Drinking Age in the US
In the 21st century, the United States has designated 21 years of age as the minimum drinking age. This is referred to as the minimum legal drinking age. Previously, this drinking age has been lowered to 20, 19 and even 18. This follows the lowering of the legal age for performing other activities of the state for instance voting which is done at the minimum age of 18 years. This drinking age was made a law of the nation in 1984. Having a minimum drinking age stated long time ago in the United States. At first, it was taken as a means of making alcohol outlawed. Drinking age was also refereed to as prohibition. It was in 1919 that the constitution went through its 18th amendment and ratification. In the 21st amendment, there was the establishment of the modern age for drinking.
Following the Vietnam War, arguments were that for people to be able to fight in foreign war which would mean the deaths of some if not many of them, they should be permitted to take privilege in alcohol. This is when the drinking age was lowered to 18 years of age in many states. This generation of people a lot of political muscle and after they years there was the gaining of some liberty which had been lost. However, this was not all positive and the nation was loosing on productive people. This is what led to the modern prohibition. In the late seventies and eighties, campaign was that alcohol at a teenage age had been a big problem and even turning out of control. It is because of this campaign that there was the alcohol legislation which was put under the 1984 national minimum drinking age act.
The states were required to raise the minimum drinking age to 21. This gained the support of many states. Finally, the bill was created and gained upon by many people. According to Lund (2007) there are many benefits associated with the 21 year old drinking age. Further, by educating teens on alcohol, the problem of teen use and abuse of alcohol is dealt with. Research showed that there was a higher likelihood of those who started the habit of drinking at a young age drinking heavily while in college. Further, this would result to other problems related to alcohol for instance they would have troubles at their places of work, with their family and even friends. That is why there should be regulations limiting the age at which children should start drinking.
There are various consequences of low minimum legal drinking age. Having a focus on motor vehicle accidents, young people under the influence of alcohol will cause more accidents and thus leading to many deaths among the teenagers. In the 1970s when the minimum legal drinking age was lowered, it was observed that there were increased numbers of car accidents (Wagenaar, 1983). This is because young people will tend less responsibility in their actions. For instance, for the young people and especially under the influence of alcohol, over speeding will be seen as a way of showing off and pride. Therefore, this is most likely to cause many vehicle accidents. A research carried out by Voas, Tippetts & Fell (2002) revealed that the raising of the minimum legal age for drinking was effective towards the reduction of fatal accidents and crashes that involved drinking drivers. This was made effective by also establishing a zero tolerance alcohol concentration in blood and thus limiting drivers younger than the age of 21 years.
Research has proved that a higher drinking age is effective and especially in the reduction of injuries and deaths that are related to alcohol and especially among the youths. Therefore, by raising the minimum drinking age to 21 years, many young people are saved. This is because it is a more mature age and thus the youths will be more responsible for their drinking and their action when they go drinking. Therefore, the minimum drinking age of 21 years saves many youths in the United States since problems that are alcohol-related are also reduced.
In the United States, three quarters of the deaths of youths is associated with injuries that are unintentional, car accidents, suicide and homicide. Alcohol abuse contributes greatly towards these causes. For instance, research revealed that alcohol abuse and especially at a young age will lead to the abuse of other hard substances for example cocaine. That is these teenagers may end up being depressed in the future. Further, teenagers will tend to be more sexually active. Therefore, they will involve in sexual intercourse and without the use of condoms (Grunbaum et al., 2004). This then puts them at greater risks of conducting STDs, HIV and unwanted pregnancies. Further, they will also inject themselves with other drugs which are illegal.
Drinking under the age of 21 poses great risks to the teenager as well as the society they live in though by the time they reach the age of 21, many adolescents will have had at least one drink. However, this does not imply that drinking should be legalized for teenagers. It should stay at the age of 21 years since this will also limit the chances of teenagers abusing alcohol. Among the consequences of teenage drinking is brain damage. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2003) adolescents are highly vulnerable to brain damage that is induced by alcohol when compared with those of 21 years and above. This then has a direct effect on their school performance. Therefore, it is essential to intervene early and thus avoid the later alcohol dependence in life. This is especially to the youths of ages 12 to 20 years.
Because of use of alcohol, teenagers will be stressed and depressed and may thus result to becoming suicidal. It is in this age that sexual assault is prevalent. Research has shown that use of alcohol by both the victim and the offender or one of them increases the probability of the adolescents being sexually abused. In the adolescence stage, the adolescents are in a transition from childhood to adulthood. Thus, several changes are bound to occur to them including brain development and other body changes. For instance, it is in this stage that socializing will be high, people will tend to try out new things. Thus, if the teenagers indulge in alcohol, the process of brain development will be impaired. This then results to cognitive impairment. This then affects them not only academically but occupationally as well. Research has shown that they is a likelihood of brain damage that is induced by alcohol persisting to adulthood. For instance, a research on adolescents of 17 years showed that those that used alcohol had a smaller hippocampus, this is the brain section essential for memory and learning, as compared to their counterparts who did not begin drinking at an early age. This then shows that alcohol affects both intellect and behavior of adolescents (NIAAA, 2003).
It is evident that the minimum age of drinking should be maintained at 21 years. At an earlier age, the mind is still developing and the levels of taking responsibility are low. This is an age where peer pressure will be high and thus the teenagers will not act out of reason but pressure and emotion. Thus, it is a good move that the minimum age was raised to 21 years so as to save the young people. Further, delay in alcohol use provide the person with better chances of not developing alcohol related problems in their future life (Arnold-Burger, 2008). For instance, when they start drinking early, adolescents may reach a point where their habits will be irreversible. Therefore, when they lack funds, they will result to crime so as to get money for alcohol and other drugs. A result of addiction.
However, imposing laws to have minimum drinking age at 21 years is not enough. There has to be prevention as well as treatment programs for the teenagers. This ensures that the factors that lead to the drinking at such an early age are determined. These may be environmental, social or even personal factors (Weitzman, Nelson & Wechsler, 2003). For instance, a child may indulge in alcohol because of past experiences like growing up in an abusive family. It can also be due to peer pressure or even curiosity. Thus, education is very important since in these programs, the teenagers are able to communicate their problems and be educated on the consequences of underage drinking and the need to shun way from it. Further, policy changes are important since they help in the reduction of teenage access to alcohol. This then leads to decrease in the harmful effects of teenage drinking.
References
Arnold-Burger, K. (2008). The top five reasons we should keep the drinking age at 21. Retrieved on April 12, 2011 from: http://4prevention.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/the-top-five-reasons-we-should-keep-the-drinking-age-at-21/.
Grunbaum, J.A. et al. (2004). Youth risk behavior surveillance–United States, 2003. Morbidity and Mortality weekly report. Volume 53 (2), p.1-96.
Lund, A. (2007). Protecting teens from the dangers of alcohol use and abuse: wishful thinking versus science. Retrieved on April 12, 2011 from: http://www.iihs.org/research/topics/min_drinking_age/default.html.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, (2003). Underage Drinking: A Major Public Health Challenge. Retrieved on April 12, 2011 from: http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa59.htm.
Voas, R.B., Tippetts, S.A. & Fell, J.C. (2002). Assessing the effectiveness of minimum legal drinking age and zero tolerance laws in the United States. Accident analysis and prevention. Volume 35 (4), p. 579-587.
Wagenaar, A.C. (1983). Alcohol, Young Drivers, and Traffic Accidents. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
Weitzman, E.R., Nelson, T.F. & Wechsler, H. (2003). Taking up binge drinking in college: The influences of person, social group, and environment. Journal of Adolescent Health. Volume 32(1), p. 26–35.
Is this your assignment or some part of it?
We can do it for you! Click to Order!
