Minimum Legal Drinking Age: Should it be Lowered?

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Recommended: Effects of lowering the drinking age to 18

Turning 18, one becomes an adult, however there are still many things that are restricted and not allowed until one reaches an even older age. The most controversial today is the minimum legal drinking age. Much like in the 1920s, when prohibition was established by the 18th amendment and all alcohol was banned from the United States, underground binge drinking occurred resulting in the opposite of what the law was intended to do. Then in 1933, the 21st amendment overturned that law, making alcohol legal again. Further down the timeline, in 1980 Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) was founded to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and overall push for stricter alcohol policy. From their efforts, the federal government put in place a law that would revoke ten percent of any states highway funding who did not have their minimum legal drinking age set to 21. Immediately in 1984, all states raised their legal drinking ages to 21 in fear of being withheld the funding. Today, 30 years later, the law is still in place, however a debate has sprung up in support of lowering the drinking age back to 18. The group Amethyst Initiative, which has gained support from prestigious universities such as Dartmouth, Duke, and Virginia Tech, started this uproar. Through this, the question emerged, should the legal drinking age be lowered back to 18, and what would result if it happens? There are three positions on this issue. Position one wants to keep the drinking age as is, like Matt Nagin in “Top 3 Reasons Why the Drinking Age Should Not be Lowered.” Position two wants the legal drinking age to be lowered back to 18, like Dale Archer M.D. in “The Pros and Cons of Drinking at 18.” And position th...

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...e deaths, by creating programs that teach incoming freshmen the results of binge drinking; having professors help students stay away from overdoing it; and trying to pass or change laws so then binge drinking is discouraged. For example, the McCue family created Be Responsible About Drinking, or B.R.A.D., in hopes to enhance alcohol awareness since they lost their son on his 21st birthday when he drank 24 drinks in a little less than two hours created. The article continues to further cite various universities who have put in place websites and courses to help with alcohol awareness, therefore showing that there is a change in the way colleges are handling these deaths, and are pushing for students to at least become knowledgeable about alcohol so then if they do decide to drink illegally, they hopefully will know how to handle themselves and their alcohol better.

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