Drinkin Age

It is legal for eighteen year-olds to die for their country, it is legal for eighteen year-olds to marry, and it is legal for eighteen year-olds to vote. Why then isn't it legal for eighteen year-olds to drink? I don't think that is right, and I believe that the drinking age in the United States should be lowered from twenty one years of age, to eighteen.

Underage drinking is wide spread through out the United States. According to Health.org, of 10 million people under the age 21 who admitted they'd had a some kind of alcohol in the last month, 4.4 million said that they are "binge drinkers," or people who have had more than four drinks in a row. Also, alcohol use among 12 to 17 year olds has risen .9% over the past three years. Lack of entertainment on college campuses and easy availability of alcohol can lead to underage drinking as well.

The solution to the problem of underage drinking is to lower the drinking age from 21 years down to 18 years. Young adults allowed drinking in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions. In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs. Mature and sensible drinking behavior would be expected. Although the legal purchase age is 21 years of age, a majority of college students under this age consume alcohol but in an irresponsible manner. This is because drinking by these youth is seen as an enticing "forbidden fruit," a "badge of rebellion against authority" and a symbol of "adulthood." As a nation we have tried prohibition legislation twice in the past for controlling irresponsible drinking problems. This was during National Prohibition in the 1920s and state prohibition during the 1850s. These laws were finally repealed because they were unenforceable and because the backlash towards them caused other social problems. Today we are repeating history and making the same mistakes that occurred in the past. Prohibition did not work then and prohibition for young people under the age of 21 is not working now.

The flaunting of the current laws is readily seen among university students. Those under the age of 21 are more likely to be heavy -- sometimes called "binge" -- drinkers (consuming over 5 drinks at least once a week). For example, 22% of all students under 21 compared to 18% over 21 years of age are heavy drinkers. Among drinkers only, 32% of under age compared to 24% of legal age are heavy drinkers.

Research from the early 1980s until the present has shown a continuous decrease in drinking and driving related variables, which has parallel the nation's, and also university students, decrease in per capita consumption. However, these declines started in 1980 before the national 1987 law that mandated states to have 21-year-old alcohol purchase laws.

The decrease in drinking and driving problems are the result of many factors and not just the rise in purchase age or the decreased per capita consumption. These include: education concerning