Should people between the ages of eighteen and twenty be allowed to drink adult beverages that contain alcohol?
Eighteen is the age of adulthood in the U.S and adults then have the right to make their own decisions so why not about alcohol consumption? Turning 18 gives us the right and responsibility of adulthood. Being eighteen gives us the right to vote, smoke cigarettes, serves on juries, get married, sign contracts, be prosecuted as adults, and even join the military which includes risking our lives.
Lowering the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen would allow 18- to 20-year-olds to drink alcohol safely in regulated places with supervision. Stopping the age group from drinking in bars, restaurants, and other licensed locations causes them to drink in unsupervised places such as up in the mountains or house parties where there are no responsible adults around which they are more likely to binge drink and other unsafe behaviors.
Also lowering the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen would make alcohol less of a restriction for people just getting into college and the workforce, it would take away the thrill that many young people get from breaking the law, and by doing this it would make alcohol consumption a more normalized activity that would be done in moderation. Lowering the drinking age may not be safe because the brain's frontal lobes are important for functions like emotional regulation, planning, and organization, which continues to grow through the young ages up to adulthood. Alcohol consumption can interfere with this development which could potentially cause major problems such as a more likelihood to addiction, dangerous risk-taking behavior, reduced decision-making ability, memory loss, depression, and also violence.
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