Discuss The Arguments Against Keeping The Drinking Age At 21

Improved Essays
The controversial issue concerning the legal drinking age has caused many disputes among countless people. There are several convincing points that aid in the two particular sides. One side argues to keep the legal drinking age at 21, while the other disputes over lowering the drinking age to 18 like it had been in the past. One of the arguments that support the legal drinking age at 21 is that if the age were lowered to 18, many teenagers that are younger than 18 could have easier access to alcohol. Another reason is that most high schoolers turn 18 during their senior year. A different reason supporting the legal drinking age to be 21 is that accidents due to drinking and driving would occur more often than they already do. More health concerns would also arise such as brain negativity. The other side, however, argues that the legal drinking age should be lowered to 18. When a teen turns 18 they are considered an adult. 18 year olds can serve in the military and in juries, buy cigarettes, and are able to start working in order to support themselves. It would also lessen the excitement of …show more content…
When that age group gets their hands on alcohol they get excited because of the rush people get from drinking when one isn’t following the law. A lot of college students think it is so much fun to drink and party. When the teens cannot drink in supervised places this causes all the drinking to be in unsupervised places (Pros and Cons of Lowering the Drinking Age). People from other countries such as Italy have their the MLDA limit at 16. When they get to drink alcohol early most people do not drink just for the fun of it in that country and they don't get as crazy as americans do (Viewpoint: Why America Should Lower the Legal Drinking Age). If our country would lower the MLDA to 18 or lower like other countries, most kids wouldn't drink just for the fun of it and go party and get drunk as

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    The most advocate argument for the drinking age to be 21 is your brain has not fully developed. Research shows that the human brain is not fully developed until the age of 20. Alcohol has been proven to negatively damage the development of our brain. The toxic beverage being consumed abusively can effect your cognitive development, kidneys, liver, and other parts of the human body.…

    • 65 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Should the legal drinking age of 18 years in Queensland be raised to 21? That is the question being asked. It would be hard to argue that point, especially when in the eyes of the law once a young person turns 18 years old you are legally an adult. At 18 you have the legal right to vote, get married, have sex, buy smokes and even go war and die at war. Originally the drinking age was 21 years old, but this was changed during the Vietnam War, claiming if an 18-year-old person can be conscripted they should have the right to drink.…

    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Statistics prove that the legal drinking age should remain at the age of twenty-one in the United States. First, drinking alcohol at a young age can cause the brain to not fully develop properly. People consume alcohol for many different reasons: celebration, depression, anxiety, boredom, and peer pressure. This group of…

    • 1284 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered? Eighteen, that magical age, everyone has dreamed about turning. The number eighteen is significant in America because it is when teenagers are finally given the chance to show the world they’re responsible young adults. This group is no longer viewed as children in America, but as young adults who can experience the same rights and privileges as other adults. As society keeps growing and changing, the discussion to keep the drinking age at twenty-one or to change it back to eighteen, has always been a spilt-decision creating such a debate.…

    • 1290 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The argument of whether the legal drinking age should be lowered has been in great opposition. According to Brandon Grigg’s article “Should The U.S Lower Its Drinking Age”, published in CNN. A 2007 Gallup poll found that 77% of Americans opposed lowering the drinking age in all states to 18. I'm in favor of that and believe that lowering the drinking age will result in more harm than good.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    People around the United States argue about lowering the drinking age to eighteen. If teenagers in the United States are allowed to vote and join the military at age eighteen they are considered responsible adults then they should be allowed to purchase alcohol. If teenagers in the United States are prohibited to purchase alcohol, they are going to find other ways to purchase and drink alcohol anyways. If eighteen year olds are allowed to purchase tobacco then why shouldn’t they be allowed to purchase alcohol? Lowering the drinking age to eighteen is a good idea because there would be less rebellious teens that binge drink and find ways to get alcohol from other people at parties.…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The current law in America states that a person who is the age of twenty-one or older is legally allowed to consume alcohol. There are many arguments whether this law should be changed to a lower age, preferably eighteen, or raised to an age somewhere around twenty-five. When the hardcore facts concerning this substance are thoroughly examined and thought over, one would see there is only one answer to this dispute. The United States has many problems concerning alcohol and younger people in today’s society; therefore, the legal drinking age must be raised.…

    • 1819 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    colleges and universities around the united states think that the drinking age should be lowered to 18. they said it should be lowered because they think that outlawing alcohol for 18 year olds is making the problem worse. these colleges and universities say that allowing alcohol consumption at the age of 18 might decrease the death rate from alcohol. If you are over the age of 18 you are considered an adult and have to act like one. If you look at the countries that have the drinking age at 18 then you would see that there is less accidents, less parties, no students are leaving their classes to go get drunk because when it is lowered to 18 than no teenager has to hide it.…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Voting Age Response Paper

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages

    If the age when most the people are mature enough is 18 then why the drinking age is 21 may be because that is the age when most of the people get mature enough to handle themselves and make the right decisions about their lives is at least 21. I believe if 18 is a mature age then the drinking age should also be set at 18. 21 is the age when most of the people face “real world” and understand that what decisions they should make.21 years is the age at which, one fervently hopes, some degree of maturity will have set in. 18 is too young for those who break the law to be treated as adults, saying and the brain doesn’t finish developing until the mid-20s and that’s another reason why the voting age should increase. 21 year olds are more mature, more involved in society, and much less distracted than the opposing age group.…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Full maturity is not yet reached at 18 years of age, instead, it is more likely to reach its highest at age 25 ("Brain Maturity Extends Well Beyond Teen Years"). Lowering the legal drinking age would only put more young adults at risk knowing that their lack of maturity is not at its highest. Many believe that the legal age for drinking should be set at 18 because that is the age when people are labeled as legal adults. Responsibilities such as the ability to vote, move out of the house, or enlist in the military are all given to 18 year olds, however, drinking alcohol is not one of those freedoms, and there are many reasons as to why that is the case. For example, scientists have proven that the age in which someone’s decision-making skills reach their highest point is not until age 25 or so.…

    • 2148 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The legal drinking age is currently set at twenty-one. In history alcohol has been very present, yet even then they warned of the dangers. When the legal drinking age was set at twenty-one in 1984 it dropped many teen accidents. Mentally teens brains are not fully developed until age twenty-five, and alcohol can pause the brains growth. When teens drink as well they have a tendency to binge drink which then leads to alcohol dependency later on in life.…

    • 1813 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Drinking alcohol is popular among most adults although it is not legal in every state to drink as soon as the proclaimed age of adulthood is reached. Personally I believe that the age should be lowered because upon turning eighteen years old so many new laws and regulations apply such as the right to vote and being able to serve in the military. Increasing the age has created more cases of underage drinking and illegal sales of alcohol to minors. The legal drinking age was raised to 21 because of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. This stated that if a state did not enforce the legal drinking age of 21 that state would lose up to ten percent of their current highway spending from the federal government.…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered The legal drinking age should not be lowered as it has been proven it will have negative effects on the individual and society. The legal drinking age started at 21 years old in the 1930’s. During the Vietnam War era the legal drinking age was lowered to 18 to accommodate the soldiers that were in the War. This changed when Ronald Regan proposed the Uniform Drinking Age Act in 1984.…

    • 1073 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Drinking Age To 18 Essay

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The drinking age should be lowered to 18 because, you can buy cigarettes and vote at the age of 18, plus you are considered an adult at 18. With adult hood in mind, in the United States you are considered an adult at the age of eighteen. At the age of eighteen in the U.S you can…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In contrast, lowering the alcoholic drinking age from 21 to 18 will irresponsibly allow a greater segment of the population to drink alcohol in bars and nightclubs. Raising the alcoholic drinking age decreases drinking among young people, it promotes fewer dropout rates and protects adverse birth outcomes, and alcohol drug dependence. Truly,raising the alcoholic drinking age is an effective law that protects young people…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays