I. Introduction a. Audience hook: Experts believe when the drinking age was raised to 21 in the mid 1980’s, this is actually contributing to an increase in extreme drinking (CBS, 2010). b. Thesis statement: Preview of Main Research suggests that the legal drinking age should be lowered to 18 because raising the drinking age to 21 actually contributed to an increasing in binge drinking and there were fewer drunk driving accidents in Countries with lower drinking ages. c. points: i. The drinking age of 21 has made alcohol consumption an illegal pleasure. ii. In other countries with drinking ages below 21 the drunk driving rates are lower than those of USA. II. The current laws are not being enforced and encourage binge drinking. Show visual …show more content…
If the legal age for drinking were lowered there would be less reasons for teens to binge drink. (CBS, 2010). i. "This law has been an abysmal failure," McCardell told 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl. "It hasn't reduced or eliminated drinking. It has simply driven it underground, behind closed doors, into the most risky and least manageable of settings." (CBS, 2010). ii. Underage drinking laws have caused teens to drink as much as possible in a shorter periods to avoid being entangled being publicly intoxicated (CBS, 2010). b. Another reason to lower the drinking age is the fear of repercussions for teens who may need medical assistance due to excessive binge drinking (CBS, 2010). i. Gordie, a freshman at the University of Chicago died after a night of binge drinking and his fraternity brother failed to call until the next morning due to fear of arrest (CBS, 2010). ii. Advocates of lowering the drinking age state the lower drinking age only forces teens to drink in secret which creates unsupervised dangerous situation (Pro.Con, n.d). III. Underage drinkers could learn to drink more responsibly under parental supervision. a. Parents can help set limits in drinking as well as show by example what responsible drinking looks like (Engs,