Preview

Drinking Age Should Remain Twenty-One

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
639 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Drinking Age Should Remain Twenty-One
The legal drinking age should remain twenty-one. It should not be lowered because teenagers are not mature enough to drink responsibly. If you are allowed to have a credit card, provide for a family, and vote, you should be able to drink at the age it already is. We all know the consequences to what we do to our bodies, that is why we have choices. Drinking can be addicting just like coffee, cigarettes, medications, and body building. Teenagers are not mature enough for the drinking age to be lowered to eighteen years old. Being able to drink at an early age can lead to alcoholism at more quickly. When teenagers consume alcohol it is more easily for them to drink and drive because they believe nothing can or will happen to them. All fifty states minimum age to drink is twenty-one, but in some states it is okay for people under that age to drink under adult supervision. Having to drink in front of adults brings …show more content…
Having the drinking age at twenty-one is just right because it is not to young and not to old, it is in the middle. If you are able to go to prison at the age of eighteen, provide for a family, purchase cigarettes, and file taxes you should be able to consume alcohol at the age of twenty-one. Keeping the legal age to drink at this age “has lowered traffic accidents and fatalities.” (The Leading Source for Pros and Cons of Controversial Issues) Rising the age will cause more illegal drinking for those under the legal age, and more problems. “The rational part of a teen’s brain does not fully develop until the age of twenty-five”, although this is true people who are older than twenty-five still struggle with alcohol in their system, and cause fatal accidents as well. (University of Rochester Medical Center) After the fact that alcohol hurts everyone in the same way might as well just leave the drinking age at twenty-one. Instead of rising the age, there should be more classes on how to control your alcohol

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    There is a huge problem with underage drinking in the U.S. Some states have already lowered the drinking age such as Maine, Massachusetts, and Michigan. One main point on why it shouldn’t be lowered is because of a higher chance of depression in teens. Second, it increases health and educational problems in teens also. Lastly, it would increase the amount of alcohol related accidents because of teens brains not being fully developed.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the U.S. the age of adulthood is 18. And with that comes many responsibilities and decisions that can now be made without consents. But there is still one thing a now young adult can’t decide on their own and that is if they will consume alcohol. The legal drinking age is not until you are 21 years of age. People argue that it should be lowered for it is an individual decision and 18 is old enough to make that decision. The legal drinking age should remain as is because the brain of a young adult is not fully developed till the age of 21.…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many debate whether the drinking age is at a reasonable age. It has been a controversial topic that has influenced many people and has been disputed upon numerous times. The drinking age should be lowered to age 19, for many reasons. The majority of teenagers that want to drink, are already drinking before the age of 21. At age 19 students are out of High School, and getting ready to live on their own. They also have the responsibility of making choices because they are adults.…

    • 764 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    One national study of laws stated that raising the drinking age to 21 indicated that persons who grew up in United States with a drinking age of 21, compared to those who grew up in United States with lower legal drinking ages, drank less not only when they were under the age of 21 years of age but also when they were between 21 to 25 years of age. 149 I understand why some people would like the drinking age changed from 21 to 19. But when you look at the statistics and the facts about the mortality rate and the negative effects of underage drinking, waiting two more years is definitely worth…

    • 1251 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The age for drinking should not be raised because of the fact that some alcohol companies could go out of business and so could bars. When you get older you tend to drink less and when you are younger or 21 you drink a lot for your 21st birthday or when you are around 20-30 you drink a lot and have fun but when you are older you have a lot of responsibility's to take care of like if you are married or you have a kid or not. When you are older you can't drink as much as you used to. You have a job that you can't be late for,you have kids or a wife/husband that you can't lose. Older people do drink sometimes but not as much as younger adults. The drinking age should stay the same and not be…

    • 144 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Several would argue that the 21 year old drinking age is possibly too low, some even think that the age should be lowered, and some even think the age should be at 25. I believe that the drinking age should remain the same at 21 due to the fact that there are already plenty of issues with underage drinking. “The Age of Responsibility” by Alan Greenblatt, goes into depth about the different problems and aspects that go into searching for a golden age to entrust people to have the ability to accomplish certain things. Considering that there are an excessive amount of issues that relate to drinking, I feel that there are countless efforts that could be put into decreasing the overwhelming volume of underage drinking, drunk driving, and alcohol abuse. There are copious amounts of conflicting arguments that believe the drinking age should be decreased to 18, whereas some feel that the age should even be increased to 25.…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In America, 38 states have the minimum drinking age at 21. However, the other 12 have exceptions to that law. Although underage drinking has been a problem in society. Lowering the drinking age would create responsibility in young adults (Top pro and con arguments). It would also allow young adults make better decisions and take responsibility for their actions.…

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Drinking Age Set to 18

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages

    If I am old enough to go to war, vote, have an abortion, give consent to have sex, or have a smoke, then I should be able to have a drink. Those are the types of arguments the proponents for the eighteen drinking age will generally give, but there is more to consider when it comes to the topic of alcohol. In an article published in The Los Angeles Times, Shari Roan explains the pros and cons of the drinking age. She states that “… [there are] approximately 1,700 alcohol related deaths in the United States among college students each year” and if the drinking age gets set to eighteen, this number is more than likely to rise. Alcohol is a dangerous, mind altering substance that if used carelessly, can cause an immense amount of damage both physically and mentally to adults and young adults.…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    More than twenty one thousand lives have been saved with the drinking age being twenty one. For about 10 years in the early 1900’s, our country ratified the 18th amendment which banned the production and consumption of alcohol. This amendment led to extreme crime, violence, and even speakeasies. Our country realized that it wasn’t the best idea for prohibition, and we then ratified the 21st amendment that repealed the 18th amendment. The 21st amendment has helped prevent car related tragedies in the 18-20 age group while they were under the influence. I believe the alcohol age should not change because of it reducing crashes, the fact that your brain is more developed and you understand your limits, and a change in New Zealand’s drinking to age 18 has spiked the percentage of alcohol related crashes.…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The first reason that the legal drinking age should not be lowered is because of the negative medical effects it has on the the mind and body. A large number of people and docpers even say that 18 years old compared to 21 is not much of a difference at all. This may be true to a point. Yes, physically that are very similar but the mindset and maturity is very different if look at carefully. First off, A quote from Dr. Williams Graf who is a professor at Yale states “There's no magic that happens physically to someone when they are 21 as compared to age 18. This is what men a woman say about teen drinking from a medical standpoint. Yes, a good majority of 18 year old are physically…

    • 1271 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Drinking age debate

    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The legal drinking age is a topic that has come up for, and will continue to come up for, many years. The main question that needs to be answered is what is it that determines when a person is able to drink. Should we continue to base the drinking level on age or should we look at other characteristics. Those enrolled in the military have special benefits when it comes to drinking. In the year of 2011, the legal drinking age in the United States for all non-military people is 21 years of age. There is research for both sides of the spectrum. Some believe that the age should be lowered from 21, while others believe 21 is the perfect age. Then there are the people who say that the drinking age should be taken even higher than 21. Some want the drinking age to be as high as 25. Will lowering the drinking age stop teens from binge drinking? If we take the drinking age higher, will it simply cause rebellion in the teen world?…

    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lowering the Drinking Age

    • 1330 Words
    • 6 Pages

    “Nearly 10 million youths, ages 12 to 20, in this country report they have consumed alcohol in the past 30 days.” (“City Council”) Teens use alcohol for a numerous amount of reasons, ranging from celebration to stress to boredom and underage drinking has now become a hobby done behind closed doors. The legal limit today in the United states has been 21 since the 1984, requiring all states to raise the minimum age for purchase and possession of alcohol to 21, but that is not stopping teens from underage drinking. The Minimum Legal Drinking Age is largely ineffective because teens are going to drink whether it is legal or not. The minimum drinking age limit should be lowered to 18 because 18 year olds are adults, teens would drink in a more controlled manner, and there would be less unsafe incidents.…

    • 1330 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Drinking Age

    • 301 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Drinking age has become one of the most debated issues among adults and teenagers in the United States. Majority of teenagers would say that there are many cons to the drinking age being set at 21 but for every con there is a pro.…

    • 301 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Legal Drinking Age

    • 1088 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Alcohol is the number one drug problem in the United States. Americans spend a slightly under 100 billion dollars on alcohol each year. Just a little fewer than 50% of Americans have either experienced or knows someone in their family that have experienced alcoholism (Drug Rehab.org). “Alcoholism is when the body becomes physically dependent on alcohol.” According to World Health Organization, “there are an estimated 140 million alcoholics around the world!” Addiction is very hard to break out of and may even be part of their lifestyle for the rest of one 's life. Since alcoholics usually cannot control their behavior after drinking, they often have problems in their home and workplace (AlcoholAddiction.info). About 12% of alcoholics are unemployed (Drug Rehab.org). Statistics show that a person who consumes alcohol before age 15 is at a higher risk of becoming addicted later in life than a person who start to consume alcohol at a later age (AlcoholAddiction.info). These reasons show that leaving the legal drinking age at 21 would be more beneficial to the United States than to lower it to 18, and risk teenagers of having a higher chance of getting addicted to alcohol.…

    • 1088 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alcohol in the hands of an irresponsible under aged person, can be deadly. Furthermore, for anyone to consider lowering the legal drinking age from 21, to 18, in my opinion is simply ludicrous. John Bowersox reports, “Since Colonial times, drinking alcohol has been part of American culture and its use by young people has been accepted by many as part of growing up. In fact, during the late 1960s and early 1970s, many States lowered the legal drinking age from 21 to 18. Following this change, the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities among young people increased. In response to these acute consequences, beginning in the early 1980s individual States increased the drinking age to 21. In 1984, Congress passed legislation that would…

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays