Minimum Legal Drinking Age

Drinking Age
One main issue in America today is whether or not young adults are responsible enough to handle alcohol. According to Wagenaar and Toomey, “MLDA, also known as the minimum legal drinking age is the most well-studied alcohol control policy and the United States.” Paglia comments, “Alcohol relaxes, eases interaction, inspires ideas and sponsors humor.” Should the legal drinking age be considered? The legal drinking age should be lowered to eighteen because an individual is considered an adult and there would be less under-aged drinking.
The legal drinking age was not always twenty-one like it is today, within forty years the laws have changed dramatically. In the 1970’s, primarily, eighteen was the most commonly chosen age among …show more content…
Although, within the same state some youths were allowed to drink legally when they turned eighteen while those who were born only a short time later had to wait until they were twenty-one (Dobkin and Carpenter). More than one hundred college presidents in 2008 signed the Amethyst Initiative, which stated there should be a reexamination of the drinking age in the United States (Dobkin and Carpenter). Considering the drinking age in the United States, Canada has an eighteen or nineteen range depending on the province, Mexico happens to be eighteen and other European countries are typically around sixteen to eighteen (Dobkin and Carpenter). To support his fact, there are fewer alcohol related issues among young people in Europe, where the age is lower (McIntyre). States that have considered lowering the drinking age as a result to the Health Interview Survey include: Kentucky, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Missouri, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Vermont (Dobkin and …show more content…
11). College students will drink no matter what the drinking age is and instead of drinking responsibly on campus they must drive out to bars or clubs, putting other people at risk (Keisbye, Pg. 29). Studies have shown that the drunken driving fatalities are now lower than ever for all age groups; they declined just as much as Canada, where their drinking age happens to be eighteen or nineteen (Keisbye Pg. 44). The problem with drinking is that individuals drink to get drunk instead of drinking responsibly around social drinkers (Keisbye Pg.

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