Pros And Cons Of The Minimum Legal Drinking Age

Improved Essays
Minimum Legal Drinking Age
There are many arguments on whether the minimum legal drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one to a younger age such as eighteen. According to “Minimum Legal Drinking Age Pros and Cons” (2014), “all 50 US states have set their minimum drinking age to 21 although exceptions do exist on a state-by-state basis for consumption at home, under adult supervision, for medical necessity, and other reasons” (p.1). If the minimum legal drinking age is lowered to a younger age, it could harm a young person’s body and brain. There will always be debatable arguments on keeping the minimum legal drinking age at twenty-one or lowering it.
Having the minimum legal drinking age being twenty-one has many pros that go along with
…show more content…
When a person wants to settle down from a long hard day or week they tend to grab a drink and relax. Eighteen year olds should be able to enjoy the pleasurable activity with others and not be denied. Lowering the drinking age could also help the economy in the long run by increasing revenue. Stated in the article, “Minimum Legal Drinking Age Pros and Cons” (2014), “Revenue would increase for private business owners, and greater amounts of tax revenue would be collected by the government.” (p.1). If an eighteen year old is permitted to drink, they can drink in restaurants and bars legally which will help bring more money …show more content…
I personally think that the minimum legal drinking age should remain at twenty-one. When a person turns twenty-one they are looking forward to being able to legally drink and buy alcohol when they want to. On a person’s sixteenth birthday they look forward to getting their license, on their eighteenth they are finally legal, and on their twenty-first they can finally drink legally. Turning twenty-one is just another milestone in a person’s life and the drinking age shouldn’t be lowered when consuming alcohol legally goes with that particular milestone. I also think that the minimum legal drinking age shouldn’t be lowered because it is a safety hazard and should be taken seriously. A person should wait until they are older to drink because it still things they need to learn about alcohol and how it affects your body and harm you if not consumed properly. Drinking alcohol alters your mind and ability to function correctly. There will be some people for lowering the minimum legal drinking age and some people against lowering it. Deciding on whether the minimum legal drinking age should be lowered should include all the good and the bad effects that come along with it and should be taken seriously. Until the day that the minimum legal drinking age is lowered, we will be stuck with the law that a person must be twenty-one to consume

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    The topic of US’ states lowering the minimum drinking age to eighteen or keeping the age at twenty one has been a hot, controversial topic over the past few years. As of July 1988, each of the fifty states have made their MLDA, minimum legal drinking age, twenty one (Eastman). Given that each state has the same drinking age, it greatly reduces drinking and driving among teens because they cannot drive to another state, drink, and return home while intoxicated. Although both sides of the argument propose great reasoning and supporting evidence on what the MLDA should be, it is disagreeable that the age should be reduced to eighteen. It is statistically proven that keeping the minimum legal drinking age at twenty one, in each state, would be…

    • 1803 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Why the drinking age should not be lowered As we all know and understand, alcohol has to be handled with responsibility and not to be misuse. Alcoholism affects so many people in the United States due to irresponsible decisions, but most legally teens who are considered adults say, once you are eighteen, you should be able to do whatever you want because you gained more civil rights by being able to vote, purchase tobacco products and join the forces so why not be allowed to purchase alcohol products and consume it. The drinking age has become a more controversial issue lately, but because there are many reasons why the drinking age should not be lowered, but imagine if the drinking age was lowered to eighteen; fatalities, would increase and more death’s cases would occur and also create health issues concerns. ”…

    • 1197 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    I really think the drinking age should be lowered to the age of eighteen. If you think about it, it actually makes a lot of sense. For three main reasons. One, teenagers are going to drink alcohol anyway so we might as well legalize it. Two, people are allowed to vote and fight for our country in the military yet they aren 't allowed to even drink alcohol.…

    • 1597 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The first reason we should not lower the minimum legal drinking age is it would be medically irresponsible. Drinking alcohol at such a young age can do much harm to the body as it is still maturing. According to ProCon.org Headlines, the brain develops until around 20 years of age. The brain 's frontal lobes are very important during adolescence. The brain 's frontal lobes are essential for emotion regulation and having alcohol can interfere with development.…

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One of the largest concerns in the economy today is the underaged consumption of alcohol. This has become a major problem in recent years as it has led to an increased number of drunk driving accidents as well as other alcohol related incidents (Choose Responsibility). As a result of the cumulative occurrences over the years, Congress has had a difficult time determining the appropriate age to legalize the consumption of alcohol. There are numerous reasons as to why many believe the drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18, although there are many arguments against it as well. As of currently, all 50 U.S. states have set the minimum drinking age to 21.…

    • 1617 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    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…

    • 1635 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Alcoholism In 1984

    • 1797 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The National Minimum Legal Drinking Age Act of 1984 was passed on July 17th of 1984. This act prohibits the consumption, purchase and distribution of alcohol unless one is 21 years of age or older. The United States is one of twelve countries that have a minimum drinking age of 21. To put this into perspective, this beautiful world is home to 190 recognized countries, it seems that either the rest of the world is missing out on something or the opposite is true. The question of whether or not to lower the national minimum legal drinking age has been debated nearly since it came to be in 1984.…

    • 1797 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Drinking Age Should Stay at 21 Today, I am here to talk about why the legal drinking age should stay at 21. Many people argue that since 18-year-olds can vote, join the army, and are considered adults, why can’t they order a beer? Alcohol consumption among people under the age of 21 already has shown worse academics, higher rates of binge drinking, and higher risks of developing alcoholism. Lowering the age would only increase these numbers and cause more problems. There is nothing worse than hearing the stories of traffic accidents on the news that involve a drunk driver.…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The argument of whether the legal drinking age should be lowered has been in great opposition. According to Brandon Grigg’s article “Should The U.S Lower Its Drinking Age”, published in CNN. A 2007 Gallup poll found that 77% of Americans opposed lowering the drinking age in all states to 18. I'm in favor of that and believe that lowering the drinking age will result in more harm than good.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Controversial Issue: Drinking Age According to a recent poll, over 135 U.S. colleges have signed the petition to lower the drinking age to eighteen. It is common fact that majority of college students consume alcohol on a weekly bases. Although many believe that anyone under the age of 21 is prohibited from consuming alcohol in the United States, underage drinking is allowed in eleven states for educational purposes, twenty-nine if done on private property with parental consent, in sixteen for medical purposes, and twenty-six states for religious purposes.…

    • 1173 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    His theory states that social organization and change is based upon conflicts within the society. People between the ages of 18 and 21, called stakeholders, feel that they aren’t getting to exercise all of their rights to being an adult by government definition. They given all of the responsibilities and consequences of adults such as the right to vote, the ability to adopt, the right to join the military, the right to be charged with the highest punishment if accused of a crime, the right to get married, the right to buy and create pornography, etc. LAFAA would argue that with given all of these rights, government defined adults would also have to right to choose whether or not to consume alcohol. The families that allow their children to drink give a conflicting message to those who are a part of the underage drinking.…

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Turing eighteen in the United States is the age teenagers are considered to be adults, they are allowed to join the military, buy cigarettes, get a tattoo, vote and etc. Even though they are considered adults they are not allowed to drink or buy alcohol. In the United States, the minimum legal drinking age is twenty-one. Lowering the drinking age to eighteen would cause crimes and personal damages that are caused by alcohol abuse. Keeping the legal drinking age of 21 has helped; the effects of drinking at an early age on the brains development, lowered drunk driving and keep young people safer.…

    • 1284 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Drinking alcohol is popular among most adults although it is not legal in every state to drink as soon as the proclaimed age of adulthood is reached. Personally I believe that the age should be lowered because upon turning eighteen years old so many new laws and regulations apply such as the right to vote and being able to serve in the military. Increasing the age has created more cases of underage drinking and illegal sales of alcohol to minors. The legal drinking age was raised to 21 because of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. This stated that if a state did not enforce the legal drinking age of 21 that state would lose up to ten percent of their current highway spending from the federal government.…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Eighteen is considered adulthood, yet, at this age one is still not treated as such. When one turns eighteen, they become a legal adult, and receive their rights, except the right to consume alcohol legally. The drinking age in the United States is currently set at twenty-one. But, some people believe that twenty-one is too high for the minimum age and, think it should be lower. There are others who feel that twenty-one is a decent, mature age, and lowering it would encourage young to take part in alcohol consumption.…

    • 1389 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered The legal drinking age should not be lowered as it has been proven it will have negative effects on the individual and society. The legal drinking age started at 21 years old in the 1930’s. During the Vietnam War era the legal drinking age was lowered to 18 to accommodate the soldiers that were in the War. This changed when Ronald Regan proposed the Uniform Drinking Age Act in 1984.…

    • 1073 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics