Legal Drinking Age

Legal Drinking Age

At 18 years of age, there are many responsibilities gained, such as being able to marry, but one cannot drink alcohol at the wedding reception because every state in the United States has set the legal drinking age at 21 years old. The drinking age has a major impact on the 18-21 year-old crowd because many feel drinking is a right they should have since they are considered adults. This is an issue that faces the national and state governments. "The United States passed a law in 1984, to raise the drinking age to 21, and would reduce highway funds for states that didn't change the age"(Hall). The drinking age should be lowered to 18 years of age, because one is considered an adult, and assumes adult privileges and penalties.

The website, Lowering the Drinking Age is a Bad Idea, by Jim Hall states that lowering the drinking age is a bad idea solely based on statistics. The statistics he used were all based on research from highly respectable sources such as Arizona Department of Public Safety and National Study of Adolescent Drinking Behavior. In the text Hall used logos as his form of persuasion. Hall focused on the effects of alcohol based solely on statistics taken from high school teens. Studies show that students who drank a lot in high school were prone to drink heavier in college.

In Hall's research he also found that people 15- 17 were highly influenced by people in the same age proximity as in 18, therefore lowering the drinking age to 18 would increase the likelihood of younger teens to illegally drink. Also an "Arizona Department of Public Safety report found that fatal accidents increased over 25% while traffic fatalities increased more than 35% after the state MLPA was lowered from 21 to 19"(Hall). In other related alcoholic problems a person is more open to experimenting with drugs in adulthood if they start drinking at a young age. "Between 1979 and 1984, the suicide rate was 9.7% greater among adolescents and young adults who could legally consume alcohol than among their peers who could not" (Hall).

The website, Why Drinking Age Should Be Lowered, by Ruth Engs is opinion based upon research. In which she believes that the legal drinking age should be lowered to about 18 or 19, and young adults should be allowed to drink in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions. In these situations responsible teen drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs. Mature and sensible drinking behavior would be expected. "After studying high school students she found that "cutting class after drinking" jumped from 9% to almost 12%; "missing class because of hangover" went from 26% to 28%; "getting lower grade because of drinking" rose from 5% to 7%; and "been in a fight after drinking" increased from