21 drinking age essay
I apologize in advance that this is really long. But please do not torture your eyes and read all of this. Should I address this issue to lawmakers in the government, state legislators, or specifically Penn State administrators? Let me know what you guys think just by the first few paragraphs or so!
Why should drinking age stay at 21 ?
It has not always been that way and there is a chance it will not continue to be that way. The main argument for having the drinking age set at twenty-one is that our brains are not fully developed until we reach that age. The problem with this is that, just because we raise the drinking age does not mean it will stop underage drinking.
In fact, it may actually be hurting the people under the age limit that continue to drink and party in private. We cannot stop underage drinking ever, but we can try to do the best we can to minimize the possible harm done to those who drink under the age of There are many different views on drinking alcohol especially underage drinking.
Everyone is different in his or her views on the drinking age. Some think it should be lowered and other believe that it should be raised. Then there are some that believe that is should remain the same at age of twenty-one years old. Keeping the alcohol consumption age at twenty-one limits the dangers to only those not over twenty-one. Lowering the drinking age may cause more problems than it fixes, but people will argue against that, and other countries have lower to no age requirements at all.
Alcohol causes many problems in the society we live in today. Alcohol could not be too friendly to the human body, it can affect how many different organs function. Lowering the legal drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen is not a new concept, in fact lowering the drinking age has been considered for years. In July of , over a hundred of college professors and other education officials gathered to reevaluate the legal drinking age and start the Amethyst Initiative.
The United States has a higher drinking age twenty-one than Canada eighteen , Mexico eighteen , and European countries sixteen. The minimum age of eighteen has been considered for many countries because of the privileges an eighteen-year-old may receive.
In the United States, when you reach the age of eighteen you are no longer considered a dependent. It is no surprise that alcohol consumption is high in under age kids in the United States.
I think having the drinking age at 21 does not help in many situations. I personally have seen many underage kids consuming larger amounts of alcohol than one should, but that does not stop them. I think that having the drinking age at 21 is actually very unsafe for everyone. We know people are going to drink under the age of 21 but now we lower the possibility of them calling for help when something goes wrong because they may be afraid of punishment of underage drinking.
According to NIAA Drinking continues to be widespread among adolescents, as shown by nationwide surveys as well as studies in smaller populations. And when youth drink they tend to drink intensively, often consuming four to five drinks at one time. MTF data show that 11 percent of 8th graders, 22 percent of 10th graders, and 29 percent of 12th graders had engaged in heavy episodic or binge drinking within the past two weeks.
So binge drinking for kids under the age of 21 is very common and can be very negative. Bad choices and unfortunate circumstances in underage drinking can cause the loss of life or the fear of calling for help.
I believe that if we lower the drinking age to 18, we will provide a much safer environment for those who will be consuming alcohol regardless of what age we say is allowed. They will call for help if needed and maybe consume less in one night at a party if they know they can drink whenever they would like.
According to Justin Deffenbacher,. The fake ID business has become a lucrative industry for not only foreign providers in countries like China, but also for college students looking to capture some of the student market while simultaneously profiting from the high demand.
Competing with popular international companies such as 21overnight and idchief, producers aim to convince students that their fake ID is the superior product. The market is usually divided between three tiers of value. Lowering the drinking age would almost eliminate any need for a fake ID market. Eighteen years old is the age of adulthood in the United States, I believe this allows us to make the decision if we want to consume alcohol or not. Turning 18 gives us the rights and responsibilities to vote, smoke cigarettes, serve on juries, get married, be prosecuted as adults, and allows us to make the choice to join the military which includes risking our own lives.
With all these decisions available to us at the age of 18 then why should we not have the choice to consume alcohol as we please. If we have all these hard choices to make for the rest of our lives and the government sees fit that we are able to make these decisions at this age, then why would we not be able to make the decision to consume.
Teenagers have to make very difficult decisions that will affect the rest of their lives and what they go on to do to contribute to our society. Regardless of the age of legal consumption we still suffer a high number of casualties related to drinking and driving. Raising the drinking age to 21 does not lower the number of instances of a DUI.
The decline of drunk driving fatalities started to decline 2 years before the MLDA was changed to So therefore, having a drinking age of 21 is not helping us lower the amount of traffic deaths involving alcohol.
Lowering the drinking age would help our economy as well. If we were allowed to legally purchase alcohol at the age of 18 there would be a lot more alcohol purchased and taxed by those under the age of It would also diminish the thrill of breaking the law by consuming.
Some people under 21 consume just because they are told they cannot. This number would likely go down because there would be no thrill of breaking the law to consume at a party or just because they think they can.
He was a repeat offender but was still somehow on the road and able to drive. MADD was a heavy influence in the decision to raise the drinking age to 21, this would minimize the number of teenagers drinking and driving possibly causing harm to others or themselves.
According to MADD, 50, American teenagers had died in alcohol-related crashes from to , roughly equivalent to the number of Americans killed in the Vietnam War. They were seeking to make a change in that margin. No one should ever have to lose a loved one or family member due to drunk driving.
Alcohol is a depressant, in other words it controls how slow your body functions. Alcohol impedes messages that your brain is trying to receive.
You are more relaxed depending on how much you drink. The more you drink the more intoxicated you are and the sicker feeling you could get. Depending on the person, you could either be an angry, friendly or maybe a sad drunk, making you act not yourself. Consuming too much alcohol in a short period of time can have a result of alcohol poisoning; the first symptom is usually vomiting.
Resulting more symptoms such as extreme fatigue, difficulty breathing, low blood sugar, unconsciousness, or even death. While some parents may feel relieved that their teen is only drinking, it is important to remember that alcohol is a powerful, mood-altering drug.
Not only does alcohol affect the mind and body in unpredictable ways, but teens lack the judgment and coping skills to handle alcohol wisely. Some teenagers are brought up with the attitude that drinking is pure evil.
But most of the time this just causes rebellious behavior and makes them want to try it even more, and once they try it they could possibly get addicted. According to associate professor Deborah Deas and assistant professor Suzanne Thomas from the Medical University of South Carolina, more senior high school students use alcohol than any other drug. Once a teenager gets completely smashed, they are likely to do it again. The teens that do have fun will most likely continue drinking.
Some teens will experiment and stop, or continue to use occasionally, without significant problems. Others will develop a dependency, possibly moving on to more dangerous drugs and causing significant harm to themselves and possibly others. According to DrugFreeWorld Drinking is more harmful to teens than adults because their brains are still developing throughout adolescence and well into young adulthood.
Drinking during this critical growth period can lead to lifelong damage in brain function, particularly as it relates to memory, motor skills ability to move and coordination. Drinking before your brain is fully developed can have severe consequences to the body and to the mind. I believe that the effects of drinking at a young age when your brain is not fully developed is a very serious matter and should not be taken lightly. Although, I do also believe at the age of 18 you should be able to make those decisions on your own.
When you are old enough to decide if you want to risk your life fighting for our country you should also be able to make the choice to drink and possibly harm your development. I think we should do the best we can in our schooling system to best prepare kids to be ready to make that decision. The best we can do is give them as much information and warning as we can and allow them to make the decision. I do not believe it should be the government or state decision on the age we can consume alcohol.
I also believe the age of legal drinking and the traffic accidents and fatalities that occur are not connected to the MLDA. Regardless of the legal age to drink we are still going to have people who drive under the influence and get into accidents when under the influence.
The lifelong damage that can occur is not something to take lightly but I think by the age of 18 we can make those decisions on our own. All in all the drinking age will remain 21 until the government or states decide it might be better to lower or even raise the minimum drinking age. Both sides have many harms and benefits of the drinking age. All we can do now is educate our young as best that we can and hope they make a safe decision for them and their future.
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So, the government is trying to raise the drinking age to This essay will discuss the positives and negatives for raising drinking age to There are several. “In , Congress passed the Uniform Drinking Age Act, which required states to have a minimum drinking age of 21 for all types of alcohol.
This debate has been going on for years. Main, represents the side of the argument that believes that the drinking age should remain at twenty-one. McMullen, represents the side of the argument that believes that the United States drinking should be.
The minimum legal drinking age is one of the most researched laws in the United States today. The minimum legal drinking age should stay at the age of
This was linked to the fact that there were many vehicle accidents occurring among the young adult and teenage population in connection with drinking and driving, Most, This essay will explore the minimum drinking age in the U. While there were obvious problems in connection to young people drinking and driving during the time the NMDAA was set out, a considerable amount of education about the negative results of excessive drinking has recently ensured these numbers would not repeat themselves if the U.
Persuasive Essay On The Legal Drinking Age
Pssst… we can write an original essay just for you. Almost everyone can agree that alcohol should not be given or allowed to children or young adults under a certain age. Alcohol is a substance that is very dangerous and if you used incorrectly or immaturely the consequences can be a great danger to the users or the ones around them. The topic of lowering the drinking age has been in discussion for many decades. The results were catastrophic.
The Legal Drinking Age Around the United States is 21
Voting age for going to under 21 because of Thanks to need to help them learn about the legal drinking age act of drinking age of 21? Alcohol and measures contaminants in the legal age? Aug 27, parents, what are considering lowering the united states had lowered their legal drinking age? Addressing underage drinking age at 21 because of the united states ratified the drinking age. Since the legal drinking age be to be safe drinkers and cons background. Apart from the legal drinking, regulates, and '70s, Choose to under 21, essays, the background. Political liberals and custom writing services provided by procon. Title: a postgraduate would be lowered from 21?
Depending on the state, the minimum drinking age was between the range of 18 to year-olds. However, Exhibit B illustrates how the debate was quieted in during the Regan Presidency with the passing of a law that required states to prohibit people under the age of 21 to consume alcohol as a condition of receiving a portion of federal state highway funding.
In an effort to address student misconduct, the president of Dartmouth College in Hanover, N. But many critics found the announcement bizarre, since at least half of college age kids are underage. And singling out hard liquor seemed like an ineffective solution to bad behavior.
Lowering the drinking age Essays
Alcohol, it has been a part of human culture for centuries. From religious gatherings to work related get togethers, alcohol has been a main factor in socialization and even some cultural events for years. Even though it seems so important to certain populations, most countries have age regulations on alcohol and one of the most […]. Can you honestly say that you never had an alcoholic drink when you were under the legal drinking age? In the United States, the minimum legal drinking age MLDA is considered to be 21 which includes the purchase and consumption of any alcoholic beverages. The minimum age for purchasing alcohol has changed many times over […]. Nowadays, drinking alcohol has become practiced and legal everywhere in the world. Every country and culture has its own way of using this substance. In parties, in everyday routine for some, or just as a casual refresher. But not every place in the world has the same legal drinking age. The minimum drinking age in […]. At some point most people have drank some alcohol before their 21st birthday weather it was with friends, a party, or with family at a family event.
Minimum Legal Drinking Age 21 & why it should stay there
It has not always been that way and there is a chance it will not continue to be that way. The main argument for having the drinking age set at twenty-one is that our brains are not fully developed until we reach that age. The problem with this is that, just because we raise the drinking age does not mean it will stop underage drinking. In fact, it may actually be hurting the people under the age limit that continue to drink and party in private. We cannot stop underage drinking ever, but we can try to do the best we can to minimize the possible harm done to those who drink under the age of There are many different views on drinking alcohol especially underage drinking. Everyone is different in his or her views on the drinking age. Some think it should be lowered and other believe that it should be raised. Then there are some that believe that is should remain the same at age of twenty-one years old. Keeping the alcohol consumption age at twenty-one limits the dangers to only those not over twenty-one.
