Why The Drinking Age Should Be Lowered To 18

The legal drinking age should be lowered to 18 in the U.S. There are many reasons to lower the drinking age. I will discuss some valid reasons to lower the drinking age, including: removing the “taboo” of drinking, drunk driving accidents, because the legal age of consent is 18, it should include being able to drink. One of the major arguments for raising the drinking age to 21 is that in the 1970’s, 60% of traffic accidents were related to drunk driving. (Health Research Funding 2015). Among the reasons MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) was founded was to: make the blood alcohol levels 08% or lower, and use stricter sanctions for DUI offenders including mandatory jail sentences, mandatory treatment programs, ignition lock devices, and

In fact, college is a prime time to drink. Most students are under 21. Teaching people to drink responsibly before they turn 21 might improve teen’s behaviors toward drinking. Binge drinking seems to be a rite of passage in today’s society. Possibly removing the “taboo” of drinking for teens will be a better way to handle the perceived alcohol problems. In fact, Dwight B Heath a Brown University anthropology professor says when he is asked what the minimum legal drinking age should be in the U.S., he says, “Eight, maybe even six.” He isn’t advocating getting kids drunk. Instead he favors the cultural model common in countries like France or Italy, where parents serve small amounts of wine to their children at family meals By doing this, he says, parents educate their kids about alcohol and rob drinking of its allure, which can make rebellious teenagers to sneak off to basements and backwoods to binge drink far from adult supervision. Heath says, “In general the younger people start to drink the safer they are. Alcohol has no mystique. It’s no big deal. By contrast, where it’s banned until age 21, there’s something of the ‘forbidden fruit’ syndrome (CNN 2015). American 18 year olds have the right to: marry, purchase a firearm, serve on a jury, and vote in our elections. At the age of 18, it is legal to sign a contract to rent or purchase a home, but they can’t drink in it…legally. The age