If men and women are allowed to fight in a war, have a family,

pay taxes and have a job at eighteen, shouldn’t they be able to have a
drink? For many years this debate has been recurring in the United
States. Many people believe that the drinking age should not be
lowered but others believe it should.
Some people think that the drinking age should be lowered for
many reasons. One reason is that prohibiting teens from drinking
alcohol will make them drink more in unsupervised places like
underage drinking parties and fraternity houses. When teenagers get
injured from alcohol related accidents, they are more likely to not get
help from a professional because they are too afraid of the
consequences with the law. Lowering the drinking age will legalize
drinking for teens over 18 which will make it so that they won’t get in
any trouble with the law if they get injured. Therefore, they will be
healthier and will not get in any trouble with the law unless they
caused damage to someone of something other than themselves and
they will also be able to drink in supervised places which will make it
safer for them to drink. Another reason is that from 1920 to 1933, the
prohibition of alcohol failed showing that the control of drinking is not
enforceable leading to more underage and illegal drinking. Lastly,
when teenagers are not taught to drink in moderation at a younger
age, they will end up binge drinking when they can consume alcohol. It
should be taught at a younger age because it is better to teach
responsibility at a younger age. These are the reasons that some
people think the drinking age should be lowered.
Other people think that the drinking age is perfectly fine where it
is. They say that the human body is not fully developed until the age
range of 23 to 25. At age 18 the liver is not fully developed and can
take damage more rapidly. When the liver is damaged, it can’t filter
the alcohol out of your blood a fast and the alcohol stays in your blood
for a longer period of time which will interfere with reflexes and quick
decision making. They also say that the earlier a person starts
drinking, the better the chances the person has of becoming an
alcoholic later in life, suffering negative physical withdrawal symptoms
and harming his or her brain during its development. Also, laws setting
the drinking age to 21 have cut traffic fatalities from ages 18 to 21 by
13 percent. Another reason why some people think that the drinking
age should be lowered is that because teens are going through
physical changes, peer pressure and are witnessing new situations and
urges, if they are allowed to drink can make them more vulnerable to
drug and substance abuse, unprotected sex, depression and violence.
These are all reasons why people think that the drinking age should
not be lowered from 21.
I think that the drinking age should be lowered to 18. Because
the drinking age is 21, teenagers result to using fake IDs to buy alcohol
in bars and stores and end up getting in trouble with the law. David J.
Hanson says that “drinking in moderation is good for one’s health,
including those aged 18 to 20.” This means that if they drink
moderately the individual will have a 52 percent less chance of a heart
attack than a non-drinker and they will also have a 30 to 40 percent
less chance to develop diabetes. According to David J. Hanson, drinking
in moderation at a younger age from 18 to 20 also reduces the
chances for Parkinson’s disease and Macular Degeneration (blindness).
Another reason why we should lower the drinking age is that enforcing
the minimum legal drinking age of 21 is expensive. Drinking is a major
problem among teens no matter how low the drinking age is.it would
be much more effective to spend money on educating teens about
drinking than to spend money on enforcing the drinking laws on 18 to
20 year olds. I believe that lowering the drinking age would make our
country a stronger and healthier place to live.
Cases of alcohol abuse reported on college campuses and
problems with the law have spurred dispute on whether or not setting
the MLDA at 21 is reasonable, smart, and effective.