America Should Lower the Drinking Age Essay Example for Free

America Should Lower the drinkable Age EssayThe National stripped-down Drinking Age mask of 1984 prohibits States from solelyowing people under the eon of 21 from purchasing or publicly possessing inebriantic bever get alongs (Alcohol Policy Information System). Supporters of having 21 as the negligible intoxication jump on point out that between 1982 and 2001, in that location was a 60% decrease in fatal alcohol-related crashes for drivers dates 16-17 and a 55% decrease among drivers aged 18-20 (Elder and Shults 169).However, while the piece of traffic fatalities may run through declined, the higher drinking age has also been associated with other problems, including an increase in binge drinking resulting in the death of a growing number of college savants (Roan F-1). Instead of focusing almost exclusively on nominal age drinking laws for the diminution of alcohol-related traffic fatalities, law makers should look at the larger picture regarding alcohol use am ong young adults.If eighteen-year- sometime(a)s be mature enough to choose whether or not to enlist in the military, then they are mature enough to be expected to be responsible with alcohol. The national stripped drinking age should be lowered to 18. The goal of token(prenominal) age drinking laws is to reduce the number of alcohol-related fatalities. As Elder and Shults pointed out, there has been a significant reduction in alcohol-related traffic fatalities since minimum drinking ages were raised to 21. Correlation, however, is not necessarily the same as causation. Other factors may generate also contributed to the reduction in fatalities.The effects of improved drivers education, an increased public awareness of the effects of alcohol on driving, and stiffer penalties for all driving under the influence must also be considered. Elder and Shults also noted that among drivers age 21-24, there was a 41% decrease in alcohol-related traffic fatalities during this same period and that drivers over the age of 25 had a 39% decrease. Because these older drivers were not affected by the minimum age law, these reductions in traffic fatalities can only be attributed to education and law enforcement.Rather than promoting the responsible use of alcohol, minimum age laws actually have the opposite effect. Before drinking laws were put into place, the drinking behaviors of adolescents and young adults were control guide by family traditions, community expectations, peer groups, and self-restraint (Ford). While this system did not eliminate the problems of alcoholism and other alcohol-related complications, it did birth alcohol as a normal part of the young adults environment. Minimum age drinking laws have attempted to remove alcohol from this environment. As a result, students are more likely to abuse alcohol when it is available.There has been a dramatic increase in binge drinking among college students (Courtney and Polich, 142). Concern for this problem led more than 100 college and university presidents to call for a new debate on lowering the drinking age (Roan). Finally, unenforceable minimum age laws undermine the credibility of law enforcement. The inability of young adults to purchase line up alcohol statutoryly means that students and other young adults who drink must resort to vile activities in order to obtain alcohol. Yet despite these legal barriers, many students obtain alcohol with no legal consequences.As a result of this policy, students learn that laws can be circumvented and that law enforcement can be instead selective in choosing which laws will be enforced and which violations will be overlooked. Over time, students may hold up this same belief to drug laws, driving laws, and other laws that they believe are not likely to be enforced. Enforcement of the law also places a burden on law enforcement agencies and prevents police from pursuing other illegal activities that are potentially more harmful to the community. Conclusion The National Minimum Age Drinking Act was signed into law in 1984.In many ways, the law reflects Americas political lurch to the right that occurred during the mid-eighties under President Ronald Reagan, the Moral Majority, and other socially conservative elements that were in power at the time. These groups knew that there were limits to their ability to legislate morality. Prohibition during the 1920s proved that outlawing alcohol would not work. They were, however, successful in go through the minimum age drinking law, a form of prohibition that was limited to people under 21. Minimum age drinking laws are an example of what happens when lawmakers try to legislate morality.By virtually any measure, the reliable minimum age laws are no more effective than Prohibition was during the 1920s. These laws, like the 18th Amendment, should be repealed. A better solution for Americas alcohol problem would be to educate young people astir(predicate) the responsible use of alc ohol, including the potential risks that are associated with this drug and the penalties that people face when they abuse alcohol. This type of intimacy does not magically appear when someone turns 21, but is the result of a culture that gradually prepares the single to accept the responsibilities of adulthood.Lowering the drinking age to 18, for example, would allow colleges to serve alcohol at official events where student drinking could be monitored and problems could be addressed before they result in a medical emergency. Eighteen-year-olds are old enough to vote, to marry, to enlist in the military, and to sign a legally binding contract. If they are old enough for those adult responsibilities, then they are old enough to decide whether or not they deficiency to drink.Works CitedAlcohol Policy Information System. The 1984 National Minimum Drinking Age Act. National bestow on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. Online. Undated. 15 Mar ch 2009. http//alcoholpolicy. niaaa. nih. gov/index. asp? endorsement=%7B9937ACFC-DB3A-4159-B068-A302CEEE0EDF%7DType=B_BASIC Courtney, Kelly, John Polich. Binge Drinking in Young Adults Data, Definitions, and Determinants. Psychological Bulletin 135. 1 (2009) 142-156. Elder, RW and RA Shults. function by Young Drivers in Fatal Alcohol-Related Motor-Vehicle Crashes United States, 1982-2001. JAMA 23. 2(2003)169-170. 8 January 2003. 15 March 2009 http//jama. ama-assn. org/cgi/reprint/289/2/169 Ford, Gene.Why We Should Lower the Drinking Age to 19. Alcohol Problems and Solutions. Sociology Department, State University of New York, Potsdam, NY. 2007. 15 March 2009. http//www2. potsdam. edu/hansondj/YouthIssues/1046348192. hypertext mark-up language Roan, Shari. A Lower Legal Drinking Age? Health Experts, College Presidents Debate. LA Times. 1 September 2008. 15 March 2009 http//articles. latimes. com/2008/sep/01/health/he-drinking1? s=gn=nm=Broadrd=www. google. comtnid=1sessid=d49a1 6c9fafce18046e3bd9ba60cef8d9fdf7a4fpgtp=articleeagi=page_type=articleexci=2008_09_01_health_he-drinking1pg=1