Should the Drinking Age be Lowered – Argumentative Essay.

According to the Minimum Legal Drinking Age law of the U.S.A, It is illegal for anyone under 21 years of age to buy and consume alcohol. There has long been a call to reduce this limit to 18 years, although many people prefer the current maximum of 21 years.

Here’s an Argumentative essay on both: Why the drinking age should be lowered and Why the drinking age shouldn’t be lowered. 

Why the Drinking age should be lowered (Argumentative Essay)

The minimum age to vote in elections is 18 in most of the states, The minimum age required to be accepted in military without parental concern is 18 years but the minimum legal drinking age is 21 years. It means that even when we can choose our representatives and can fight for our country, We aren’t matured enough to get a drink. Many believe, lower drinking age lowers drink and drive cases and decreases crime rate among youngsters however the truth is; Higher drinking age has increased the number of criminals, has led to economic losses and hasn’t been able to reduce crimes and accidents due to intoxication .(Thesis statement) 

Higher legal drinking age is responsible for making a large number of people becoming law breakers and has also contributed in the prosperity of black market. Alcoholic beverages are common in most of high school parties and when the legal drinking is high, youngsters are foced to break laws to obtain them. Breaking the law once and getting away with it, encourages them to break more laws in future. When alcohol is sold illegally, the profit from the sales goes to criminals, indirectly promoting more crime. 

Illegal selling of alcoholic beverages has led to huge economic losses to the government and to the retailers. In a survey conducted by CDC, It was found that 11% of total alcohol is consumed by population below 21 years; all of it is sold without any government authorisation. Profits earned from it is untaxed and goes to the Black market. Hundreds of millions of dollars which otherwise could have been spent for the welfare of people, goes to the pockes of illegal dealers. Lowering the legal drinking age could end this problem. 

It is argued by many, that lowering the drinking age will result in a rapid increase in drink and drive cases. It is a common perception that “Under-age drinkers are more prone to drive under the influence of alcohol, but it’s nothing more than a myth. A research conducted by a team lead by Peter Asch and David Levy cleared this misconception. In this survey, It was found that raising the drinking age only transferred the drink and drive cases from 18-20 year age group to 21-24 year age group. Which implies that It’s not the under-age drinkers but the inexperienced drinkers who drink and drive.

Conclusion – 

Lowering the drinking age would reduce the crime rate among youngsters and prevent the loss of billions of dollars every year. High drinking age has proven ineffective against prevention from the crimes under alcohol influence and lowering it can promote overall welfare of our society. The legal drinking age in most of the countries is 18 years and probably it’s the time that the United States should also change their MLDA law for good.

Why the Drinking age should not be lowered (Argumentative Essay)

The law in the United States prohibits anyone below 21 years of age to buy, sell or consume alcohol. This law was implemented by various states in the 1980’s, after studies found direct correlation between lower drinking age and crimes like drunk driving and voilence among youngsters. While the demand to lower the drinking age has been rising but the fact is low drinking age increases the rate of crime under the influence of alcohol, increases high school dropouts and could destroy the bright future of an entire generation.(Thesis statement)

Alcohol consumption and the crimes committed are directly related. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 12-to-20-year-olds consume 11 percent of all the alcohol in the United States. More than 90 percent of these adolescents consume by binge drinking. It leads to voilent behaviour and increases their chances to drink and drive. Eighty-one percent of drivers who were under age 21 and involved in a fatal crash, had a blood alcohol content higher than .08, the legal limit, according to the CDC. Restricting alcohol access to people under 21 means less traffic accidents, less deaths, and more safety for all drivers.

Lowering the legal drinking has led to rise in highschool dropout rates in the past. When the drinking age is lowered, it increases the number of addicted students and also leads to voilence in schools promoting many students to drop out. The reduced drinking age to 18 in the 1970s – 80s led to an increased high school dropout rate – specifically, the rate shot up from 4 percent to 13 percent. Many fear that the same will happen again if we decide to reduce the legal drinking age.

It has been widely argued that if 18 year olds are matured enough to cast votes, have marriage, join military and do everything else; then why aren’t they qualified to have their own beer. The answer is, 18 to 21 years of age is too important in one’s life to waste it on alcohol. It is in this age that we aquire some skills and prepare ourselves for jobs or for entrepreneurship, We explore our intrest, our likings and dislikings. If people in this age group waste their precious time and money on alcohol and get addicted, It would prove devastating for them and for the whole society.

Conclusion – 

Keeping the legal drinking age to 21 years is important for public welfare. It prevents our roads from becoming more dangerous and decreases the cases of voilence in schools, colleges and workplaces. It is an important step in securing the future of our country as our youth can’t be allowed to be distracted due to alcohol. So, for the sake of a safer society and a prosperous nation; legal drinking age shouldn’t be lowered.

Refrences – 

https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/02/10/you-must-be-21-to-drink

https://www.alcohol.org/laws/underage-drinking/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age

https://www.apa.org/monitor/jan08/earlydrinking.aspx

http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/TeenDrinkingAndDriving/index.html

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