Minimum Legal Drinking Age

The debate of lowering of the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) controversy has been going on for decades in the United States. There have been arguments that the current MLDA is not efficient and counterproductive according to Rachel Engs. 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 still persists despite evidence suggesting that the minimum legal drinking age of twenty-one has lowered alcohol usage among individual who are underage (Toomey 1961-1962). By lowering the minimum legal drinking age, better drinking habits could be enforced. This would give eighteen year olds, when first considered as adults by most states, the right to decide …show more content…
A great amount of under age individuals have unsafe drinking habits, binge drinking, because they get a thrill from breaking the law (Engs 2). In the past, our country has tried prohibition twice, yet the laws were repealed because our country could not apply them and they created other public issues (Engs 2). Our nation is making those mistakes again by not realizing that the ban in place against individuals under twenty-one is not functioning; just as it did not function in the past (Engs 2). Fifty percent of eighteen to twenty year olds drink frequently (McCardell 1). According to McCardell, the amount of individuals participating in binge drinking had risen. Research shows more eighteen to twenty-four year old individuals are drinking exceedingly in 2001. Thirty-two percent of under age individuals are heavy drinkers compared to the twenty-four percent of legal individuals. According to Engs, there has been a rise in complications caused by binge drinking. These include: becoming ill after drinking, not going to class, fighting, and suffering grades. Binge drinking takes place in private places with no adult supervision, and these consequences occur because these individuals do not have safe drinking habits (McCardell 2). Supporters for the lowering of the minimum legal drinking age argue that it should be compatible with the different legal privileges people receive at eighteen, because they can be educated earlier about alcohol consumption (Barnett 8). They should have the right to consume alcohol just as they have the right to vote, get married, and go to war (Toomey 1961). These individuals could be taught to make responsible choices about alcohol, just as they are prepared to drive. It is possible to create safe

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