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DAundre Gooch
Professor Sterling
ENLG 1302
9 April 2017

What is Your Stance on the Drinking Age?

Over the years, the topic of the drinking age has been surrounded with much controversy;

given the direction of flight that this argument takes, there are both pros and cons associated with

it.Globally, the drinking age differs from country to country because of the difference in rules

and regulations. Even though states can set their own drinking age, in the United States, the legal

drinking age in every state is twenty-one years of age. Some believe that lowering the drinking

age could be beneficial to a big portion of the population, while others argue otherwise. Should

the drinking age be lowered, raised, or stay the same? This argument is a two-way street that has

its contrasts.

Going further into the history of the United States drinking age, from 1176-1919 there

was no drinking age, since alcohol was a luxury and only the wealthiest of the wealthy could

afford it. From the 1920s through the 1930s the consumption and selling of alcohol was banned

until the 21st amendment. In the late 1960s to 1970s many states lowered the drink age to

eighteen which led to many accidents. An approximate of 60% of accidents were alcohol

fatalities. Throughout the history of the United States, the drinking age has elevated over the

years. Around the mid and late 1900s, the purchasing age for alcohol had been lowered to the age

of eighteen, in about thirty states. In 1984, the Congress had passed the National Minimum

Drinking Age Act, which had instated that the states raise their drinking and possession ages to
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twenty-one years of age by October of 1986. If the states did not abide by this act, the would opt

to lose about ten percent of their federal highway funds; to prevent the loss of federal funds,

many states changed their drinking age.

The drinking age should be lowered to the age of eighteen because that is when an

individual is legally deemed to be an adult. The age of eighteen signifies the right to adulthood

regarding voting, marriages, smoking cigarettes, signing contracts, attending jury duty, joining

the military, and being tried in front of a jury. Consenting eighteen to twenty-year olds the right

to drink alcohol in a controlled atmosphere with regulation would decrease unsafe drinking

activity.(ProCon). Disowning eighteen to twenty-year old into public settings, such as

restaurants, bars, and other licensed public sites will only cause these young crowds to migrate to

unsupervised settings, such as house parties or college parties, where binge drinking amongst a

different atmosphere is admitted along with other unsafe behavior. Depressing the drinking age

from age twenty-one to eighteen would decrease the amount of illegal activity or underage

drinking. Completely regulating the responsibility of alcohol consumption in control will allow

the decrease the taboo amongst young adults in-flowing into college and the labor force.

Lowering the drinking age below the age of twenty-one would be medically incorrect.

The use of alcohol can have prolonging effects on the human brain, affecting its development,

such as planning, emotional regulation, and organization, with a greater solitude of depression,

violence, and even suicide. Decreasing the drinking age will significantly permit a large

percentage of the population to consume alcohol in public settings like bars and night clubs,

which are not necessarily safe places to be under the influence of alcohol. The treasure to of

drinking should have a high age of commencement due to its likelihood of dangers it can

possess. The drinking age should have similar restrictions to that of legally purchasing a
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handgun, gambling, or adopting at the age of twenty-one, or rent a car. Lowering the drinking

age would allow for a greater access amongst students in high school and even middle school.

When most drinkers become of age, they often buy alcohol for their youthful peers. The most

common source for underage drinkers is their peers who are between the ages of twenty-one to

twenty-four.

In the bigger picture, we all recognize that the idea and acts of underage drinking is a

serious problem that will take a great deal of time to conclude. Strongly in belief, the approach of

reducing to legal age to the age of eighteen would solve the problem. We should respect the

decisions made by eighteen-year old`s and allow them to consume alcohol in the supervision of

an adult, whether it be a family member or a government official. However, even with the

drinking age to be eighteen, they should only be allowed to purchase alcohol when they turn

twenty-one years of age.

Lowering the drinking age to eighteen years of age would also help decrease the thrill of

violating the law. Since the current drinking age is twenty-one years, many people under the age

of twenty-one consume alcohol in order to feel an euphoric sensation, because they may consider

breaking the law as fun. With the drinking age lowered, these rebellious adults will not be

breaking the law. In turn, this helps regulators to focus on larger scale crimes, rather than

focusing on drinking associated with legal, yet underage adults. Ultimately, lowering the legal

drinking age to eighteen has various benefits. As discussed, lowering the drinking age is the right

the step to take, since eighteen is when an individual is legally considered an adult. Even though

there are a few negative effects of this, the good outweighs the bad. Lowering the drinking age

would also reduce the risk of young adults breaking the law, which in turn will reduce crime

rates.
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Work Cited Page

Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21 to a Lower Age? THE LEADING

SOURCE FOR PROS & CONS OF CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES, drinkingage.procon.org/.

HISTORY . Choose Responsibility, www.chooseresponsibility.org/history/.

Https://Alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/the_1984_national_minimum_drinking_ag

e_act_2.Html. Alcohol Policy Information System ,

alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/the_1984_national_minimum_drinking_age_act_2.html.