Why Should We Have a Legal Drinking Age

The gap between the MLDA and the age of majority — and its many responsibilities and powers — as well as ongoing incidents of alcohol abuse reported on college campuses, have fueled debate about whether setting the MLDA at age 21 is fair, wise, and effective. Some people believe that lowering the drinking age can prevent medical emergencies and dangerous situations from escalating or becoming fatal. They claim that people who drink illegally are not allowed to call 911 if a friend is in trouble or if an accident happened because he was drinking, for fear of getting into trouble with the law or with their family. Many may not be aware that most states have laws that protect them from legal consequences when they report an emergency. While the MLDA is 21 in all 50 states, in 47 of the 50 states, the age of 18 is the “age of majority,” which means having the rights and obligations of adulthood. Each state sets its own age of majority, which is often the age at which one can vote, join the military, serve on juries, sign contracts, get married, apply for loans, make decisions about medical treatment, and be prosecuted as an adult. Alabama (19), Mississippi (21) and Nebraska (19) are three states that have an “age of majority” above 18, although some rights, such as the right to vote in these states, remain at 18. A major problem with the high drinking age, coupled with the high penalties imposed on minors who drink, is that an underage drinker can be left in fear. In the United States, 31% of car accidents result from impaired driving, or DUI, the third highest rate in the world. In Germany, where the legal drinking age is 16, and in Russia, where the legal drinking age is 18, the rate is 9%. China, which has no minimum drinking age, sees its rate at 4 percent, according to Sand Law, a North Dakota law firm. Many rights in the United States are granted to citizens who are 21 years of age or older. A person cannot legally buy a handgun, gamble at a casino (in most states), or adopt a child until age 21, rent a car at age 25 (for most businesses), or run for president until age 35.

Alcohol consumption should be limited in the same way because of responsibility to oneself and others. [24] There is no medical reason why alcohol should be an over-the-counter drug for those over 21 years of age, but illegal for persons under 21 years of age. All over-the-counter medications set a dose for adults 12 years of age and older, not for 21 years of age. The easiest way to prove this is to look inside your medicine cabinet. If the FDA recommends the same dose of Tylenol, Sudafed or Zantac for an 18-year-old as it does for a 21-year-old, why do we have a law that says people are not physically able to handle alcohol until age 21? It is clear that this is not based on biology. Often, teens get their drinks from shady sources and consume drinks in dangerous environments. This new age limit would encourage alcohol consumption in more responsible settings, such as bars or restaurants, rather than on the street or in a stranger`s home. Since our current prohibition laws are not working, the need for alternative approaches must be tested from the experience of other older cultures that do not have these problems. Groups such as Italians, Greeks, Chinese, and Jews, who have few drinking problems, tend to share some common traits. Alcohol is not considered a poison or a magic force, there is little to no social pressure to drink, irresponsible behavior is never tolerated, teenagers learn at home from their parents and other adults how to manage alcohol responsibly, there is a social consensus about what constitutes responsible drinking. Given that the 21-year-old liquor law is not working and is counterproductive, it is incumbent upon us as a nation to amend our current prohibition law and teach responsible drinking techniques to those who have chosen to consume alcoholic beverages.

Many underage drinkers quickly consume larger amounts of alcohol before going out instead of drinking for an extended period of time. If students could buy their own drinks, underage drinkers would be less likely to try to get older people to buy drinks from them. But by not buying their own drinks, they become more likely to have something added to the drink. 18-year-olds typically enter a new phase of independence from their parents through university or staff and are more prone to excessive drinking, risky sexual activity and other irresponsible behaviour due to lack of maturity. This shift in beverage choices, along with irresponsible drinking habits among younger colleagues, has led to an increased incidence of alcohol toxicity – in some cases, death from alcohol poisoning. However, the percentage of students who consume alcohol or who consume a lot of alcohol or who consume alcohol excessively has been relatively stable over the past 30 years. The drinking age robs law-abiding citizens of their freedoms because we fear making bad choices with alcohol. But society considers it the right of anyone over the age of 21 to drink, even if they have actually made (and continue to make) poor choices with alcohol.

This contradiction proves once again that drinking age is not really a safety issue. It is a question of imposing on young people the sacrifices that the elderly are too proud and selfish to risk being imposed on them. If seniors really prioritized safety, they would be willing to make their own sacrifices – and not impose them on another group of law-abiding people, as they did with drinking age. In the United States, you can do almost anything at 18 except drinking and smoking in Michigan, both if you must be 21. I believe the age should be 18, in this country they will give you a gun to shoot the enemy abroad or domestically, but here in Michigan you can`t drink or smoke until you`re 21. Most children who get their driver`s license at 16, by the time they turn 21, already have at least 1 DUI. As a parent, I always told my children to respect the law, but when it came to drinking, I wasn`t stupid, I told them how to behave responsibly when they drank, they called me at all times to pick them up. Has drunk, call me, come and get yourself. If an 18-year-old can serve a country by serving in the armed service or by voting, why can`t he drink? All age groups should be equal!!!! The United States is one of only 12 countries in the world to have a legal drinking age of 21 and is the only Western country to have such a restriction. An overwhelming 116 countries have a legal drinking age of 18 or 19.

Heavy drinking peaks at 45.4% among 21- to 25-year-olds, while binge drinking rates among 12- to 13-year-olds, 14- to 15-year-olds, 16- to 17-year-olds and 18- to 20-year-olds are 0.3%, 3.7%, 10.2% and 26.2%, respectively. [49] Although the law did not require a national MLDA of 21 years, it did mandate it by stipulating that certain federal transports were held by states that had not set their minimum age for publicly purchasing and possessing alcohol at 21.