Old Enough to Die, Not Old Enough to Drink

Old Enough to Die, Not Old Enough to Drink

Around the globe the age of drinking ranges from birth to the age of twenty-one with the United States of America leading with the highest drinking age, the question of concern is whether or not the restriction is in place to control or to protect. Some feel that the drinking age is in place to protect all from immature behavior and ensure that individuals who drink are at the age of maturity. While, others say that the drinking age is in place to control individuals that the government feels is to young. However, the truth of the matter is that the drinking age is creating a barrier that is controlling a group of citizens that are both mature and responsible enough to handle the challenges with which they would be faced if the drinking age was lower.

The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 required all states to raise their minimum purchase and public possession of alcohol age to twenty-one years old. States that did not comply faced a reduction in highway funding under the Federal Highway Aid Act. The United States Department of Transportation has determined that all states are in compliance with this act, thus, all states have ensured their highway funding. This national law specifically prohibits purchase and public possession of alcoholic beverages to anyone under the required age. It does not prohibit, however, people younger than twenty-one from drinking alcoholic beverages. Therefore, I believe that the legal drinking age should be lowered to eighteen and young adults should be allowed to drink in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions. In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs. Mature and sensible drinking behavior would be expected of everyone drinking.

Although the legal purchasing age is twenty-one years, a majority of college students under this legal age consume alcohol. The majorities of these college students drink in a responsible manner and is in reflection of the society as a whole. This drinking takes place because drinking by these youth is seen as an enticing "forbidden fruit," a "badge of rebellion against authority," and a symbol of "adulthood." As a nation we have tried prohibition legislation twice in the past two centuries of our existence for controlling irresponsible drinking problems. The first try at prohibition was in the 1850s when states tried to prohibit alcohol and the second in the 1920s when the National Prohibition took place. One example of a try at prohibition was the Volstead Act of 1919, which was a Michigan state law that provided the enforcement of prohibition, which was immediately followed by the National Prohibition. These laws were finally repealed because they were unenforceable and because the backlash towards them caused other social problems (i.e. economic issues).

Today, here in the United States, we are repeating history and making the same mistakes that occurred in the past. Prohibition in the past did not work and prohibition for young adults under the age of twenty-one is not working now. The flaunting of the current laws is readily seen among college age students across the country. Those under the legal age are more likely to be heavy, sometimes called "binge," drinkers (consuming over five drinks at least once a week). For example, twenty-two percent of all students younger than twenty-one compared to eighteen percent of over twenty-one years of age are heavy drinkers. Among drinkers only, thirty-two percent of under age compared to twenty-four percent of legal age are heavy drinkers. Research from the early 1980s until the present has shown a continuous decrease in drinking and driving related variables, which has parallel to the nation's and college age student’s decrease in per capita consumption. However, these declines started in 1980 before the national 1987 law, which mandated states to have twenty-one year old alcohol purchase laws.

Some people believe that the drinking age should remain at the level at which it is and back up their opinion with the belief that young adults are not mature enough to handle the responsibilities that come along with drinking. However, the fact is that young adults, when given the chance to excel will rise to the occasion. The young adults through becoming more educated on alcohol, I feel are able to with stand the challenges that drinking will bring. Also, the decrease in drinking and driving problems is the