The Pros And Cons Of The Drinking Age

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The Drinking age is a very controversial issue, especially in the United States. Almost all of the 50 states in the US have the law of 21 being the minimum drinking age. However, there are some states in the US where underage drinking is allowed on a state-by-state basis; for example if it is consumed at home, for medical necessity, for religious or educational purposes, under adult supervision, and other reasons There are many young people that drink, some regularly and some excessively. In US colleges, there is a lot of excessive drinking because of all the frat parties, to an extent that some universities have decided to prohibit drinking alcohol on-campus, like Dartmouth. This is where we need to ask ourselves, what is the main reason of the problem? What is the root of this unhealthy drinking culture? In this analysis, I study the factors of binge drinking and the legal age. We should analyze the ethics behind both sides of the argument. People who agree with lowering the legal drinking age from 21 believe that this law did not help with stopping drinking among teens, but instead encouraged binge drinking into private and uncontrolled environments. The more teens drink, the more health and life-endangering behavior by teens increases. According to The National Institutes of Health (NIH), "Alcohol is the drug of…show more content…
And even if at 18 people are considered adults, they are not completely ready to handle alcohol responsibly. Therefore the minimum drinking age should stay 21 because people are a lot more mature and responsible at 21 than at the age of 18. And as we have seen, abusing alcohol only leads to dangerous situations and puts everyone at risk. To conclude, the safest choice for everyone, whether for kids or adults, is to keep the minimum legal drinking age
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