Drinking Age Should Remain At The Age Of Twenty-One

The saying, "You always want what you cannot have" goes extremely well alongside the discussion concerning the legal drinking age. People want what they cannot have, especially young adults. One thing people do not understand are the consequences that follow after making a careless decision such as, drinking under the legal drinking age. There are multiple different arguments that people have created to try and lower the legal drinking age. One thing people do not realize is that there is a variety of reasons why the law was set to be at the age of twenty-one. The legal drinking age should remain at the age of twenty-one because underage drinking effects federal funds, the number of deaths due to drinking and driving has reduced since the law …show more content…
If a state were to change their legal drinking age to eighteen they would lose their federal highway funds. A magnitude of states tried to pass a bill in 1995 that would allow them to change the legal drinking age below twenty-one, but it was declined before looking any further into it. One of the main reasons authorities will not change the law in all of the states is because when there was a select few states that still had their drinking age at eighteen, underage drinkers from states with the law of twenty-one would drive to those areas and buy alcohol. They then would drive back to their hometown under the influence and end up in a wreck and kill themselves or other civilians. According to NCADD statistics, "age-21 laws saved an estimated 816 lives and $1.8 billion in societal costs in 1993" (n.p.). So, lowering the drinking age in all or some states would be a substantial step backward in society. Alcohol has an assortment of negative effects that follow it if it is used in the wrong way. A lowered drinking age effects our federal highway funds enormously, but it also effects the lives of others when used in the wrong …show more content…
Young adults consume more alcohol than their body can handle. When college students binge drink they make poor decisions and do not realize it until the act has already been made. Of course everyone is trying to find a solution to stop binge and underage drinking, but by passing a law saying an eighteen year old can buy alcohol will only make the problem worse. Allowing an eighteen year old to buy alcohol would also lead them into a higher risk of becoming an alcoholic at such a young age. Teenage years are always the toughest and most confusing years for a young adult. They start experiencing new things and trying to find who they are. Sometimes they put themselves in the wrong crowd and lose who they are. Suicide is a dangerous effect that comes from consuming large amounts of alcohol at a young age. Teenagers go through difficult times and decide to drink to get their mind off of it. Some are not strong enough to handle it and make decisions they would not normally make if they were in their right mind set. According to Blackwell Publishing, "Among 18 to 24 year olds, 39 percent of binge drinkers admitted to criminal behavior and 60 percent to disorderly behavior" (n.p.). It has been said that alcohol is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Majority of the time when someone is caught committing a crime they are found to be drunk. Allowing more young adults to buy alcohol