Lowering the Drinking Age Appears to be Best Solution

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Lowering the Drinking Age Appears to be Best Solution

Despite offering many solutions to the ongoing problem of underage drinking, there seems to be no chance for a law to pass that will lower the drinking age. Pete Coors of Coors Brewing Co. ran for senator in the Colorado election and campaigned that he was not pushing to lower the drinking age, however many of his quotes are not consistent with this point of view. No matter what the ultimate decision is for the drinking age, fake IDs and parents who condone drinking are going to cancel out any legitimacy for this law to work. Furthermore there are many drugs in testing now that may perhaps eliminate any of the dangers that are common with drinking. Due to liquor companies targeting teens to make a larger profit, it is inevitable that a younger generation will begin to consume alcohol earlier than with generations before.

Pete Coors campaigned extensively in Coors country during the recent election, in which he was ultimately defeated by his cowboy counterpart Ken Salazar. One reason that may have led to his defeat was his strong stance on lowering the drinking age to eighteen. The reasoning behind Coors’ proposition comes in the form of government sanctions that are currently in place. He claims, “18-year-olds should be able to drink legally if they can vote and go to war.” However, his argument was quickly shut down by Salazar as he reminded Coors of the recent tragedies at CSU and CU. “Thousands of young people die every year in alcohol-related accidents,” exclaimed Salazar. This information was compiled by CNN.com during coverage of the 2004 senate race.

Salazar leaves out a very important part of the argument though. Indeed there are many alcohol-related deaths...

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...gal. Parents who condone drinking and fake IDs are also contributing to the case that we need to lower the drinking age. If we expose kids to moderate drinking at an earlier age we may be able to monitor their levels as they get older, and if it is legal for them to drink then they may not consume as much at once. Lastly, I believe that with these new drugs being produced, we will be able to drink and not be affected by it. So therefore we should just lower the drinking age, because like every article said kids will drink no matter how hard people try to stop them. Drinking is a part of American culture, and I think that it is important that we let our youth participate in that tradition, lowering the drinking age couldn’t possibly make things worse that they already are. At least if they drink legally, there is less responsibility put on parents and law enforcement.

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