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Benefits of lowering Legal Drinking Age
Laws governing the Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) define the minimum age at which a person may legally buy alcoholic drinks. In the United States, the MLDA is 21 years. The legally permissible drinking age, however, differed from state to state before the enactment of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984. This paper discusses the benefits of lowering the MLDA. The drinking age should be lowered so as to make the teenagers understand their responsibilities as adults. It will help them engage with family and friends more. It will reduce the number of crimes that come with it. It will also give the society the view that drinking is also a form of celebrating. Lastly lowering the MLDA will improve the economy.
Eighteen is the age of adulthood in the United States, and adults should have the right to make their own decisions about alcohol consumption. Therefore, if they cannot make their own decisions when they are being considered adults it will not make them feel like adults (Fell et al. 256). Instead, they will continue behaving like children with no responsibilities whatsoever. By allowing them to have an opinion and responsibility in drinking etiquette, they start drinking responsibly at a young age. This is because allowing 18- to 20-year-olds to consume alcohol in regulated environments with supervision would decrease unsafe drinking activity (Fell et al. 259). If they see that you trust them in drinking responsibly they will not see the need to do it recklessly. They will also be exposed to the dangers of irresponsible drinking at an early age which will prompt them to drink responsibly.
Most countries with a MLDA of 18, have very few numbers or road fatalities and accidents. This is because the citizens are exposed to responsible drinking at an early age and they clearly understand that drunken driving may lead to mortality and severe road accidents (Saffer & Grossman 515). It has also been noticed that accidents caused by drunk driving are very few with regards to all the road accidents in the United States. Therefore, the minimum legal drinking age has nothing to do with most accidents in the US. Another benefit of lowering MLDA from twenty one to eighteen is that there will be no hype of getting a drink illegally. It has been noted that teenagers try to do the opposite of what they are told, especially if you are doing it (Guo et al. 2). This is a matter of preaching water and drinking wine, literally. If they are allowed to consume alcohol at a younger age, they will not see the need to go all the way to acquire a fake identification card in order to get drinks. It clearly shows that having 21 as the set MLDA, makes them do more crimes.
As much as the minimum legal drinking age has been set at 21, teenagers are still found to be consuming alcohol. This is mainly due to factors such as peer pressure, where teens hype each other to consume alcohol. There is also the possibility of inheriting the drinking habit from family or close friends the teen spend so much time with (Fell et al. 253). This type of drinking in most cases is not responsible since it is a monkey see monkey do kind of scenario. How people view alcohol is also a factor that promotes drinking in younger ages. A teenager who has the expectation that drinking comes with an amazing experience is more likely to drink compared to those who don’t. therefore, since most teenagers are already exposed to drinking, it is only wise that they are trained on how to do it responsibly and lowering the MLDA.
The fact that people are already breaking the law by not following the MLDA 21 as a government regulation proves that other laws can also be broken. It is impossible to break the MLDA without breaking a few other rules (Fell et al. 252). First in order for a teenager to acquire alcohol, one will need a fake ID. The production of fake IDs has become a booming black market business which teenagers have access to. Most teens end up joining the cartels which show them illegal ways of making quick money. These illegal ways include crime and robbery with or without violence. Legalizing 18 as the MLDA will reduce the need to get a fake ID and therefore reduce the interaction with black market cartels (Guo et al. 5). MLDA 21 policies are not highly enhanced by law enforcers. The enforcers feel like there are more critical laws to enhance in such as illegal procession of drugs such as cocaine, heroine and marijuana. Therefore lowering the minimum drinking age to 18 will not cause a big problem to the law enforcers.
Statistics have shown that having MLDA at 21 has nothing to do with vandalism, suicide or homicide. Teenagers who are not well brought up and exposed to irresponsillity are likely to get involved with crime with or without alcohol. Parents and guardians should therefore ensure that their kids grow well with a healthy mentality and an urge to own up to their own responsibility (Fell et al. 256). Lowering the drinking age to when they are still under supervision will enable parents to see how responsible teenagers can be when they get bigger responsibilities such as families and work. Another reason why the legal drinking age should be lowered is that drinking is fun, especially when with family and friends. In most events, gatherings or celebrations, alcoholic drinks are always available (Fell et al. 249). Champagnes are used to toast in weddings, birthdays and new beginnings. Society has chosen to discriminate drinking by considering the disadvantages when setting a MLDA. Drinking helps people loosen up and become more open with one another. In this case a teenager at 18 can easily bond with family and friends over a drink or two but in a responsible manner.
Lowering MLDA 21 would decrease the number of youths that are injured from alcohol induced accidents due to fear of legal consequences if they sought medical attention (Saffer & Grossman 511). Most teenagers do not seek medical attention since they fear ending up in prison or judgment from parents and society. They may die or get severe infections from their wounds. Lastly, lowering the minimum drinking age would create significant improvement to the country’s economy (Fell et al. 251). With more people getting access to alcohol, there will be a lot of buying which will mean business for the producers and a lot of revenue will be earned by the government. In conclusion, lowering the minimum drinking age has a lot of benefits as much as the society would disagree.
Works Cited
Fell, James C., et al. “Assessing the impact of twenty underage drinking laws.” Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs 77.2 (2016): 249-260.
Guo, Lan, et al. “Alcohol use and alcohol-related problems among adolescents in China: a large-scale cross-sectional study.” Medicine 95.38 (2016).Saffer, Henry, and Michael Grossman. “13. Beer Taxes, the Legal Drinking Age, and Youth Motor Vehicle Fatalities.” Determinants of Health. Columbia University Press, 2017. 509-533.
