Lewis1

BreckenLewis
Dr.SeanM.George
English1010D
December10,2015
DWI:DrunkenWhileImmature
Whenaskedifthedrinkingagelimitshouldbelowered?Itisnothingshortofasimple
remarkofThatsaclownquestionbro!astwentyyearoldmajorleagueplayerBryceHarper
statedinanaftergamepressconference,whenaskedifhewasgoingtocelebrateafterabigwin
inTorontowithdrinking,becausethedrinkingageisnineteeninCanada.Thelegaldrinkingage
istwentyone,anditshouldstaythatway.Mostpeopleoftheageoftwentyonecanteven
handlethemselveswhenconsumingalcohol.Minorsbodieshavenotdevelopedenoughtowhere
theirreadytoconsumealcohol.ThereisthreethingsIamgoingtobetalkingaboutthatshows
whydrinkingbeforetheageoftwentyone.Firstisthatanormalhumanbrainisn'tfully
developeduntiltheearlytwentys.Doingsocancausebraindamageandnottheproper
developmentforthebrain.SecondisTherateofsuicideishigherwiththeassistanceofalcohol
whenundertheageoftwentyone.ThelastreasonIllbetalkingaboutisCrimesandAccidents
increaseinpercentwhenundertheinfluenceofalcohol.
Theteenageyearsarethemostimportantyearsofahuman'slife.Thisiswhenyoung
adultslearnadolescence.Theylearntodothingsontheirownwithouttheirparents,theylearnto
drive,howtoliveontheirown,howtoreproduce,andhowtobecomeparentsoftheirown.
Theseareallveryimportantreasonstolearnwhilegrowingup.Thebrainworksandlearnsbest
whilegrowing.Thebraincanbecomparedtoaspongetheywayitabsorbsnewinformation

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whileitgoesthroughthisgrowingstage.Dr.
H.ScottSwartzwelder,stateinaresearcharticle
AlcoholsEffectsontheAdolescentBrainWhatCanBeLearnedFromAnimalModels

the
brainundergoesconsiderablestructuralandfunctionalchanges,atleastinpartinresponsetothe
individualsmanynewexperiences.Connectionsamongnervecells(neurons)inthebraincan
changebasedonwhichneuronsorgroupsofneuronsareregularlystimulated,acharacteristic
knownasplasticity.(paragraph3)Thismeansthatthebrainisreshapingitselftofitnew
characteristics.
Alcoholcandoalotofdamagetothethisprocess.Inthesameresearcharticle
Dr.
H.ScottSwartzwelderandhisstudentstellushowourbrainsaremoresensitivetoalcoholat
ayoungerage.(paragraph4)TheresearchdonebytheDr.andhisstudentsmentionedbefore
canbesummedupbythisblockquote.
Dr.
H.ScottSwartzwelderandhisstudentsatDukeuniversityranastudyontheeffects
ofalcoholonthebrainusingrats.Thenumberonethingtheysawaftertestingthealcohol
ontheratsforacertaintimeperiodwastheeffectithadontherat'smemory.alcohol
makesitharderforapersontomakeandrememberanewmemory.

thepatternof
memoryimpairmentobservedafterintoxicationissimilartothatfoundinpatientswith
damagetoabrainareacalledthehippocampus.Thesecondthingtheresearchersnoticed
istheeverlastingpartofthememory.themorealcoholdrankandthemorememory
damagemakesithardertorememberthinginthefuture.
Rememberingyourteenageyearsissomethingthatisgoingtobeimportantandfuntoknow.So
thereisnoreasontoruinitbydrinkingbeforetheageoftwentyone.

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Anothergreatreasonwhythedrinkingagelimitshouldnotbeloweredisbecause
The
rateofsuicideishigherwiththeassistanceofalcoholwhenundertheageoftwentyone.The
article
Doesalcoholandotherdrugabuseincreasetheriskforsuicide?foundonHHS.gov
statesitperfectlyAnumberofrecentnationalsurveyshavehelpedshedlightonthe
relationshipbetweenalcoholandotherdruguseandsuicidalbehavior.Areviewof
minimumagedrinkinglawsandsuicidesamongyouthsage18to20foundthatlower
minimumagedrinkinglawswasassociatedwithhigheryouthsuiciderates.(paragraph1)
AuthoroftheArticleSuicidalBehaviorandAlcoholAbuseJEnvironsaysintheopening
paragraphofhisarticleSuicideisanescalatingpublichealthproblem,andalcoholusehas
consistentlybeenimplicatedintheprecipitationofsuicidalbehavior.Alcoholabusemayleadto
suicidalitythroughdisinhibition,impulsivenessandimpairedjudgment,butitmayalsobeused
asameanstoeasethedistressassociatedwithcommittinganactofsuicide.(paragraph1)many
peoplelooktoalcoholasastressrelieverorapainreliever.Buttoomuchalcoholcauses
impairedjudgmentnotbeingabletothinkstraightmakingsuicideseemlikeaneasywayout
whenitsnottheanswer.
ThelastreasonIwillargueabouttoconcludemythreereasonswhytheagelimitof
drinkingalcoholshouldnotbeloweredisbecauseofthecrimesandaccidentsandhowthe
percentagesofthemgowayupwhenalcoholisinvolved.Drinkingturnabadideaintoagreat
idea.Themoredrinkingthepersondoesthemorelikelyofthemgettingintosomeaccidentof
somekind.Wheneveryouconsumeenoughalcoholtodramaticallychangeyourmentalor
physicalstate,youruntheriskofbreakingthelaw.Inmostcases,alcoholrelatedcrimesare
misdemeanors.Buttheinvolvementofalcoholisoftenenoughtoturnalessercrimeintoamore

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seriousoffense.stated(criminallaws)ThearticleAlcohol,DrugsandCrimesstatethat
Alcoholanddrugsareimplicatedinanestimated80%ofoffensesleadingtoincarcerationin
theUnitedStatessuchasdomesticviolence,drivingwhileintoxicated,propertyoffenses,drug
offenses,andpublicorderoffenses.(paragraph1)Whendrinkingitnotonlyaffectstheperson
drinkingbuteveryonearoundthem,Putsthemindangerbecausehe/sheisnotcapableof
knowingwhat'sgoingon.

Whenaskedifthedrinkingagelimitshouldbelowered?Itisnothingshortofasimple
remarkofThatsaclownquestionbro!astwentyyearoldmajorleagueplayerBryceHarper
statedinanaftergamepressconference,whenaskedifhewasgoingtocelebrateafterabigwin
inTorontowithdrinking,becausethedrinkingageis19inCanada.Thereshouldbenoquestion
aboutit.Alcoholdoesnotdogoodforpeopleundertheageoftwentyone.Mostpeopleofthe
ageoftwentyonecantevenhandlethemselveswhenconsumingalcohol.ItcanWait.

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Workscited
AlcoholsEffectsontheAdolescentBrainWhatCanBeLearnedFromAnimalModelsH
.
ScottSwartzwelder,Ph.D.
S
usanneHillerSturmhfel,Ph.D.,isseniorscienceeditorfor
Alcohol
Research&Health.
Doesalcoholandotherdrugabuseincreasetheriskforsuicide?
http://www.hhs.gov/answers/mentalhealthandsubstanceabuse/doesalcoholincreaseriskofs
uicide/index.html

SuicidalBehaviorandAlcoholAbuseby:JEnvironResPublicHealth.2010Apr7(4):
13921431.Publishedonline2010Mar29.

http://criminal.lawyers.com/typesofcrimes/crimesinvolvingalcohol.html
CrimesInvolvingAlcohol