact reason for this is, because teens could get in serious danger. A lot of people get in danger from health problem, this would affect their life. Drinking age should never be lower than 21 of age because lowering (MLDA) Minimum Legal Drinking Age 21 would be medically irresponsible, Minimum Legal Drinking Age 21 reduces traffic accidents and fatalities, and lastly lowering the drinking age will invite more use of illicit drugs among 18-21.

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Since the drinking age act of 1984, the drinking age in the US has been 21. There is some controversy whether or not the drinking age should be lowered to 18. Many people fear that 18 year olds wouldn't be responsible enough to manage alcohol. Others aren't concerned at all because they feel that it wouldn't be a problem. Why not let 18 year olds drink, they're considered legal?

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There has been talk for many years to lower the drinking age from twenty-one back down to eighteen. Many people think it should be lowered and others think it is fine where it is. The main reason why the drinking age is at twenty-one is because the United States’ government, told states that if they do not raise their drinking age up to twenty-one the government would take away funding for their roads and bridges. The government threatened these states with this so that they would follow the government’s rules on the drinking age. The reason they threatened them with that was because a few teenagers got in car accidents when they were drinking.

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The question of lowering the drinking age has been up in the air for a while now and is now a legitimate question to consider. An eighteen-year-old in US has the right to vote, and serve in the military. If an eighteen-year-old can make up their mind as to who the potential leader of the country should be and take a bullet for their country, they should have every right to purchase and drink alcohol (Cognac). Even though there may be some cons to lowering the drinking age, like there is to anything we do, there is a lot of evidence that show the pros outweigh those. Before federal law mandated that 21 only laws be passed or funding would be pulled from states, there were several areas that had made it legal to drink as a teenager (HRF).

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The drinking age should be lowered to 18 because that is when one is considered an adult, implying the intake of alcohol between 21 year olds and 18 year olds does not differentiate. Raising the drinking age to 21 has done nothing but make young adults want to drink more alcohol. Teaching people to drink responsibly before turning 21 would greatly enhance public health. “Now, high school and college students view dangerous binge drinking as a rite of passage” (The New York Times). This is because they acknowledge that it is illegal, and feel the need to abuse that by breaking the law and drinking even more.

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The legal drinking age in the United States is currently 21, which dissatisfies many teens throughout the nation. Previously, our country held a policy that was less strict, allowing citizens of the age of 18 the right to drink. This was true until the Reagan Administration passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, altering the legal age to one that is already given the right to vote and fight for our country. This begs the question, should the legal drinking age in the United States be lowered? By mirroring the drinking age of other countries around the world, we have the possibility of being able to teach young Americans to act more maturely and grow up responsibly.

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