Should the legal drinking age be lowered, or perhaps, be raised? The debate on the appropriate drinking age has drawn a fine line between the opponents and the proponent. Great minds have differed on the recommended age that should be put in legal framework and allow the teens to engage in drinking alcohol. Some have argued that alcohol has been a part of culture of recreation for many years and as a result, has become a norm and culture even among the teenagers under the minimum drinking age. There are those who have argued that raising the drinking age to be for example, 21 years, has not reduced the likelihood of the underage teenagers intoxicating themselves with alcohol. Thio and Taylor (214) have argued that raising of the drinking age has not successfully stopped teenagers from binge drinking. Instead, there have been numerous reports about young teenagers engaging in binge drinking and other dangerous activities such as substance abuse, sexual activities and dangerous driving. Studies have revealed that there are extensive drinking motives that make the teenagers result to drinking habits compared to the older drinkers. For example, studies have shown that there is the tendency for the youths to form social groups where they can bond in order to reduces anxieties and feel comfortable in a social situation.

Irresponsible drinking behaviors among these social groups have been attributed to lack of controlled environments such as the restaurants, taverns and university functions. Proponents pushing for the legal age to be 18 have argued most problems associated with irresponsible were reported in many colleges after the 21 year old drinking law in 1987. A 2009 study from the “Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs” showed that most college students who had engaged in heavy drinking reported vomiting after drinking, cutting glass after drinking and missing classes because of hangovers. Other problems that were identified included getting lower grades in academic performances and engaging in fight after drinking. All behaviors were indices of irresponsible drinking which were accelerated by “underground drinking” outside the adult supervision since most youths lacked the knowledge of responsible drinking behaviors. In support of the 18 year-old drinking law, the essay will show that despite legal drinking varies from one country to another, allowing the drinking age to be 18 years will lead to responsible behavior.

Why Legal Drinking Age should be 18

Although most countries have considered the legal purchase age to be 21, most students under this age have been consuming alcohol but in an irresponsible way. Tabakoff (389) explained that youths under this age have been viewing drinking as an enticing “forbidden fruit”. In addition, youth under restricted drinking age consider drinking as a symbol of rebellion against the authority and as a badge of adulthood. As a result, curiosity has led more youths under this age in irresponsible drinking habits; however, if drinking was made legal at 18 years, there would be no backlash of the law caused by the social problems.

The National Prohibition law that was implemented in 1920s was repealed because it did not control irresponsible drinking among the youths who were under 21 years of age. Brandon and Brandon (369) explained that many youths that were prohibited by law from drinking alcohol turn to other dangerous drugs such as smoking marijuana; leading to the formation of organized crimes. As a result, prisons and court rooms were overstretched to the breaking point due to the rampant corruption and significant loss in tax revenues. Today, allowing the drinking age to be 21 years will be repeating the mistakes which were made during National Prohibition in 1920s in the United States. Reports showed that accidents among the youths increased when the minimum drinking age was fixed at 21 years.

Another arguing in support of legalizing the drinking age to be 18 years is based on the constitutional rights. According to Brandon (370), an 18 year-old person is considered by the law to be mature and who can make sound judgment. In fact, the court considers that person to be an adult and who can be tried by the court in case he is charged with a crime. Proponents have asserted that if an 18 year-old adult was capable of making every other decision; therefore, he should also be capable of deciding whether or not to drink alcohol. Proponents argue that since citizens of 18 years of age is qualified to vote in an election or join the military and as a result, they should also be allowed to regulate their appetites by drinking responsibly.

Another argument that has been put forward in support of the minimum drinking age to be 18 is that it can lead to the reduction of crime. In the United States, the drinking age has been fixed at 21; however, this has not prevented young people from engaging in drinking sprees. Instead, young people who are “under age” have been vulnerable to drinking habits, causing them to engage in mischievous behaviors such as the sexual assaults and substance abuse. A 2009 fact sheet report from National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) showed that the criminal activity was active among the youths that were under the age of 21 (Tabakoff 389). The report showed that rapid cognitive development took place at the adolescent stage which profoundly affected the future role of the person’s character and the personality formation. The report also showed that although teenagers committed less crimes compared to the adults, these behaviors escalated into criminal lifestyles when they became adults; in absence of effective interventions. Therefore, restricting young adults that are below the age of 21 from drinking alcohol would escalate the deviant behavior to engage more often in drinking habits; increasing their risks of engaging in criminal behaviors. The NCADD report found that “under age” adults who were prohibited by law from drinking alcohol had a greater probability of committing property crime and predatory crime.

There is another argument that has been made against legalizing the minimum drinking age of 21. According to the Academic Press (950), in the United States, there have been many reports of accidents cause by young adults under the age of 18 years compared to the European countries. The main idea in sensitizing young adults in Europe has been to let them understand how to drink responsibly and to know their limits while they are as young as 18 years of age. In addition, accidents rates associated with alcoholism among the teenagers have been lower in European countries because the young adults learn how to drink and drive responsibly. In United States, however, accident has remained the number one killer of young. The minimum drinking law of 21 years has made many “under age” youths to accept alcohol as a magical portion which they can only obtain after making “hard-and-fast” rules. As a result, this has caused many “under age” adults to drink irresponsibly and engage in driving without enough experience; leading to accidents.

There is another benefit to the society that can be brought out by lowering the drinking age to be 18 years by boosting the economy. According to Grant (75), in countries where the minimum age is 21, more people purchase alcohol from outlets which have not been authorized to sell alcohol. Most of these outlets operate in the form of a “black market” whereby their products have not been taxed. As a result, this results in loss of revenues to the government. Conversely, allowing young adults to purchase the alcohol products from restaurants concerts and other outlets that have been given licensed to sell alcohol; can increase tax revenue collected by the government.

There is also another argument that has been made that those who are 18 years of age have less tolerance compared to others who are 21 years of age and above. Tabakoff (365) explained that despite some cases have shown that this is true, those advocating 18 years minimum age argue that people do not know how much alcohol they can handle unless they consume it. Although opponents of 18 year-minimum-drinking age have explained that tolerance comes from age (that adults are more tolerant to alcohol and therefore, more responsible), this perception has been disapproved. Studies have shown that tolerance is not associated with age; rather, it is associated with realization of responsibility. The more people are taught to be responsible for as young as 18 years, the more they will be responsible when they will be 50 years of age. Therefore, legalizing the drinking age to be 18 years would result in more youths being responsible in the future.

Conclusion

Basing on the facts that alcohol is more of an ancient practice in many cultures, the problems associated with drinking cannot be mitigated by preventing young people from drinking. Instead, the main focus should be creating effective interventions that will help the young adults not avoid social pressure that make them to engage in irresponsible drinking. There is societal consensus that contributes to responsible drinking by proposing that young adults of 18 years of age can learn from their parents and adults how to handle alcohol in a responsible way. As such, the legal minimum drinking age should be allowed to be 18 years.

Works Cited

Academic Press. Interventions for Addiction: Comprehensive Addictive Behaviors and

Disorders, Volume 3. New York, NY: Academic Press, 2013. Print.

Brandon, Lee and Kelly Brandon. Paragraphs and Essays: With Integrated Readings. Natorp

Boulevard: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.

Grant, Marcus. Alcohol and Emerging Markets: Patterns, Problems, and Responses. West

Sussex: Routledge, 2013. Print.

Tabakoff, Boris. Medical and Social Aspects of Alcohol Abuse. New York, NY: Springer Science

& Business Media, 2012. Print

Thio, Alex and Jim Taylor. Social Problems. London: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2011. Print.

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