Should The Minimum Legal Drinking Age?

Since 1933 until 1984, the national minimum legal drinking age in the United States had been continuously changing. Especially in 1984, the minimum legal drinking age has been increased to 21 years old because it was reported that over two-thirds of car accidents were in consequence of drinking alcohol in the mid of 1970s (Tietjen, 2014). Most states in the United States set their drinking age to 21 but some set it lower. The minimum legal drinking age has been the subject of controversy around the world. Many have argued that the legal drinking age should be changed to 18 as it is considered to be a legally adult age. However, by lowering the drinking age to 18, there will be negative impacts which will harm the life of the underage drinkers
The younger people start to drink the safer they are. However, a new research on earlier alcohol use shows that there may be negative effects on the development of brain structure (Brown and Tapert, 2004 cited in Bonnie and O’Connell, 2004:64). This is because teenager’s brain is still in significant development in areas of the brain responsible for learning, memory, complex thinking, planning, inhibition, and emotional regulation. The brain development does not stop developing until their early to mid-20s. Alcohol affects teenager’s brain in many different ways. A neurotoxin is the harmful effect of alcohol abuse which harms the brain development of maturing teenager’s brain. Recent studies which tested on rats suggest that alcohol use during teenagers may have dangerous effect on myelination and synaptic refinement. Another studies show that extreme alcohol may cause damage to the frontal regions of the brain (Crews et.al., 2000 cited in Bonnie and O’Connell, 2004). Specific brain areas which affected by alcohol are explained
The prevention and reduction of underage drinking should first involve the family of alcoholics. Parents should often communicate with their children, set clear expectations for children’s behavior, practice good supervision over their children and discipline and avoid family conflict. Another way to reduce underage drinking is to create a community where teenagers can think why they should stop the bad habit and also a place where they can feel good about themselves without drinking. In school, teachers can develop appropriate information about alcohol, including information on the short term effects and the long-term consequences of their use. To conclude, reducing and preventing teenagers to drink before the legal age are everyone’s