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Sarah Baker
Ms. Caruso
UWRT 1103
February 29, 2016

Why 21?
Recently I talked with my mom about when she was my age and what her and her friends
did for fun. She talked about how they would have parties, but they were allowed to drink
because the drinking age was 18. This got me interested as to why it was raised to 21 and if thats
the best age for it to be at.
My first question of interest was why the law was raised to 21. In an article done by CNN
I found that the law was raised in 1984 under Ronald Reagans presidency. Each state was given
an option to raise it, but if they didnt they wouldnt get back their full highway funds. The
reason the government made the bribe of raising the drinking age highway funds is due to the
fact that over half of alcohol related car accidents were the result of drivers ages 16 to 20
(Christensen). The other side of the law being raised is medically and psychologically related. In
a study done by the CDC researchers found that 21 is the safest drinking age because it allows
the brain to develop more fully. Teens who are underage and drink are more likely to have
problems in school, problems related to memory, a greater suicide/homicide rate, and many more
difficulties than those who wait until they are 21 to drink. Along with these consequences the

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CDC states, Youth who drink alcohol are more likely to experience changes in brain
development that may have life-long effects (CDC).
After reading about why it was raised I was still curious as to why people would want it
lowered again because the reasons given for why it was raised were strong and valid points. I
researched why the drinking age should be lowered and found two strong arguments for it. The
first article I came across was in the New York Times and focused on how it increases the health
risks of teenagers because high school and college kids view dangerous binge drinking as a rite
of passage. This got me thinking of how many teens are getting sick or even dying because of
their binge drinking. I remember one girl in my class in high school got alcohol poisoning our
junior year. As the article went on, Gabrielle Glaser told about a study she found, A 2009 study
published in The Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs found that between 1998 and 2005,
the number of cases of alcohol poisoning deaths among 18-24 year olds tripled, jumping from
779 cases to 2,290 (Glaser). After reading this statistic I began wondering if the law was
causing more teenage deaths than before. President Reagans goal of lowering drunk driving
accidents was achieved, but worse problems could be the result. Along with the consumption of
alcohol rising to an unsafe level in teens, they now have to drink while trying to not get caught
by the police. Letting kids drink at 18 will allow them to be more responsible and get in less
trouble (Glaser). A research article by Ruth C. Engs from Indiana University goes hand-in-hand
with Glasers idea of teaching kids to drink responsibly at a younger age and reducing the trouble
teens get in with the law. Within places that they can be monitored, teens that are at least 18
should be able to drink. This can teach them responsible and controlled drinking. The current
drinking law of 21 entices underage kids to drink in order to defy the law. This form of their
drinking is considered binge and could be even more dangerous than what could come of them

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being able to legally drink for an extra three years. Most college students between the ages of 18
and 20 illegally drink alcohol even with the risk of getting a drinking ticket. The students who
are the ones underage drinking do it either because they think it will make them appear cooler
and older for breaking the law or because they think since they are in college and living on their
own they should be allowed to legally drink (Engs). These two sources together make a strong
case for lowering the law. Looking at Glasers and Engs arguments cause me to rethink my view
of the law to lowering it back to 18. If kids could start drinking at home with their parents before
going off to college they would be used to the idea of hanging out with friends and being a
controlled drinker. Parents could keep an eye on their kids and make sure they teach them their
limits, making kids more aware of how to safely drink.
Ever since I can remember there has been an uproar about how at 18 you can risk your
life serving your country, but you cant have an alcoholic beverage. The Baltimore Sun, a
newspaper in Maryland, wrote an article about lowering the drinking age to 18 just for military
men and women. Military members wouldnt be allowed to have things with liquor such as shots
and martinis, but would be allowed to have beer and wine in public places like bars. The biggest
problem with this suggestion is that if Maryland does proceed with this new law, they would lose
about 10 percent of the highway funds they receive every year (Cox). If the law isnt going to be
changed to all 18 year olds, I definitely agree with this article in lowering it for military members
because they do work hard to keep us safe and to keep our freedom.
Discovering the controversy of the drinking age led me to wonder what the drinking ages
of other countries are. When I visited Mexico over the summer I was legally allowed to buy
alcohol because they have a drinking age law of 18 or older. A chart done about the drinking age
of 190 countries tells the minimum drinking age of each country along with notes about the laws

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the countries have. From this chart we see that the US is one of twelve countries with a drinking
age of 21, while 172 countries have laws of 18-19 or lower. Of these 172 countries, 19 of them
dont have any drinking restrictions. Most of the countries without restrictions have low alcohol
related accidents and deaths (procon.org). Discovering this has pushed me more in favor of
lowering the law back down to 18. If these countries can have less problems when any age can
drink than we can in America with our more strict drinking laws, why arent we following in
their footsteps?
Before I started researching this topic, I agreed with the law being at 21 because it
seemed like the best and safest idea in the long run. After researching, I began seeing the
problems with teen drinking and how most binge drink because they can only get so much
alcohol at a time since they cant buy it on their own. President Reagan had the best intentions
when he raised it and even succeeded in his goal, but what wasnt realized then was the health
problems it could cause for underage drinkers. Upon completing the research I changed my
standpoint on the law. Letting teens learn to drink in controlled environments such as when they
are with their parents in a restaurant could lead to less binge drinking and result in a decrease of
the alcohol poison level. If changing the law to accustom all 18 year olds is too much, I think
that it should definitely be lowered for people in the military.

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Sources
Christensen, Jen. 21: Sciences Limit When It Comes to the Drinking Age. CNN. 15
Jul. 2014. Web. 2 Feb. 2016. www.cnn.com.
Cox, Erin. "If You Can Die for Your Country, Should You Be Able to Drink Beer?" The
Baltimore Sun. 27 Feb. 2015. Web. 29 Feb. 2016. www.baltimoresun.com.
Facts Sheet- Underage Drinking." The Centers for Disease Control. 12 Nov. 2015. Web. 2
Feb. 2016. www.cdc.gov.
Glaser, Gabrielle. Return the Drinking Age to 18, and Enforce It. The New York Times.
10 Feb. 2015. Web. 4 Feb. 2016. www.nytimes.com
Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) of 190 Countries. ProCon.org. 25 Aug. 2015.
Web. 6 Feb. 2016. www.procon.org.

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