The United States’ minimum legal drinking should stay at 21 years old. Researchers have found that drinking alcohol while the brain is still developing can lead to long-lasting deficits in cognitive functions, including learning and memory.
Many teenagers are not aware of the risks that come with drinking at a young age. Lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 will only allow a greater fragment of the population to drink alcohol in bars and nightclubs, which are known to be unsafe environments. Nightclubs expose young kids to violence. In 1988, a review was made by the U.S. General Accounting Office. It found that raising the drinking age reduced youth drinking, youth driving after drinking, and alcohol-related traffic accidents among youth. Despite the legal drinking age being 21 years old in the U.S., alcohol continues to be the most commonly used substance among young adults.
On the opposing side, Britannica states that bringing the national drinking age to 18 would ultimately decrease the thrill teenagers get from breaking the law to get an illegal drink. Some students believe that they should be able to drink at the age of 18. Nick Katits, a Pennridge student, says, “There are too many things that have been pushed to 21. We should lower it to 18. We can be drafted into war for our country, but we can’t drink or smoke.” Along with this statement, Katits points out that if the age changes to 18, a limit should be set in place until you are 21.
When asking a former student from Pennridge High School, David Ferry, what he thinks would decrease the number of underage alcohol drinkers, he says, “By making it harder to get. The punishments should be harsher. Instead of a fine, or your driver’s license getting revoked, they should go to jail. Harsher punishments would be a good deterrent.” He mentions that young adults don’t realize the long-lasting consequences. Ferry says, “Kids are not aware of what alcohol does to your body, and if you get caught with it, it will permanently be on your record. It then makes it harder to get a job or get accepted into a college.” Going forward, the parents and guardians of the child should be held responsible. This is until the young adult turns 21 years old. It would have a larger impact if it weren’t just on the kid’s record. It will ultimately make the parents and guardians more inclined to do something about it. If a guardian and parent knew that it could show up on their record, alcohol would become harder to obtain.
Sources:
file:///C:/Users/S230790/Downloads/Exposure_to_alcohol_advertisin.pdf
file:///C:/Users/S230790/Downloads/Reducing_Youth_Access_to_Alcoh.pdf
https://www.georgialegalreport.com/teen-clubs-safe-minors-nightclub-safety/#:~:text=While%20%E2%80%9CUnder%2D21%20Clubs%2C,to%20drugs%2C%20sex%20and%20violence.
