Drinking Age Controversy
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The appropriate legal age for drinking alcohol has long been a matter of debate. College students and other teenagers believe they should be allowed to drink at 18, or even younger, while many parents and other authorities feel that the age of 21 is a more appropriate age. The government perennially reviews the legal drinking age in response to complaints from both sides of the controversy, but to date, it has allowed the states to determine the drinking age for themselves. Like other debates such as abortion and euthanasia, the one over drinking age is a political hot potato that many politicians refuse to touch. The debate is also characterized by heated emotional opinions on both sides that override the facts and make the issue confusing for many. This paper will examine the issues on both sides of the controversy, offering clarification on disputed points, insight on the ethics and morality governing the issue, and recommendations for a reasonable decision concerning what age to make the legal drinking age.Arguments for Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 Many people feel that the reasons behind a 21-year-old drinking age are either inaccurate or insufficient. There are parents, in fact, who teach their children to drink at home from an early age, pointing out that their parents did this with them and they have not had a drinking problem as adults (ôHow to Reduce High-Risk College Drinking: Use Proven Strategies, Fill Research Gap
. . .
both instances the courts upheld the constitutionality of the laws and based their decision partially on ôthe demonstrated value of age 21 laws in preventing traffic crashesö (ôHow To Reduce High-Risk College Drinking: Use Proven Strategies, Fill Research Gapsö).
The argument that withholding alcohol from teens only increases their attraction to it cannot justify allowing them to drink anymore than allowing them to have sex, do drugs, or engage in any other high-risk behaviors can serve as an antidote for their fascination with it. Parents need to teach their teens how to handle temptation successfully, not allow them to give in to everything they want to do. Furthermore, ôEarly legal access to alcohol is associated with higher rates of drinking as an adult,ö making the assertion exactly the opposite of the truth (ôHow To Reduce High-Risk College Drinking: Use Proven Strategies, Fill Research Gapsö).
The argument that the lower teen alcohol-related crashes in states where the drinking limit has been raised to 21 has nothing to do with that limit is facetious:
When the age 21 restriction was initiated, alcohol-involved highway crashes declined immediately (i.e., starting the next month) among the 18- to 20-year-old population
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Approximate Word count = 2745
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)
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