But no, it wasn’t legal and you weren’t in a safe environment and now you, of all people, is dead. In 1984, the national drinking age raised to 21 In response to the drunk driving epidemic of the 1970s. President Ronald Reagan passed the Minimum Drinking Age Act in July 1984, that mandated states increase the drinking age to 21. This seemed to work statistically for a while however, college kids today don’t seem to want to comply with this law. In fact, about four out of five college students drink alcohol, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. And more than 90 percent of this alcohol is consumed through binge drinking. With stats like these, it seems rather very unlikely that anyone can argue against the cause of young rebellious drinking. With that all being said, the legal drinking age should once again be lowered to 18 because it will help influence teens to not drink irresponsibly, because most countries around the world have lower drinking age, and because at age 18 you’re an adult that can make his or hers own