Essay on The Legal Drinking Age Should Be 18 - 1540 Words

The laws concerning the minimum drinking age in this country sometimes seem ridiculous and unnecessary. In this paper, I will discuss why certain laws are unfair and I will provide alternatives to certain problems concerning underage drinking and binge drinking. Let?s face it, no matter what laws the government enforces to cut down on underage drinking, it is commonplace and happens everywhere from grade school through high school and predominantly in college. The government is looking to stop teen drinking rather than manage it. According to Time Magazine, half the students age 10 to 24 questioned in a 1999 study by the Centers for Disease Control said they had consumed alcohol in the preceding month. If the†¦show more content†¦From what I have seen and heard from my own experiences, no. If someone waits until they are 21 to start drinking, they will get buzzed and their thought process can be altered off very little alcohol. If the drinking age is reduced to 18, teens can responsibly drink and can learn their lessons about how much is too much, etc. When drinking is legal, it takes place in the open, where it can be supervised by police, security guards, and even health-care workers. When the drinking age went up, the spigot was not turned off; it was simply moved underground-to homes or cars, or frat-house basements-where no adult could keep an eye on things. Middlebury president John McCardell says, ?The 21-year drinking age has not reduced drinking on campuses, it has probably increased it.? This idea goes back to childhood where parents tell a child not to open a certain box or to not touch the stove, but until the child touches the stove and learns that it is hot, they will always be curious as to why they are forbidden to do something. Telling a child or even a teen that something is off limits, makes it even more appealing to them. Some alternatives to this high and strict minimum drinking age could be to give all students a state funded alcohol awareness program while in high school. If students are taught about the risks and dangers of excessive drinking, they will be more likely to refrain from doing it. Nowadays, the courses concerning alcohol awareness are moreShow MoreRelatedThe Legal Drinking Age Should Be 18957 Words   |  4 Pages On the topic of the appropriate legal drinking ago, I stand firm on the belief that the legal drinking age should be 18. In every other aspect in America, an 18 year old person is considered an adult, legally and morally. So why aren’t these adults allowed to legally drink? 18 year old adults are permitted live on their own, vote, gamble, purchase cigarettes, and fight in a war. There is not denying the fact that teenagers are exposed to drinking prior to their 18th birthday, and many drinkRead MoreShould the Legal Drinking Age Be Lowered to 18?590 Words   |  2 PagesUnderage Drinking Age Position Paper Drinking is a serious problem in America. The current legal age is 21. But some people seem to disagree. Should the legal drinking age be lowered to 18? It’s a question that has been thrown around for years. I believe that the legal drinking age should stay at 21. There are so many more benefits and responsibilities you have at age 21. You don’t fully mature until you’re at least 20 years old. The amount of underage drinking fatalities that happen every yearRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Should Be 18 Essay677 Words   |  3 Pagesnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Did you know that in the year 1980 the legal drinking age was only 18? In 1987 there was a law passed that said in order to drink legally and to buy alcohol a person had to be 21. 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Choose Responsibility, a group founded by John McCardell, proposes that upon completion of a 40 hour course to educate young people about alcohol, 18, 19, and 20 year old people should be licensed to drink. The Amethyst Initiative, part of Choose Responsibility, is a petition to Congress to rethink the minimum legal drinking age. Several college leaders have signed this petition in the belief that lowering the minimu m legal drinking age will reduce binge drinking on collegeRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered988 Words   |  4 PagesThe Legal Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered There are copious amounts of people who believe that the legal drinking age should be lowered to eighteen. Others think the drinking age needs to remain the same. A few of those also conclude the legal age of adulthood should be raised to 21. The belief is if the adolescent brain has not matured enough to support alcohol use by age 21, it cannot make the responsible decisions required at 18 years of age. Voters should make the decision toRead MoreLegalizing the Drinking Age to 181624 Words   |  7 PagesLegalizing the Drinking Age to 18 When people turn to the age of eighteen, they are finally considered an adult. They can join the army, have the right to vote, buy cigarettes or tobacco products, get a tattoo and even die for our country, but they aren’t allowed to buy alcohol? A person can be responsible enough to live on his or her own, make money, pay bills, and yet they are not old enough to purchase or consume any type of alcohol. Underage drinking has been a major controversial issue forRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered From The Age Of 21 Essay980 Words   |  4 Pagesconsidered â€Å"adults† cannot even make their own decisions? The drinking age on alcohol is a controversial social and cultural issue in today’s society; all fifty states have a minimum drinking age of 21. The legal drinking age should be lowered from the age of 21 to 18 allowing young adults to be granted the right to drink in restaurants, bars, at social events, in the comfort of their own home, and so o n. If anything, lowering the legal drinking age would have a positive impact on the United Sates economyRead MoreUnderage Drinking Is Part Of The Culture Of College1734 Words   |  7 PagesI did discover is that underage drinking is part of the culture in college, also the friends that I had in high school who are 21 now I have discovered they drink some of the least amount now. Which has begun to make me wonder why people who are 21 drink less than people who are underage. I believe that when people are 21 they now do not have to worry about the next time they can get alcohol. Congress should lower the drinking age from 21 to 18 because at age 18 when they are in college, for someRead MoreShould The Legal Alcohol Age Be Changed?1560 Words   |  7 Pages To fight for our country at the age of 18 and seeing things that only you could imagine in the battlefield. Coming home from deployment and just wanting a simple beer for your hard work but not being able to buy any becaus e you are not 21 years of age. How is that fair to the men in the military forces? Fighting for our country’s freedom but not being able to have a few beers with your closest friends and family members. The topic of the legal alcohol age being changed has been a great topic