Drinking Age Research Paper

In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act which raised the drinking age from eighteen to twenty-one. Since then, the total number of fatally injured drivers who were under the influence of alcohol has dropped by fifty-seven percent among people between the ages of sixteen and twenty. Despite this, many still believe that the national drinking age should be lowered to eighteen. However, not only does a drinking age of twenty-one save lives, but underage drinking is also linked to both sexual assault and drug use. In addition, scientists say that the human brain is not fully developed until the age of twenty-five and that underage drinkers are much more likely to develop an alcohol-related problem later in life. The national

A study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that more than 900 lives are saved each year by minimum drinking age laws. Essentially, a drinking age of twenty-one has saved at least 26,000 lives since 1988. That is 26,000 parents, children, siblings, and friends who are alive today that otherwise wouldn’t be if not for drinking age laws. As I said earlier alcohol has been directly linked to sexual assault, early drug experimentation, and violence. Alcohol intake impairs judgment and good decision making which . With that in mind it is not hard to believe that sexual assault is directly linked to alcohol intake.What is shocking are the exact numbers of sexual assault cases that involve alcohol. In an article about sexual assault, Robin Hattersley-Gray writes that “Forty-three percent of the sexual victimization incidents involve alcohol consumption by victims and sixty-nine percent involve alcohol consumption by the perpetrators” (par. 12). The consumption of alcohol impairs impulse control and risk assessment. If alcohol is involved, victims are likely to fail to realize they are in any danger before it’s too

However if someone were to choose top go fight and die for their nation , they should be able to drink. “Several years ago, Congress passed a law (USC 10, Section 2683), that mandates that military bases adopt the exact same drinking age as the state (or country) that the base is located in” (Powers, par. 1). In 2016 Japan, Germany, South Korea, Italy, and Afghanistan were the 5 countries with the largest amounts of active duty military personnel. Japan’s drinking age is twenty, while South Korea’s is nineteen , and Germany, Italy, and Afghanistan’s are eighteen. So, if someone makes the personal decision and decides to fight and potentially die for their country, they are more likely to be given the opportunity to drink before they turn