Lowering the Mandatory Legal Drinking Age

                                                           William S. Bowman 

        The United States of America has a long list of laws outlining what is taboo for young adults. Some of these laws are reasonable and promote better living, but others are more controversial. New world ideologies and strong evidence are now posing questions to the validity of certain age restricted activities -- activities like the buying and consuming of alcoholic beverages. Contrary to the vast majority of the world, the United States will send an 18-year-old off to war, but prohibit him/her from drinking a beer. The drinking age in the US is not only unfair to young adults, it impacts the culture of young teens leading to abuse and a negative societal outlook at something that can be looked at as an innocent treat. Young adults (18 and up) across the country, should be allowed to drink in controlled public environments such as pubs, restaurants, and taverns, where they can freely experience responsible drinking practices. Responsible drinking practices begin at home, with parents being their child’s first educator about prudent drinking and can be taught  as part of the Health class curriculum in all public and private schools to reinforce the necessity for responsible behaviors when it comes to consuming alcoholic beverages.

        With only a small demographic (18-20 year-olds) being affected, many Americans don’t see this issue as something worth arguing. But in fact, there are a large variety of benefits both socially and economically that would go along with a lower drinking age. Looking at this from an economic standpoint, lowering the drinking age would boost the economy by creating a higher demand for a surplus of alcoholic beverage production, which can lead to an increase in jobs needed to respond to this new demand. American farmers will have greater demand for their crops that companies use to make different kinds of malts to brew and distill. “More people would legally be able to drink in bars, restaurants, and other licensed establishments. Revenue would increase for private business owners, and greater amounts of tax revenue would be collected by the government.” (procon.org). The more money our government gets in taxes, the more they can fund weak parts of the national budget.

        Public health is a common concern when people think about the lowering of the MLDA (Mandatory Legal Drinking Age), but when referencing other countries around the world, it proves beneficial. Karis Rogerson, a man who moved to the United States from Italy when he was 18 says, “My friends in Italy didn’t spend their weekends going out to get drunk for the fun of it … My friends in America think getting drunk is a high form of entertainment, possibly the highest” (USA Today). This is a huge problem that has developed in teens in the United States due to the unreachability of alcoholic products. In Professor Ruth C. Engs paper, Why The Drinking Age Should Be Lowered, she says, “drinking by these youth is seen as an enticing ‘forbidden fruit,’ a badge of ‘rebellion against authority’ and a symbol of ‘adulthood’” (University of Indiana).

        Young adults, currently under the legal drinking age of 21 in most states, are not the only ones advocating for a lower MLDA. Congressmen Joe Hoppe of Minnesota authors bill HF 2141 that will lower the MLDA from 21 to 19. He believes 18 year olds  would be too young because they could have access to alcohol in high school, but 19 would be more reasonable because it would normally be an age freshman turn in college. Hoppe says that in 1986, when the MLDA in Minnesota was raised from 19 to 21, “The idea was to raise the drinking age to make it safer for young people consuming alcohol … What we’re finding is they’re still consuming alcohol, but now they’re doing it in larger amounts when they get to college ... when they become legal to drink, then they’re drinking a lot in a hurry,” (Starting Line). He even references his daughter who he does not want entering college uneducated or inexperienced with alcohol, to have to make decisions she will not fully understand. Hoppe also believes it is only fair that if you are old enough to go out and fight wars then you should be able to drink alcohol.

        Although lowering the drinking age has a variety of benefits, there is no doubt that an MLDA of 18 has negative attributes. With every human’s body developing at different rates, a large consumption of alcohol can affect the growth and development of a young adult’s brain. With the legal lowering of the drinking age, there must also be a push to educate parents on how to support their children who would therefore have the legal right to consume alcohol at an age younger than 21, in order to avoid the negative habit-forming behaviors youths may exhibit if they are not emotionally and intellectually mature enough to handle alcohol. A point that also must be stated, because it is often neglected whenever an age requirement is changed in the legalizing of anything that formerly held a different age requirement is this: just because a person under the age of 21 is granted the right to legally purchase and drink alcoholic beverages, not every young adult age 18-20 will choose to do so. It is one’s freedom to exercise this right or not. This is one of the great parts about living in a democratic society.

        A MLDA of 21 has proven to lower car accident fatalities among 18-20 year olds. “100 of the 102 analyses (98%) in a 2002 meta-study of the legal drinking age and traffic accidents found higher legal drinking ages associated with lower rates of traffic accidents” (Journal of studies on Alcohol 2002). The possibility of an 18-20 year old to go to a store and purchase alcohol is often thwarted, due to the obvious missing part of the purchasing of alcohol equation = a valid driver’s license with a birthdate that equates to a 21 year old individual. While it is a possibility that some liquor stores have the reputation of selling to minors, (and this word of mouth spreads feverishly amongst minors), most establishments weigh their liabilities to selling to minors and choose to follow the law to avoid losing their stores and their livelihoods, which makes it extremely difficult for an underage drinker to acquire alcohol of their own fruition. As noted by a well respected news organization, the 21 year old age requirement has decreased the number of underage drinkers (but people still begin drinking on average between the ages of 15-16) (CNN.com).

        At age 18, a young adult is given the privilege to vote for his/her community, state, and country’s governmental officials, can enlist in a branch of the armed forces, and is considered an adult, yet is still unable to consume a beer, a glass of wine or other alcoholic beverage with friends of the same age or even their parents, which is a right of all adults a mere three years older than themselves. What does the three year age gap do to protect an 18 year old from consuming alcohol? It does nothing. In fact, it makes the lure of trying alcohol as an underage consumer all the more mysterious, desirous and attractive. College freshman find themselves on campus, surrounded by others who freely consume alcohol whether they are 21 or not, and mostly, to be frank, are not.

        It would be a great benefit to young adults age 18-20 to be allowed to purchase and consume alcohol legally, and be able to gradually accept the responsibility to do so. By changing our law to lower the drinking age, we also must change our perception as a country about what we truly consider the age of legal adults. How can we place the same high status and importance we grant 18 year olds with their responsibility to make the mature decision to choose a leader for their country as well as to commit to wear the uniform of an army for which they will bear arms to defend our country’s freedom, yet tell them they may not buy or consume alcohol. It is unfair and unjust to not grant an 18 year old the full rights of adulthood, and continue to restrict them from buying and consuming alcohol. This law needs to be changed and can be if enough people vote accordingly and as they truly should, to lower the MLDA.

References

Alexander C. Wagenaar and Traci L. Toomey, (2002) "Effects of Minimum Drinking Age Laws:

Review and Analyses of the Literature from 1960 to 2000," Journal of Studies on

Alcohol.

Brandon Griggs, (2015). “Should the U.S. lower the drinking age?” CNN.com.

Karis Rogerson, (2014). “Why America should lower the legal drinking age”, College Life, USA

Today.

Procon.org (2015) “Should the Drinking Age be Lowered From 21 to a Younger age?”

Ruth C. Engs, Professor, (1998). “Why The drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based

on research”, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.

Starting Line, (2015). “Interview with congressman Joe Hoppe”, swnewsmedia.com.