Drinking Age

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Recommended: Should we lower the legal drinking age

In almost all scenarios an argument can occur that debates whether one thing or another is good or bad, helpful or hurtful. Some debates are simple with no major side effects such as would drinking gatorade or water better maximize the performance of athletes. Other debates involving drinking are not as simple, these debates involve alcohol drinking age. Both arguments can have different viewpoints, the difference is the significance in the argument. What should the legal drinking age in the United States be? Consuming alcohol has been done for many years. Unlike a typical beverage that hydrates the body alcohol is consumed for its positive side effects, but the negative effects are forgotten. Often these so called positive side effects are glorified by the public which makes drinking more popular, especially in the young population. When deciding if one should drink or not the enjoyful side effects are planted in the mind rather than the side effects that should be focused on, these are often forgotten. This is why a drinking age is currently in place, however arguments come from the age that are trying to resolve the next problem, what age are the effects less harmful on the body and are young adults capable of making smart, safe decisions for themselves and those around them. In the recent years the legal age to consume or purchase alcohol has been twenty-one. Before the age was changed to twenty-one it was previously eighteen. This law was not changed to upset those who were between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one at the time or to restrict their freedom. The law was put in place for the safety of the people of the United States from the dangers of alcohol at an age believed to be too young to handle the consequenc... ... middle of paper ... ... Degutis, Linda. “Choose accountability: Keep the legal U.S. drinking age at 21.” The Nation’s Health, VITAL SIGNS: 3. ProQuest Discovery. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. . Kowalski, Kathiann M. “The dangers of alcohol.” Current Health 2 Feb. 1998: 6-12. ProQuest Discovery. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. . Wechsler, Henry, PhD; Nelson, Toben F, ScD. “Will Increasing Alcohol Availability By Lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Decrease Drinking and Related Consequences Among Youths?” American Public Health Association 100.6 (2010): 986-92. ProQuest Discovery. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. . This article shows the reasons the drinking age should be lowered

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