[via cognac]There has been a lot of debate when it comes to the legal drinking age here in US. When it comes to law, there is always an opinion, some are for it and some are against. When it comes to the legal drinking age being 21 we are totally against it. Legal drinking age varies by country. Lets see some of the reasons as to why we think the legal drinking age in US should be 18 and not 21. We will start out with the one that almost everyone against the law seems to talk about.
1 An 18 year old in US has the right to vote, and serve in the military. If an 18 year old can make up their mind as to who the potential leader of the country should be and take a bullet for their country, they should have every right to purchase and drink alcohol.
2 It is usually said that an 18 year old has less tolerance as compared to a 21 year old. Although this might be true, in most cases you don’t really know how much you can handle as long as you try it out. Tolerance doesn’t come with age, tolerance come with realization of responsibility and there are people that are more responsible at 15 than some are at 50.
3 Anyone under 21 sees alcohol as a “forbidden fruit.” The curiosity leads to more people under the age of 21 drinking anyway. If drinking is made legal for the 18 and older, it will serve much better as the curiosity isn’t as high and the fruit isn’t forbidden anymore.
4 When in college most students under the age of 21 can get hold of drink through their seniors. They are not allowed to drink at events where others might be able to drink. This once again makes them want to be a rebel and try out what it is they are being kept away from. They will give it a shot. The fact that they don’t know when they will be able to drink again is the reason most college students tend to get overly drunk when they get a chance. As a result there are problems as serious as deaths.
5 Countries such as Italy, China, Greece are some of the countries where the legal drinking age is lower and they seem to have fewer alcohol related problems. Current law in terms of legal drinking age has caused more alcohol related deaths than there has ever been.
6 When drinking is made legal for anyone under the age of 21 and over 18, drinking takes place in public. It can then be supervised by police, security guards and health workers as well.
7 Colleges and Universities often argue that the legal drinking age should be 18 because outlawing alcohol consumption in colleges for those under 21 is making the problem worse. These colleges and universities say that allowing alcohol consumption legally might help cut down alcohol related deaths in colleges.
8 People under the age of 21 tend to drink more when they get hold of alcohol because of the uncertainty as to when they might be able to drink again.
9 Whether the legal drinking age is 21 or 18, there are going to be problems related to alcohol. And making 21 the legal age to drink doesn’t solve that problem. As a matter of fact, this is one of the reason why we see so many alcohol related deaths among teens. They get their hands on alcohol and get overly intoxicated as they are never sure if they will have access to this forbidden fruit ever again until they are 21.
10 An 18 year old is considered an adult and can be tried in court if he makes false judgement and commits a crime. So an 18 year old is capable of making every other decision as an adult but is incapable of making a decision whether or not they should drink? The 21 year old age limit for alcohol consumption sounds somewhat hypocritical.
11 If you are legal to get married at the age of 18 and end up getting married, you are not allowed to drink in your own wedding? That doesn’t sound right.
12 According to a study, 22% of all students under 21 compared to 18% over 21 years of age are heavy drinkers. Among drinkers only, 32% of under age compared to 24% of legal ager are heavy drinkers.
13 If the legal drinking age were to be 18, colleges would be able to regulate alcohol use so students don’t get overly intoxicated. They can be monitored whereas when they are hiding and drinking you can’t really go sniffing their cups or making false accusations.
14 Drinking under the age of 21 is seen by most 18 years and older as a sign of adulthood. They are allowed to do everything else and call themselves an adult and they don’t want to be stopped from being an adult when it comes to drinking.
15 We have tried prohibition legislation twice for controlling irresponsible drinking problems in the past. Once in 1850s and again in the 1920s. These laws were repealed because they could not be enforced and the backlash caused other societal problems. The law didn’t work then and as we all know isn’t working now. It’s time for a change.
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