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What is the influence of alcohol on the brain and behaviour
Impact of lowering the drinking age
Impact of lowering the drinking age
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What is a depressant? Many individuals would give an answer such as a substance that depresses one’s mood. Although on the right path, depressants reduce functional or nervous activity; an example is alcohol. Alcohol, when excessively consumed, will result “in slurred speech, unsteady movement, disturbed perceptions, and an inability to react quickly” (What is Alcohol, 2014, para.1). In other words, the beverage totally recalibrates a human’s judgment of his actions and thought processes. Because of the knowledge about alcohol, states throughout the country construct federal laws mandating the consumption or sale of liquor. These requirements protect people from hazardous activities and health concerns. Unfortunately, by regulating legislative …show more content…
Growing up with an alcoholic is a powerful life lesson. Individuals learn valuable skills on how to behave around immature, intoxicated drunks and what to do to prevent mishaps. Unfortunately, all incidences are not stoppable; therefore, protecting oneself from the unexpected will benefit in the long run. Alcohol can and will increase mental impairment, so if legal to consume the product, people should wisely acknowledge how much they can handle at one sitting. Here in Indiana, state executives prohibit the sale or acquisition of alcoholic beverages unless a citizen is a certain age. Many human beings follow this strictly such as my family. At social gatherings on private property, I am still unable to ingest any liquor even though I am currently eighteen about to turn nineteen on February 25, 2015. The elders believe drinking under the age limit will influence me to indulge more and increase my chances of becoming addicted. Although given a small measurement will not harm myself, experienced family members are probably …show more content…
Running from one department to the next, dealing with countless dilemmas, they are sometimes difficult to track down. Thus, the legal age to sell alcohol should be altered to eighteen. In doing so, several other cashiers will be able to scan the beverages and managers will have fewer obligations to answer to. However, mandatory drinking age should remain at twenty-one years old. Modifying age specification of certain criteria does not necessarily alter other laws simultaneously. Since I am allowed to sell tobacco substances, plus purchase the product, why not permit other employees and me to scan alcoholic
According to Center for Disease Control and Protection, about 4,700 people under age twenty one die from injuries involving underage drinking every year. Illegal alcohol consumption has been a major problem with high school students around the nation. Lowering the drinking age from twenty one would result in major consequences for America’s adolescents. By lowering the drinking age, alcohol would be more accessible to those who choose to participate in underage drinking. The desire to drink for teens and young adults between the ages of fourteen and twenty can be caused by peer pressure or an act of rebellion. One beer might not seem like a big deal at the time, but it could lead to a life of addiction and alcoholism.
Companies and businesses that sell alcohol have a common interest in the issue of whether the legal drinking age should be lower...
Without a doubt, the United States has been facing serious national problems with underage drinking. Depending on personal ideologies, some people might not agree that the current minimum drinking age of twenty-one is based on scientific facts rather then ideology of prohibitionism. For example, since 1975 over seventeen thousand lives have been saved since the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) was changed to age twenty-one (Balkin 167). This shows that even over a short amount of time, a higher MLDA helps decrease the risk of teen suicides, accidents and overdose deaths. However, this widely debated topic has inevitably brought attention to the plethora of supporting and opposing viewpoints. The minimum legal drinking age of twenty-one has shown significant results in the prevention of accidents and death studies across the board. Accordingly, the MLDA should remain at the current age of twenty-one.
According to Andrew Herman, “Each year, 14,000 die from drinking too much. 600,000 are victims of alcohol related physical assault and 17,000 are a result of drunken driving deaths, many being innocent bystanders” (470). These massive numbers bring about an important realization: alcohol is a huge issue in America today. Although the problem is evident in Americans of all ages, the biggest issue is present in young adults and teens. In fact, teens begin to feel the effects of alcohol twice as fast as adults and are more likely to participate in “binge-drinking” (Sullivan 473). The problem is evident, but the solution may be simple. Although opponents argue lowering the drinking age could make alcohol available to some teens not mature enough to handle it, lowering the drinking age actually teaches responsibility and safety in young adults, maintains consistency in age laws, and diminishes temptation.
There has been an ongoing controversy in the United States on whether the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen like most of the world or if it should stay at twenty-one. Underage drinking has been a major controversial issue for years, yet why is it not under control? Teenagers are continuing to buy alcohol with fake identification cards, drink, get into bars, and drink illegally. As a teen I have proof that these things are going on not only in college but in high school as well. There are a lot of factors that come together to why the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen; the most obvious reason is too many people are drinking before they are twenty-one. Liquor stores, bars, and clubs all want to make money and if they can get away with selling to underage teens then they will. A study done by the Academic Search Premier agrees that, ?By now it is obvious that the law has not succeeded in preventing the under-21 group from drinking? (Michael Smith 1).
Bob Marley once said, “Herb is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction.” This is the case when it comes to teens and alcohol. In America, the National Minimum Legal Drinking Age is a topic of great debate and controversy. Many people argue that the age restriction provides a safe environment for all citizens; whereas others disagree that the law creates an untrustworthy aura among teens. If the minimum legal drinking age were to be lowered, most people would be affected by it, whether it be by an increase in drunk-driving or a rise in crimes. Although teens are legally considered adults by the age of eighteen and the minimum legal drinking age prompts underage teens to exhibit risky behavior, the age restriction should not be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen because young teens would have easier access to alcohol, the minimum legal drinking age has decreased alcohol-related problems, and alcohol can cause damage to underage drinkers.
One of the most common questions asked to children is: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Responses typically include professions such as teachers, firefighters, police officers, doctors, etc. Foster children are no different; they too have hopes and dreams, aspirations to be someone in life. As with anyone else, they must first go through the proper curriculum and training to establish a career. The problem, however, is that early on foster children start falling behind academically. Research Highlights on Education and Foster Care (2014) provide numerous data based on studies throughout the states that exemplify the magnitude of the issue and the need to address it through modified policies and interventions. First, it recognizes
About 1.3 million adults received treatment for an alcohol use disorder at a specialized facility just in 2013. According to the Proquest database, alcoholism is commonly referred to as the excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. The world health organization estimates there are 140 million alcoholics worldwide. Alcoholism can lead to ca crashes, crimes, violence, abuse, reduced workplace activity and illness. Also according to centers for disease control and prevention, excessive alcohol use is the third leading lifestyle-related cause of death in America. This paper will examine the pro, con, and my viewpoint on whether or not alcoholism is caused by a lack of willpower or not.
There are many aspects to the drinking law that need to be taken into consideration, but at the end of the day, any law that is being disregarded and abused needs to be revised and corrected. America was built on change, and that same mentality needs to be applied to the growing problem that is the legal drinking age.
There are numerous problems involving alcohol in the world today, including alcoholism, drunk driving, and alcohol poisoning leading to death. Many of these problems involve minors and are linked to drinking underage. The legal drinking age in many states is twenty-one years old. The purpose of this law is to keep minors out of danger: away from drunk driving, alcohol poisoning, and injuring the brain before it is fully developed. The government supports the belief that people are not ready or responsible enough for alcohol until this age. However, various professors and researchers are discovering ways to disprove this belief. These people think that reducing the drinking age to eighteen would influence our country in a positive way. Not only do minors support this idea, but there are numerous people and organizations that support the idea of lowering the drinking age as well. The current drinking law is counterproductive in our society because it’s not effective in eliminating underage drinking, and leads to unsafe situations such as drunk driving and alcohol poison instigated deaths. This problem could be solved by lowering the minimum drinking age to eighteen, with a drinking license.
One of the greatest debates of the world is the legal drinking age of adolescents. In some counties there is no legal age, however in others the, legal drinking age is extremely high. Because the age restriction is different all around the world, it leads to an immense debacle. In today’s society, it is necessary that the United States government lowers the drinking age from 21 to 18. The world nowadays is enormously different from when they first changed it, causing the age to not correlate with today’s society. In addition, there are numerous other legal rights 18 year olds have that make the drinking age stand out. If the legal age for drinking was lowered then the outcomes will be positive, for example, there would be less illegal drinking
The current drinking age in the United States of America is 21. There are some people who agree with the current drinking age even some who think it should be raised. On the other hand, a number of people feel that the current drinking age produces more problems than it prevents (“Cross Fire”). The United States has unsuccessfully tried prohibition legislation not once, but twice in the past. These laws were eventually done away with due to the inability to enforce and the repercussion towards them that ended up causing even more trials and tribulations (Engs). “Prohibition demonstrates beyond a doubt that drinking and the problems caused by drinking cannot simply be eliminated from the United States” (Olson). In the present day, the government is still reiterating the same mistakes that they made in past attempts (Engs). Research from the early 1980’s until present-day shows a decrease in per capita consumption instead, there has been an increase in other problems involving excessive and negligent drinking amongst college students after the twenty –one year old law in 1987 (Engs). The current drinking age of 21 is not effective and is causing other social problems. (Engs). This calls for us as a nation to change our existing drinking law.
Alcohol abuse is the most common problem, nowadays. In fact, majority of people drink alcohol repeatedly to the point where they have difficulty to stop. Statistics show that, as much as, “40% of college students report drinking five or more drinks in one episode” (Walters & Baer, 2006). Alcohol has become more popular over the years as advertisements, simultaneously with commercials of it, filled the media. It also is easily accessible and cheap in comparison to other psychoactive substances. On the other hand, alcohol safety awareness programs are barely noticeable. My research will present how alcohol and its abuse gets into people’s lives and how it influences their physical and mental health, as well as, social existence.
As a result of underage drinking, 5,000 adolescents under the age of 21 die annually due to intoxication (taking motor vehicle crashes, homicides, suicides, and other injuries while intoxicated into consideration) (paragraph 2). Later in life, underage drinkers are more likely to develop alcoholism, poor performance in school, and risky sexual behavior (paragraph 43). Although this research is not opposed to my argument, there is an importance to acknowledging it as proof of dangerous, underage drinking occurring significantly regardless of whether it is illegal. More importantly, this research stems from adolescents drinking without the supervision of adults and in uncontrolled quantities. Since adolescents must wait a long period of time to drink legally, I believe they fear they must take advantage of drinking opportunities by excess drinking and risk of safety due to their restriction to alcohol. Based on this mindset, I believe exposure to alcohol at a younger age in controlled environments would not only decrease underage drinking in large quantities, but injury and death related to intoxication, as
Ethyl alcohol or ethanol, or most often known simply as alcohol, can come in the form of beer, wine, or liquor. A depressant affects the central nervous system, although many would believe it to be a stimulant. Many people get more energetic and stimulated, but this is only because alcohol affects parts of the brain that control judgment. The stimulant effect of alcohol actually amounts to depression of self-control.... ...