Some people think that the drinking age should be lowered to 18. I personally don’t think it’s a good idea. Alcohol is a depressant meaning it slows down brain function. Most people don’t know that alcohol is a drug just like methamptamine and marijuana the only difference is that alcohol is legal in the U.S. for anyone 21 and over. Each year, approximately 5,000 people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking. This includes 1,900 car accidents, 1,600 homicides, 300 suicides, and hundreds of other deaths due to accidents like falls, burns and drownings. Alcohol causes more than 4% of deaths worldwide. There are more deaths caused by alcohol then all of the other illegal drugs and substances combined. Alcohol can cause irreversible …show more content…
Alcohol can have damaging effect on the brain especially while the brain is still developing. Alcohol can shrink the hippocampus, the area of the brain that controls learning and memory. This can lead to both permanent and short term memory loss and a drop in grades. Teens who abuse alcohol can develop smaller frontal lobes. This part of the brain oversees emotions, personality, motor function, problem solving, spontaneity, memory, language, and more. Heavy alcohol us in men reduces testosterone levels causing breast enlargement, infertility and other side effects. Heavy alcohol use in women can cause menstrual irregularities and even infertility. When teens use alcohol and are still is school they withdraw both academically and socially causing there grades drop and a decline in social interactions. more than Half the people who begin drinking before the age of 15 will eventually become alcoholics. Most teens are still in high school or are starting college when they turn 18. And therefore are still in school. If they were legally allowed to consume alcohol it could interfere with there learning. Parents pay thousands of dollars a