America’s Legal Drinking Age Should be Held at Age Twenty-one
In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which required all US states to raise their ages for purchase and possession of alcohol to the age of 21. Although the legal drinking age has been debated upon, over the years it has been greatly proven that the age should not be lowered. Since the National Minimum Drinking Age Act was put into play in 1984, the legal drinking age in the United States has been the age of twenty-one. This law requiring a person to be of twenty-one years of age when either purchasing or consuming alcohol in the United States has been taken very seriously in all states with the exception of Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, New Hampshire, and …show more content…
Megan Abba, author of “Lower the drinking age lower the risk” is a clear supporter of the drinking age being lowered to eighteen. In the article, Abba reminisces about an experience she had while in college, “I remember taking a shot. Then I remember waking up, still in my clothes from the night before, on the floor next to my own bed. I didn’t even make it to the party.” Megan was once a part of the 40 percent of college students who binge drink. Binge drinking, the consumption of an excessive amount of alcohol during a short period of time, is a very dangerous situation that many college students participate in before going out to a party because of the fact that they cannot legally purchase alcohol while they are out. Abba argues that If the drinking age were lowered to 18, the majority of college students would be able to purchase alcohol while out, lessening the pressure to have to get drunk beforehand. This would also give students the ability to spread out their alcoholic intake throughout the night and allow them to drink in more controlled environments with security present. While this point is quite accurate it does not completely solve the problem at hand, instead, it just would encourage the consumption of alcohol. College students are not the only underage people that choose to drink, in fact, a study found that 25 percent of eighth-grade students, 40 percent of tenth-grade students, and 53 percent of high school seniors have consumed alcohol(Marcovitz). Alcohol is a very dangerous substance and should continue to be treated as if by keeping the drinking age at twenty-one. According to a MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) article, keeping the drinking age at 21 has saved more than 25,000
In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which required all US states to raise their ages for purchase and possession of alcohol to the age of 21. Although the legal drinking age has been debated upon, over the years it has been greatly proven that the age should not be lowered. Since the National Minimum Drinking Age Act was put into play in 1984, the legal drinking age in the United States has been the age of twenty-one. This law requiring a person to be of twenty-one years of age when either purchasing or consuming alcohol in the United States has been taken very seriously in all states with the exception of Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, New Hampshire, and …show more content…
Megan Abba, author of “Lower the drinking age lower the risk” is a clear supporter of the drinking age being lowered to eighteen. In the article, Abba reminisces about an experience she had while in college, “I remember taking a shot. Then I remember waking up, still in my clothes from the night before, on the floor next to my own bed. I didn’t even make it to the party.” Megan was once a part of the 40 percent of college students who binge drink. Binge drinking, the consumption of an excessive amount of alcohol during a short period of time, is a very dangerous situation that many college students participate in before going out to a party because of the fact that they cannot legally purchase alcohol while they are out. Abba argues that If the drinking age were lowered to 18, the majority of college students would be able to purchase alcohol while out, lessening the pressure to have to get drunk beforehand. This would also give students the ability to spread out their alcoholic intake throughout the night and allow them to drink in more controlled environments with security present. While this point is quite accurate it does not completely solve the problem at hand, instead, it just would encourage the consumption of alcohol. College students are not the only underage people that choose to drink, in fact, a study found that 25 percent of eighth-grade students, 40 percent of tenth-grade students, and 53 percent of high school seniors have consumed alcohol(Marcovitz). Alcohol is a very dangerous substance and should continue to be treated as if by keeping the drinking age at twenty-one. According to a MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) article, keeping the drinking age at 21 has saved more than 25,000