...Lower the Legal Drinking Age to 18 Danielle Gonzales The government can trust those between the age of 18 and 20 to do many things, but they cannot treat them like full adults and allow them to drink alcohol. You will find that many Colleges and Universities disagree with the legal drinking age. In fact, they believe that rising the drinking age has increased the amount of ‘binge’ drinkers and only made our countries drinking problems worse. Eighty-five percent of twenty year old Americans reported that they had used alcohol. (Johnson) Two out of five said they had binged within the previous month. To ‘binge,’ is to consume five or more drinks at one time. (Engs) “The period since the twenty-one minimum drinking age took affect has been marked by a shift from beer to hard liquor,” Seaman wrote in Time “consumed not in large social settings, since that is now illegal, but furtively and dangerously in students residences. In my reporting at colleges around the country, I did not meet any presidents or deans who felt the twenty-one year age minimum helps their efforts to curb the abuse of alcohol on their campuses.” (Balk) A kid is going to drink if he or she wants to regardless whether the law says eighteen or twenty-one. In an alcohol related situation you are more likely going to hear “I don’t drink, thank you,” than “I better not, I’m not 21 yet.” When colleges and University presidents disagree with the drinking age, something has got to be done. If the drinking age...
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...28th Amendment Proposal: Legal Drinking Age 1) This Bill would lower the drinking age to be the same age citizens can vote, join the army, and purchase cigarettes: eighteen years of age. 2) When a Citizen turns eighteen they are legally an adult, therefor have the right to make their own decisions, this should include the decision to by alcohol or not. Also with a lower dinking age more people would legally be able to drink in legal revenue would increase for private business owners, and greater amounts of tax revenue would be collected by the government. 3) The opposition would be that it is irresponsible to lower the drinking age due to the medical, legal and safety repercussions such as: “Lowering the drinking age would be medically irresponsible as alcohol consumption can interfere with development of the young adult...
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...The legal drinking age should be lowered in the United States. This makes the most sense because kids legally become an adult at the age of 18 where they are granted other rights as well, such as the ability to enlist in the army. If we are legally an adult and trusted to protect our country we should be trusted with a couple of drinks. Lowering the drinking age also decreases unsafe drinking in regulated environments and less drunk driving accidents. With regulated drinking kids become more aware with their alcohol tolerance and get used to it in a safe environment without doing it illegally. This creates a safer environment for everyone. With kids more aware of their intake of alcohol less accidents such as drunk driving will happen. The is why the drinking age should be lowered to the age of when you actually become an adult. Kids legally become an adult at the age of 18. At this time in your life you receive the rights and responsibilities of adulthood. Some examples of the choices that you might or can make are enlisting in the army, voting for president, buying lottery tickets...
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...Intro Bus Critical thinking exercise 4-2 Ethical Dilemmas 5. You are the vice president of a beer company in a state that sets the legal drinking age at 21. Your boss asks you to organize a lobbying effort to have the drinking age reduced to 18. What would you do? A. I would do research and report my findings to my boss. Although it might seem like a good idea to do so -higher sales, and therefore higher revenue and profit- lowering the drinking age would be a losing battle. States can lower the drinking age back down to 18 or 19 but the amount of federal highway funds they'd lose (about 10%) makes it too expensive for them to do it. Many politicians don't want to risk getting involved. Why change something that appears to be working. Young people might like a beer at 18 but young people don't vote. 77% of Americans are opposed to lowering the drinking age to 18 according to a 2007 Gallop poll. Research shows that the law saves lives. It is one of the most researched public health laws on the books. When the law was raised to 21, alcohol-related deaths for young people decreased; when it was lowered, deaths increased. Scientific research about brain development and function, traffic accident records and population death rates show clearly that 18-21 year-olds handle alcohol poorly. The idea is strongly opposed by social and religious conservatives, parts of hospitality and retail industry concerned about liability, groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving...
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...Drinking age is a common thing in the United States. Based on what I found out in the articles is that the minimum age for a person to drink is at 21. People argued that they should lowered the drinking age to 18. In some parts of the U.S, they are allow to drink, with exception of the Muslims religion. Underage drinking can result an increase on teen pregnancy or a disease. Drinking age can result a brain disorder or even dead. In some college schools 10 out of 20 students have try alcohol and the does not stop them from doing it repeatedly until they can’t handle no more. The idea of drinking age legal is that the government want to lower the legal drinking age to 18, but we know that students are not full develop to drink or do drugs. Perhaps...
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...The minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) actually affects more things than people think. Think about how often somebody drinks alcohol to have fun, relax, enjoy a family gathering etc…. With the drinking age being twenty-one in the United States it makes underage teens and young adults want to drink even more. Why someone might ask. One reason is that it gives teens a sense of adulthood. When teens take a drink of that alcohol it gives them that grown up feeling. Just the fact you have twenty-one makes it so urging for teens and young adults. The drinking age should be lowered to eighteen in the United States. If you take a look at driving under the influence rates (DUI) in the United States and compare them to countries with the drinking age eighteen the United States is significantly higher. Why is that? In almost every other country the drinking age is lower than twenty-one found from...
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...Should the Legal Drinking Age Be Changed Back to Eighteen? The debate on the legal drinking age has been going on for many years. More mature adults say that the minimum legal drinking age should be kept at twenty-one. Young adults say that the minimum legal drinking age should be changed back to eighteen. There are many reasons that go behind the opinions of each. People believe that since the age of eighteen is the legal adult age in the United States of America that young adults should be able to make their own decisions on the consumptions of alcohol. Teens are still able to get alcohol due to parents, older siblings, friends, and other family members. Also, allowing eighteen to twenty year-olds to drink alcohol under supervision should lower the issue of underage drinking, and it will be good for the economy too. However, there are a lot of consequences that come with drinking at a younger age, such as eighteen year-olds have lower maturity than twenty-one year olds. Therefore, eighteens year-olds are more likely to get into negative alcohol and alcohol-related outcomes. With taking all opinions into consideration, you can see why this has been an ongoing debate on whether the minimum legal drinking age should be changed back to eighteen year-olds. I believe the debate should conclude on the prevision of allowing young adults to have the ability to make their own decisions upon alcohol consumption. Drew Saylor noted the effectiveness of the minimum legal drinking age, “The...
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...The debate about whether or not to lower the drinking age has been going on for years now with people on both sides having strong points. The side with the stronger side of the argument, in my opinion, would have to be yes, we should lower the drinking age to either eighteen or nineteen years old. I will be going over four points on why the drinking age should be lowered and they are as follows: it would teach responsible drinking behaviors and stop irresponsible college drinking, if we tried to raise the drinking age we would have another prohibition-like era which we all know how that turned out, there are fewer traffic accidents in countries with the drinking age of eighteen, and the morals around it, because if we can send an eighteen year old to Iraq then why can’t he make his own decision and have a drink? Lowering the drinking age to eighteen or nineteen would help the irresponsible drinking and help educate youth to know moderation when it comes to alcohol. “According to procon.org they state that if youth between the age of eighteen and twenty were allowed to drink in controlled environments such as bars, restaurants, social events, and other licensed locations would allow them to learn moderation and not resort to binge drinking in other areas such as fraternity houses or house parties.” (Should) Many college students are drinking as a pass-time and we can’t seem to do anything about it that is just it is. If we lower the drinking age, however, it will not only show that...
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...In the western world, the nature of free will deeply branded in the people’s heart. People vote for everything and what’s the biggest success made by people’s free will recently is Brexit. Among all the topics that people discussed for years, the legal drinking age may be the most popular topic. After helping the Britain exiting from the EU, people now start to devote themselves to lower the legal drinking age from 21 years old to 18years old. Some people consider staying the limit as 21 is hidebound, but I believe it’s not and the legal drinking age should be 21. Before stating viewpoints that defend why legal drinking age should be stay 21, historical perspective on this issue is indispensable. The first question is why the legal drinking age is 21. The reason the government set the age limit to 21 is because the concept that a person becomes a full adult at age 21 dates back centuries in English common law; 21 was the age at which a person could vote and become a knight. Since a...
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...whether or not the national drinking age should be lowered to 18 years old. Evidence will be presented for both sides to determine if lowering the drinking age would lower dangerous underage drinking also. This research paper will be presented to our Iowan Representatives in Congress to decide whether of not having a minnimum drinking age of 18 would benefit the U.S. Background There are some states that have considered petitioning the drinking age. The 1984 National Minimum Drinking Age Act requires that States prohibit persons under 21 years of age from purchasing or publicly possessing alcoholic beverages as a condition of receiving State highway funds (“The 1984 National”). South Dakota, a state that permitted persons 19 years of age to purchase alcohol, challenged the law (“South Dakota v.”) In a 7-to-2 decision, the Court held that Congress, acting indirectly to encourage uniformity in states' drinking ages, was within constitutional bounds (“South Dakota v.”) Twenty-three years after raising the legal drinking age to 21, Vermont lawmakers are revisiting the issue, despite the threat of losing highway funding if they lower the age minimum (“Vermont Considers Lowering”). Typically, when states flirt...
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...For years people have argued over whether or not the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) in America should be lowered or stay the same. One of the main controversial issues regarding alcohol consumption in our society today is whether or not the legal drinking age is appropriate. Both sides to the argument have very considerable points that support their side of the argument. Do to these disagreements, the issue of whether or not to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18 has become controversial. The best solution is to allow citizens that are 18 and older to drink but also follow strict rules and regulations to make sure it is not taken advantage of. This solution will help keep people safe while also allowing those 18 or older to have a good...
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...Science 101 | July 18, 2015 Drinking Age Should Be Reduced to 18 in the United States by laurie rose Drinking Age Should Be Reduced to 18 in the United States by laurie rose The law states that you can start drinking legally at 21 in the United States. Some people think that a federal law should be passed that reduces the drinking age to 18 in all states. I agree with this side of the argument. It is not just young people who are for lowering the drinking age but some legislators as well. Representative Bob Lynn who is in the state legislature of Alaska also argues that the drinking age should be lowered for 18 year olds in the military. “Why do we consider 18-year-olds old enough to join the military, to fight and die for our country, but not to have a drink with their friends before they ship out or while they are home or on leave?” (Minton) Phyllis Kahn who is a state representative of Minnesota has fought for years to lower the drinking age in her home state. She proposed two bills this year on this topic in her state. One bill would lower the drinking age in bars and restaurants to 18. The other bill would allow underage teenagers who are accompanied by a parent or a spouse who is of legal age. She feels that if teenagers want to drink, they need to do it socially instead of getting alcohol from an older friend or relative and then binge drink. It would also eliminate the need for fake IDs. (Belden) In the 1970s the drinking age in many states used to be 18...
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...II 5/21/12 Why We Should Keep the Drinking Age at Twenty-one Imagine winning the State Basketball Championship. You get back to your house with a few friends and feel a party is in order, so you start drinking a few beers after your parents go to bed. Someone suggests that you drive somewhere to get rid of the empty cans. “Yes, that’s not a bad idea”, so you all pile into the car and take off. A few hours later, your parents receive a telephone call to come down to the station. There has been a terrible accident, and they must identify the body. This is the one phone call all parents dread. This true story is detailed in the Germantown, Tennessee high school newspaper. Stories like this compel me to believe that the legal drinking age should be kept at twenty-one. Almost every state set a legal drinking age of twenty-one, the legal voting age at the time, after prohibition was repealed. Between 1970 and 1975, twenty-nine states lowered the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen, twenty-nine states also lowered their drinking age to eighteen or nineteen. During the late seventies, studies showed that traffic crashes had drastically increased after lowering the drinking age. Once this was announced publicly, many groups created a movement to increase the minimal drinking age, and sixteen states responded. The Uniform Drinking Act was passed in 1984. This strongly encouraged the remaining thirteen states to raise their drinking age. If the states would not agree to...
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...November 2010 Lowering the Legal Drinking Age Is Not the Solution “In 2005, about 10.8 million persons aged 12 to 20 (28.2 percent of this age group) reported drinking alcohol in the past month. Nearly 7.2 million (18.8 percent) were binge drinkers, and 2.3 million (6.0 percent) were heavy drinkers,” according to the agency, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in the Department of Health and Human Services. To solve this problem, would be to try to avoid it from happening, and that is, keeping the legal drinking age at twenty-one years old. The minimum drinking age has been an argument as to lowering the drinking age to 18. Candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich, from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, argues, “Of course, they should be able to drink at age 18, and they should be able to vote at age 16.” Then there are groups that have been formed such as, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, who are strongly against lowering the drinking age to 18 and fully support 21 to be the legal drinking age. Lowering the drinking age to 18 resulted in more car accidents, deaths, and harmful effects to the body at such a younger age. Having the legal drinking age at 21 is for everyone’s own safety and health, also less under age kids will and have the ability to drink. In the 1970’s the drinking age was 18 years old because it was thought if you could fight in the Vietnam War you should be able to drink. However, having the legal drinking age at 18 lead to an outrageous...
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...Edwin Muniz English 1010 Lowering the Legal Drinking Age There are many controversial topics in today’s news involving the younger generation. One of the most talked about topics is lowering the legal drinking age in the United States. Lowering the drinking age could have a really good impact on society as a whole. Although there are people that believe that lowering the age limit will have a really bad effect on the US, the good outweigh the bad. The drinking age being at 21, makes those underage look at alcohol sort of like the “forbidden fruit,” making them want to drink even more, sort of as a rite of passage. Lowering the drinking age to 18 seems almost undeniable considering that in the US, 18 is considered the age of adulthood. In the United States, turning 18 gives you the right to vote in elections, smoke tobacco, serve on juries, get married, sign legal contracts, be prosecuted as adults, and even join the military. Just imagine being 18 in the military, watching everyone 21 and older having a cold beer while you’re sitting there drinking water because you’re not old enough to drink alcohol. Not only are you risking your life being in the military like the others, you are also able to do everything the older members are able to do but, you absolutely cannot have an alcoholic beverage. In 1984 the U.S. Government raised the legal drinking age to 21 in an effort to decrease instances of drunk driving and related injuries and fatalities. However, this attempt...
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