The Minimum Legal Drinking Age - 1800 Words

In the 1980s, the United States raised the Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) to 21, from 18, in an attempt to protect the nation s youth. This placed the USA among the few countries whose drinking age is above 18. These countries include most of Canada, the Republic of Korea, Nicaragua, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Egypt, Indonesia, Micronesia, and Palau (Jernigan). Around the world, drinking ages vary; for example, in Slovenia, Italy, Portugal, Malta and Greece, you can drink before you turn 18, and in parts of India, you cannot legally obtain alcohol until age 25 (Jernigan; Mukherjee). This leads to an important question on whether our democracy should lower the MLDA. The facts on underage drinking, international data on lower drinking ages, current enforcement of underage drinking laws, as well as proposed implications of programs coupled with a lower drinking age provides provoking data pointing towards the ethical lowering of the drinking age. The democracy of the United Sta tes of America should lower the MLDA, but also adopt a mandatory alcohol education class, and a graduated licensing system. Many people, whether opponents or proponents of lowering the drinking age use the issue of underage drinking as a propeller for their argument. Opponents claim that if we lower the drinking age, younger teenagers will start driving under the influence of alcohol, however, you cannot legally drive alone in most states under the age of 16, thus, the 13-15 year old populationShow MoreRelatedThe Minimum Legal Drinking Age939 Words   |  4 PagesThere has been ongoing public concern for adolescents and early adults’ drinking culture in worldwide. Australia has also great concerns about early initiating alcohol misuse and risky level of drinking pattern among young population. Consequently, the Minimum legal drinking age law is one of major alcohol control enforcement legislation to prevent alcohol related harms among adolescents ( Wechsler and Nelson, 2010, p.985). Recently Western Australia which is the second heaviest alcohol consumptionRead MoreThe Minimum Legal Drinking Age Essay1599 Words   |  7 Pages Appropriate Minimum Legal Drinking Age What is the right age to drink alcohol? Alcohol’s reputation varies from one culture to another. For some cultures, like the United States, they perceive it as a â€Å"forbidden fruit† while many European countries view it more leniently as another essential complement to their daily diet. In reality, alcohol is essentially a drug, that manipulates people’s minds to make them anxious, dizzy and aggravated. The law understands that drinking alcohol has someRead MoreThe Minimum Legal Drinking Age1594 Words   |  7 PagesThe Drinking Age is Safer than You Thought As Americans, we are always wondering what we can do to save lives. We suspect cancer, disease, suicide, violence, and distracted driving as taking the lives of our fellow Americans. What you may not know, is that we are already saving lives, and we have been since 1984 because of one simple law. The Uniform Drinking Age Act of 1984 moved the minimum legal drinking age from 18 to 21. Lowering the drinking age is a step backward for our safety and ourRead MoreThe Minimum Legal Drinking Age1227 Words   |  5 Pagesopposition and doubt over their effectiveness. While today’s minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) is 21, it has been proven that the ideal minimum drinking age is 18, because it is safer for the health and it demotes crime. The healthiest drinking age is 18 because that is the age one turns into an adult, and according to the Free Dictionary’s West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, an adult is â€Å"a person who by virtue of attaining a certain age, generally eighteen, is regarded in the eyes of the law as beingRead MoreBinge Drinking And The Minimum Legal Drinking Age3264 Words   |  14 PagesKarzhova Marina Erin Beaver English Composition II 5 November 2014 Binge Drinking and the Minimum Legal Drinking Age In the year 1984, President Ronald Reagan enacted a law that increased the minimum drinking Age all U.S states to 21 years. As a result, it is believed that the mortality rates due to road accidents reduced from 5,000 in the 80’s to 2, 000 in 2005 (Dean-Mooney). However, the issue of binge drinking remains unsolved with learning institutions having to deal with it every semester. InRead MoreMinimum Legal Drinking Age ( Tietjen )1700 Words   |  7 PagesMinimum Legal Drinking Age On July 17 of 1984 President Ronald Reagan signed to make the National Minimum Drinking Age Act a law. This law required all states to have a minimum drinking age of 21, if a state did not comply with this law they could face up to a 10% cut in funding for their federal highways (Tietjen). Since this act became a law there has been two distinct sides arguing whether they agree with the minimum drinking age, or whether they disagree. One side believes having a minimum drinkingRead MoreLowering The Minimum Legal Drinking Age Essay1521 Words   |  7 PagesBeer For Everyone! The debate of lowering the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) has been going on for decades in the United States. Those opposed, argue that the current MLDA is not efficient and counterproductive (Engs 1). One study indicated that thousands of lives under the age of twenty-one are lost each year to alcohol (McCardell 1). Underage drinking is an issue that persists, despite evidence suggesting that the minimum legal drinking age of twenty-one has lowered alcohol usage among individualRead MoreKeeping the Minimum Legal Drinking Age1283 Words   |  6 Pagesthe minimum legal drinking age in the United States or not. Many Americans forbid the idea of legalizing the drinking age so that it would be profitable to the businesses. Likewise, there have been many advantages and disadvantages of why should the government allow young adults drink under the age of 21. To prevent this issue, many Americans have provided reasoning that will support the idea of keeping the minimum legal drinking age where it is now. The government should maintain the minimum legalRead MoreMinimum Legal Drinking Age Essay Essay1938 Words   |  8 Pages22 December 2016 Minimum legal drinking age 21 Is it worth it to let teens to ruin their whole future by allowing them to start drinking at a younger age? Annually about 5,000 youth under age 21 die from motor vehicle, other unintentional injuries, and homicides and suicides that involve underage drinking.(â€Å"Underage Drinking†) It is a current debate on whether or not the minimum drinking age should be lowered to the age of 18 from 21. Though, the reasons why the drinking age should be 21, clearlyRead MoreKeeping The Minimum Legal Drinking Age2656 Words   |  11 Pagesstarting to drink at a younger age, and their drinking patterns are becoming more extreme.† Keeping the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) at twenty-one or lowering it to the age of eighteen has been a continuous issue in the United States. People, mostly adolescent teenagers, say it should be lowered because if one is able to vote at the age of eighteen, they should also be allowed to drink. Sure, when a seventeen-year-old turns eighteen they ar e considered an adult, but age does not define maturity;