The repeal of prohibition, through the 18th Amendment, occurred on December 5th, 1933. The repeal allowed all of the states to determine the minimum drinking age that they thought was most appropriate. Most states decided on 21 years old at the minimum legal drinking age. In 1971, most states lowered the drinking age to 18 because the voting age was lowered to 18 also. The Enactment of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 raised the minimum legal drinking age was back to 21 years old (“Drinking age,” 2015, p. 1).
Many believed that establishing the minimum age at 21 would prevent underage drinking, risky and dangerous behavior, and fatalities due to drunk driving. Many people thought that raising the age would be the solution to …show more content…
The MLDA has been highly ineffective since it was changed. Majority of underage teens continue to consume no matter what the laws says. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, underage drinking accounts for 17.5% ($22.5 billion) of consumer spending for alcohol in the United States. In 2006, 72.2% of twelfth graders reported drinking alcohol at some point in their lives (“Drinking age,” 2015, p. 1). Underage teens that want to drink will always find a way to drink. With the age being 21, it pushes more and more underage teens to consume alcohol.
To solve the issues of underage drinking, fatalities, dangerous behavior due to alcohol, and our perception of alcohol, we should lower the minimum legal drinking age to 18. There are many pros of lowering the drinking age to 18. Making the age 18 is the solution for decreasing the number of alcohol-related problems committed by underage people (younger than 21). Experts say that if conditions were left unchanged, then alcohol-related problems would still continue to rise …show more content…
Americans have tried to strictly uphold the prohibition efforts, with many “zero tolerance” enforcements. But, in fact, the problem actually keeps getting worse (Smith, 2002, p. 1). With the minimum age currently being 21, it has been considerably ineffective. By lowering the MLDA to 18, it would tremendously decrease the amount of underage drinkers, binge drinkers, the taboo of alcohol in America, risky behavior, number of injuries due to alcohol, and unsafe drinking activity overall. Lowering the MLDA would be the ultimate solution to this ongoing
Many believed that establishing the minimum age at 21 would prevent underage drinking, risky and dangerous behavior, and fatalities due to drunk driving. Many people thought that raising the age would be the solution to …show more content…
The MLDA has been highly ineffective since it was changed. Majority of underage teens continue to consume no matter what the laws says. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, underage drinking accounts for 17.5% ($22.5 billion) of consumer spending for alcohol in the United States. In 2006, 72.2% of twelfth graders reported drinking alcohol at some point in their lives (“Drinking age,” 2015, p. 1). Underage teens that want to drink will always find a way to drink. With the age being 21, it pushes more and more underage teens to consume alcohol.
To solve the issues of underage drinking, fatalities, dangerous behavior due to alcohol, and our perception of alcohol, we should lower the minimum legal drinking age to 18. There are many pros of lowering the drinking age to 18. Making the age 18 is the solution for decreasing the number of alcohol-related problems committed by underage people (younger than 21). Experts say that if conditions were left unchanged, then alcohol-related problems would still continue to rise …show more content…
Americans have tried to strictly uphold the prohibition efforts, with many “zero tolerance” enforcements. But, in fact, the problem actually keeps getting worse (Smith, 2002, p. 1). With the minimum age currently being 21, it has been considerably ineffective. By lowering the MLDA to 18, it would tremendously decrease the amount of underage drinkers, binge drinkers, the taboo of alcohol in America, risky behavior, number of injuries due to alcohol, and unsafe drinking activity overall. Lowering the MLDA would be the ultimate solution to this ongoing