Legal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered

Legal drinking age should be lowered

Introduction: Once a person turns 18 years old they are already considered an adult. Yes, it may sound bad saying that 18 years old should have the right to legally drink, but lets look at the facts; you can drive a car, vote in all elections, smoke cigarettes, serve on juries, be prosecuted as an adult, get married, have children, fight in a war, gamble, but not have a beer until your 21? Now, if young men and women under the age of 21 can legally get married and especially can go and fight on the front lines for our country then they should be able to consume alcohol.
Body:
I. Most people say that 18 years can’t handle alcohol because you make they make too many mistakes, and that they aren’t mature enough. If you start to drink at eighteen or twenty-one your tolerance is still going to be the same.
A. When people say eighteen year olds make to many mistakes when they drink it’s only because they started drinking, just as a twenty one year old will make mistakes when he/she starts to drink as well. Also society uses young teenagers as scapegoats for alcohol problems when really it doesn’t matter if your 17, 21 or 38 years of age. Alcohol is still a serious problem among all people. It does not go away when you become 21 years of age. This is an example of how eighteen year olds are portrayed as apposed to twenty one year olds.
1. No matter what age you start to drink, you don’t know how much you can handle until you start drinking. It’s the same tolerance level.

B. Scientists now know that the human brain does not full develop until the late 20’s. That the 18 year old mind and 21 year old has the same process of thinking. The last part of the brain to develop is the pre-frontal cortex which controls judgment. This may be less important for some things than others. (Johnson T, 2011)
1. Regardless of the drinking age of 18 and 21 it would not make a difference since the tolerance level is still the same.

II. Lowering the drinking age to 21 would be good for the economy. A. More people would legally be able to drink in bars, restaurants, and other licensed establishments. Revenue would increase for private business owners, and greater amounts of tax revenue would be collected by the government. (pros,cons org 2004)
1.Would help the economy to have a boost.

III. Many young teenagers feel the need to purchase a fake id. A. young adults to acquire and use false identification documents to procure alcohol. In an era of terrorism, illegal immigration, and other national security concerns, it is better to have fewer fake IDs in circulation and more respect for the law. 1. Be safer for countries.

IV. If there was no drinking age kids would not think as alcohol as the forbidden fruit anymore and be more responsible with alcohol. (peer pressure) A. Study fact from the University of Standford that if teenagers know they are allowed to drink at 18 years old they wouldn’t have to sneak it anymore which will result in less drinking, since it’s all due to peer pressure. 1. Dr. Ruth Engs states “ The flaunting of the current age-specific prohibition is readily apparent among young people who, since the increase in the minimum legal drinking age, have tended to drink in a more abuse manner than do those of legal age. This, of course, is exactly what happened in the general public during national Prohibition.” (Ruth Gates, 2009) 2. This quote is saying that because the drinking age is 21 when younger adults get their hands on alcohol they tend to drink a lot more because they don’t know when they will be able to get alcohol again. I mean it is a know fact that since the drinking age has become 21 years of age the percentage of younger people drinking has dropped, but the amount of alcohol consumed by a teenager has gone up. 3. If we start to drink at a younger age we will see the consequences of drinking irresponsible and learn from it. So as we get older we realize how much we should consume and how much we shouldn’t.

Conclusion: In today’s world alcohol is always going to be a problem no matter what age. But having the drinking age at 21 can be a bad idea. It makes teenagers go crazy when they get their hands on alcohol not teaching them the maturity you have to have when you drink. If the drinking age become lowered it will help kids from the ages 12 to 18 realize how important alcohol is and how mature we must become when we are under the influence of alcohol.

Sources

CNN drinking age, (n.d) Retrieved from http://newsroom.blogs.cnn.com/2009/08/31/should-the-legal-drinking-age-be-lowered-to-18/

Pros and cons of drinking. (n.d). Retrieved from http://drinkingage.procon.org/

Ruth, B . (2011, July 27) Proven facts of underage drinking. Retrieved from http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/YouthIssues/1046348192.html

Study of underage drinking drinking. (n.d). Retrieved from
http://www.angelfire.com/on4/buckwild1585/main.html