A Discourse on the Legal Age for Alcohol Consumption

Should 18 Be the Legal Age to Drink?

For many years, the federal law has subconsciously created a double standard regarding maturity. At the age of 18, an individual is able to vote, be prosecuted as an adult, enlist in the military, marry, apply for loans, get a tattoo, buy cigarettes, make decisions regarding medical treatments, and so much more. What the law leaves out for 18-year-olds is the availability of drinking alcohol. Because of such inconsistency with laws making certain things legal for people the age of 18, there has been many debates on whether having the legal drinking age set at 21 is more harmful than it is helpful. After reading numerous articles and watching video clips on the discussion of lowering the drinking age to 18 or keeping it at 21, I’ve come to the conclusion that lowering the drinking age wouldn’t be as beneficial as many believe it to be. There are pros and cons to lowering the drinking age but in the end, the cons outweigh the pros.

The repeal of the alcohol prohibition by the 21st Amendment on December 5th, 1933 allowed states to set their own alcohol consumption laws. Most states at that time set their minimum drinking age to 21 for men and 18 for women. On July 1st, 1971, the 26th Amendment was established. This amendment made the legal voting age lower to 18 years of age. Because of the 26th amendment, 30 states followed it by dropping the legal drinking age to between 18-20. By 1982, only 14 states had their legal drinking age at 21.

Reports in the 1970s showed an increase of teenage car accidents in states that had the legal drinking age at 18. These statistics prompted the United States Congress to pass the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. This act didn’t specifically say that the drinking age was required to be 21 but stressed that if states didn’t change it to 21 years of age, federal transportation funds would be withheld from those specific states.

Even though the MLDA (Minimum Legal Drinking Age) was set to 21 to lower traffic accidents, the abuse of underage drinking on college campuses is what has fueled the recent debates on whether having the legal drinking age set at 21 was smart, effective, and equitable. Without a doubt, college students who are under 21 find a way to consume alcohol. There’s a large percentage of high school students and a disturbing percentage of middle school students who are able to get their hands on alcohol. Usually, 18-year-olds aren’t as mature as 21-year-olds. Though there are quite a few 21-year-olds who are irresponsible, they are likely to drink more responsibly than a senior in high school or freshman in college.

In a debate the New York Times held questioned if the drinking age be lowered or not and what consequences would follow changing this current law. Some debaters, like Gabrielle Glaser, author of Her Best-Kept Secret: Why Women Drink- And How They Can Regain Control, believes that keeping the drinking age at 21 possesses underage individuals to defy the law. Glaser also believes that it encourages individuals even more to go out and drink alcohol illegally in unsafe and unsupervised places such as fraternity parties or house parties.

While what Gabrielle Glaser states is completely true, lowering the age to 18 would only allow these “unsafe” parties to be legal. It won’t magically cease the urge to drink alcohol for students under the age of 21 but condone the act of irresponsible drinking.

From a scientific point, an individual’s brain doesn’t fully develop until they’re in their 30s. Drinking at the age of 18 or younger can have a negative affect on a young adult’s frontal lobes, which are essential for functions such as emotional regulation, planning, and organization. When alcohol consumptions interferes this early in brain development, the potential for chronic problems such as risk-taking behavior, depression, violence, vulnerability to addiction, and suicide is greater. Alongside of that, a lot of people don’t understand how responsible one has to be when drinking alcohol. In most states, people can’t adopt a child, buy a handgun, or gamble at a casino until the age of 21. Most companies don’t allow people to rent cars until the age 25. To run for President of the United States of America, you have to be 35. Drinking should continue to keep the legal drinking age at 21 because it requires just as much responsibility as the ones noted above. And if alcohol isn’t handled with care, it can cause severe consequences.

Nearly 1.3 million people die in road crashes each year, according to the Association For Safe International Road Travel. This averages out to a whopping 3,287 deaths a day. An additional 20-50 million are injured or disabled. In an article posted by cdc.gov, in 2012, 10,322 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. Collegedrinkingprevention.gov states that approximately 1,825 students from ages 18-24 die each year from alcohol-related car accidents. In a 2008 survey, keeping the legal drinking age at 21 reduces traffic accidents and fatalities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that this law decreased the number of fatal traffic accidents for 18-20-year-olds by 13% and saved approximately 27,052 lives from 1975-2008.

While it would be more convenient and fun for 18-year-olds to have the legal drinking age lowered, the amount of negative consequences that come with that choice is enormous. Some people have suggested that the drinking age be lowered to 19 years of age so college students could drink legally but seniors in high school can’t. While that suggestion has its pros, it overlooks the statistics of underage drinking on college campuses. The biggest statistic is that 50% of college student sexual assaults stem from underage drinking. There’s no way around the cons of underage drinking. Junior and seniors in high school and incoming freshmen in college are simply irresponsible. Making bad decisions under the influence can result in permanently scarring someone emotionally and/or physically. Keeping the legal drinking age at 21 can protect underage individuals and prevent them from going out and drinking and end up making a bad choice that can have severe consequences for them as well as their peers in the future.