There is a good case for lowering the drinking age to 21: it is unpopular with most young adults; it probably promotes excessive alcohol consumption underground; Law enforcement is a complete failure on college campuses. And, of course, it`s remarkable that an 18-year-old is considered an adult in almost every context – even in the voting booth – except when ordering a beer. Public health researchers were stunned in 2008 when more than 100 college and university presidents announced their opposition to the legal drinking age of 21. John McCardell, the recently retired president of Middlebury College, led the effort, saying the law wasn`t working and had led to an increase in “binge drinking” on campus across the country. McCardell`s proposal to lower the legal age to 18 aroused great interest in the press, and scholars who thought that this political question had long been settled found themselves engaged in an intense battle for public opinion. According to the Centers for Disease Control, people ages 12 to 20 consume 11% of all alcohol in the United States. More than 90% of these teenagers consume alcohol bingely. Further positive evidence is provided by research that has examined the effects of lowering and then raising the legal drinking age in various states. Looking at this work, Alexander Wagenaar of the University of Florida College of Medicine and Traci Toomey of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health found that the 46 high-quality studies that showed an effect showed that the 21-year-old alcohol law saves lives. New Zealand`s recent experience is also revealing. After the legal drinking age was raised from 20 to 18, a study showed that there had been many more alcohol-related accidents among 15- to 19-year-olds than if the law had not been changed.
MLDA 21 encourages young adults to acquire false identification documents and use them to obtain alcohol. At a time of national security concerns, including terrorism, illegal immigration and other threats, it would be better to have fewer false identity documents in circulation and more respect for the law. [17] Was President McCardell`s argument for lowering the minimum drinking age really structured around road deaths, or did he advocate a more holistic approach that included student health, substance abuse, violence, etc.? If so, it`s a bit misleading to refute his argument with evidence from the National Highway Transportation Administration. How is that possible when the law is being flouted to such an extent? Not surprisingly, the law discourages many young people from drinking until their 21st birthday. More importantly, many teens who choose to drink do so less often and with less intensity than they disobey the law, and they take other steps, such as using a specific driver, to avoid informing authorities. Maybe if parents stopped spoiling their kids and let them live a bit (i.e. stop hovering over them), drinking at a younger age wouldn`t be a problem. It is difficult to isolate this problem. Most people don`t know how to drive, there are too many drivers on the road, roads are poorly maintained and poorly lit, pedestrians run around all the time, and the police don`t enforce traffic rules, but stay there and do nothing in these unnecessary construction works. This company is.
It does not make sense to compare to places like Canada, where the drinking age is lower, because it is all a mess. The repeal of alcohol prohibition by the 21st Amendment on December 5, 1933, allowed each state to establish its own laws on alcohol consumption. At that time, most states established the MLDA for alcohol at age 21, although two states established an MLDA of 21 for men and 18 for women: Illinois (1933-1961) and Oklahoma (1933-1976). The 1976 case of Craig v. the U.S. Supreme Court Boren ruled 7-2 that this age difference violated the equality clause of the 14th Amendment. After the passage of the 26th Amendment on July 1, 1971, which lowered the legal voting age from 21 to 18, 30 U.S. states lowered their MLDA to 18, 19, or 20; In 1982, only 14 states were required to grant MLDA to 21 teenagers, 18 of whom had access to alcohol, making them more vulnerable to a car accident due to drunk driving. This is the calculation that led the United States to have a national age law for 21 years. This happened in 1984 when President Reagan signed a bill suggesting states with a legal drinking age under 21. Between 1982 and 2007, the rate of alcohol-related deaths fell by 60% among people aged 18 to 20, while the rate for people aged 21 to 24 fell by only 44%.
And an important point: the trend lines for these two groups began to diverge in 1988, when all 50 states had age laws for 21 years. This seems like conventional wisdom: the drinking age should be 18. Why should you be able to vote or serve your country in the military without legally buying a drink? It would also have been interesting if this obviously biased section included an analysis of our government`s waste of resources when it arrests 18- to 20-year-olds who do nothing but drink alcohol. In fact, I agree with this article. When it comes to excessive alcohol consumption, there is a simple solution. Do not drink minors. And if you drink minors or legally responsibly. The law is in place for a reason, whether people agree or not. I didn`t start drinking until I was 23 and I`m still here.
Waiting 5 years didn`t kill me. So, it shouldn`t be a problem to wait another 3 years. I think it`s a small price to pay for your safety and the safety of others. If the drinking age was lower, teens would have the option of enjoying a good beer or mixed drink at a relaxing bar or restaurant, rather than just at parties. A survey for the Center for Alcohol Policy found that 86 percent of Americans support the legal drinking age at 21. [54] Numerous state and national surveys from the 1970s (when states raised the legal drinking age) to the present have shown overwhelming public support for MLDA 21. [30] [31] [32] The sharp comparison between the two schools was (and still is) as follows: The school that allowed barrels in dorms with a liberal drinking policy had minor problems, essentially what one would expect on a college campus. Volume, parties in dormitories, occasional fights, etc. My school with the dry campus had much more excessive alcohol consumption and many cases, especially freshmen, who were taken to the hospital to pump their stomachs. The rigor forced people to go underground and consume drinks with a much higher content. Everclear was a popular drink with 95% alcohol. This extreme behavior was almost unknown at the nearby college, which allowed beer.
How about lowering the drinking age while improving public transport? As far as I know, this is only based on vehicle-related deaths. 136 college and university presidents signed a pledge that the drinking age of 21 “doesn`t work,” citing excessive drinking, fake ID cards and the fact that adults between the ages of 18 and 20 can vote, serve on juries and enlist in the military. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), three million deaths (5.3% of all deaths) are attributable to harmful alcohol use each year. The WHO also reports that 13.5% of all deaths among people aged 20 to 39 are due to alcohol. Adults between the ages of 18 and 20 should not be denied this enjoyment if other enjoyable activities are legal by the age of 18. I also think that this is a very one-sided report, with statistics that may not be entirely objective. However, from the point of view of a student studying in Madrid (18 years old), I would like to say that the drinking culture here is very different. Parents usually introduce their children to a glass of wine at the age of 16 or pick them up from clubs at a certain time. This education and support does not encourage young people to drink more. In fact, every Spaniard I`ve met has said that it`s rare for people to drink to the point of vomiting.
When they see things like that, they usually assume he`s a stupid American. What for? Because there is no good education of teenagers about alcohol. Sex education started in high school, why not alcohol education? Learning to drink responsibly saves lives, not an age limit of 21+. According to a meta-study on MLDA, 87% of studies found a higher legal drinking age, which is associated with lower alcohol consumption. [19] Studies show that when the drinking age is 21, those under 21 drink less and drink less in their early twenties, and adolescents who do not drink before the age of 21 tend to drink less in adulthood. [42] The number of 18- to 20-year-olds who drank alcohol in the past month increased from 59% in 1985 – one year after Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act – to 39% in 2016. [49] [51] Essentially, the age of alcohol consumption is intended to discourage people from drinking until they become responsible adults. And research shows that it works – to some extent. If you are of legal age and provide alcohol to someone under the age of 21, you are breaking the law. You could face legal consequences if you get caught. If you are under the age of 21 and buy or drink alcohol, you are also breaking the law.
In the United States, the legal drinking age is 21. Depending on your age, this may be the only legal age you know.