Nick Fuerst

Christine Olding
College Writing II
13th May 2016
21 and Over
Everyone has heard the saying You can fight and die for this country but you
cant have a beer. The national legal drinking age has been a topic of debate for the
past several decades. As one of only a handful of countries that have the drinking age
of twenty one citizens are starting to wonder if the drinking age should be lowered. The
United States has had several revisions in determining a minimum legal drinking age
within the past years. At one time alcohol was considered to be an illegal substance
during the prohibition until 1933 (Miron 6). However after many years the United States
settled on the minimum drinking age of twenty one. There are several reasons in which
the age twenty one was chosen but there is also a substantial amount of information
and theorists that believe it should be lowered. In order to understand how the United
States came to this conclusion and whether it is the right conclusion, statistics and
records of information must be observed in order to determine the age in which an
individual should have the right to consume an alcoholic beverage. Looking at the
history of alcohol in the United states is important in determining why the legal drinking
age is twenty one and whether it should be lower. Health risks are also important to
determine a proper age as exposure to alcohol at too young of an age can lead to
serious health risks. Finally, the effects of alcohol consumption in settings such as

college can provide further information on the effects of alcohol on individuals,

individuals who are underage, as well as the effect of alcohol on the roads.
The abolishment of the prohibition in 1933 lead to the creation of the 21st
amendment, the only amendment to repeal a prior amendment. The 21st amendment
repealed the 18th amendment, that established the prohibition of alcoholic beverages in
the United States (Miron 6). This is a very unique moment in United States history
because of the repeal and ratification within the same amendment. Alcohol was now
legal for the first time in the United States in over a decade. Some state legislations
began to set sanctions setting twenty one years old as the legal drinking age. The state
legislations had come to the conclusion that the drinking age should be the age of
majority. The age of majority was considered to be the point in time when an
individual is able to be self dependent and considered to be an adult. (Miron 7) Although
not all states agreed that twenty one should be the legal drinking age. These states
decided to enforce their own minimum legal drinking age until the early 1970s when the
6th amendment was passed. The 6th amendment allowed citizens of the United States
to vote at the age of eighteen instead of twenty one. (Miron 7) Now that eighteen was
now considered the reasonable age to be considered an adult many states lowered
their drinking age as well. Thirty states had lowered their minimum legal drinking age to
eighteen which meant that only twenty one states had a legal drinking age of twenty
one. The law changed once again in 1984 when the National Minimum Drinking Age Act
was passed by congress giving states an ultimatum. All states were required to have
twenty one as the minimum legal drinking age or enforce a 10% loss of federal highway
funds which would in turn require a raise in taxes. Some states did not cooperate for

several years and it was not until 1988 that all fifty states had twenty one as the legal
drinking age. (Miron 6) However, the Minimum Drinking age Act did not outlaw
consumption of alcohol to those under age. Certain circumstances such as parental
consent and private settings allowed those under the age of twenty one to consume
alcohol. This would set the United States as one of four countries at the time with a
drinking age over eighteen years old. The drinking age has not changed since but that
does not stop some states from proposing a lower minimum drinking age.
Looking at the health consequences and safety aspects that are involved with
alcohol is very important to consider when determining when an individual is old enough
to drink. Consumption of alcohol can lead to behavior changes that can put ones health
at risk. Alcohol is known to cause unsafe sexual behavior, drug use, operation of a
vehicle while intoxicated, as well as other health risks. Alcohol is known to be a harmful
substance especially when an individual is exposed to alcohol at a young age.
Underage alcohol consumption can negatively affect neurological development of the
brain. Alcohol is also a central nervous system depressant making an individual think,
talk, and act more slowly (Alcohols Damaging Effects on the Brain). Heavy exposure to
alcohol before the brain fully develops can have massive health consequences. In fact,
most males do not have a fully developed brain until the age of twenty five. This means
that even individuals old enough to legally drink will still be doing damage to their brain
when consuming substantial amounts of alcohol leading to mental disorders. Alcohols
health risk to users are far much more severe when the brain is still developing.
Adolescents that were exposed to alcohol showed worse brain functions of both impulse
and reasoning skills (Alcohols Damaging Effects on the Brain). However alcohol not

only is damaging to those who are younger but also has health risks when consumed
over a long period of time. All individuals, regardless of age, are put at risk for such as
damage to the heart and nerve damage. These facts are not meant to sound
intimidating or scary but one must consider all the risks of alcohol use when deciding
the best age to start consuming it. This health concern was one of the main reasons
that the National Minimum Drinking Age Act set the legal age at twenty one.
One of the biggest risks of the consumption of alcohol is its effect on the roads.
Drinking and driving can be one of the most dangerous and fatal activities performed by
those under the influence. Fatal accidents due to intoxicated drivers has skyrocketed
over the past several years and it is attracting a lot of attention.Over the past several
years law enforcement has been stepping up when it comes to drunk driving. Officers
are on the lookout for drivers that may have consumed too much alcohol and are driving
over the legal limit of a .08 blood alcohol content (Laws and Regulations). Courtrooms
are also acting as a deterrent as judges are increasing penalties for DUIs in hopes to
prevent more accidents. As discussed when looking at the health risks, alcohol is a
depressant slowing down thought process and motor skills of the brain. These are
arguably the two most important facts when driving a motor vehicle. Drinking alcohol
and driving shows a massive risk increase to those in the vehicle and those on the road.
Organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving are helping to spread awareness
of the dangers of getting behind the wheel while intoxicated. One of the factors that was
looked at when determining the national drinking age was its effects on the roads in
those under the age of twenty one. When looking at states with a lower drinking age
there was a substantial increase of alcohol related motor vehicle accidents. Further

testing after the National Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed showed that there was
a 60% decrease in alcohol related accidents in people ages eighteen to twenty one.
This fact alone shows the huge impact that the act had across the United States. These
statistics were enough to convince the legislature that the National Minimum Drinking
age was keeping the countys roads safer and to deny any state that tried to lower their
states legal drinking age. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported
that over nine hundred traffic deaths have been prevented every year since the act was
put in place (Laws and Regulations). However these statistics may not be all that
reliable. Number of accidents related to alcohol could have been lower due to the
increase in stricter laws enforced by law enforcement officers in the past several years.
Tougher drunk driving laws and penalties have been argued to have a far bigger
increase in the deterrence of drunk driving and scaring those underage from getting
behind a wheel. In fact stricter laws and penalties have lead to a decrease in alcohol
related accidents in individuals of all ages. Facing a bigger risk and punishment when
operating a vehicle while intoxicated has helped convince individuals that the reward of
driving home might not be worth it. However to get a better understanding of the effects
of alcohol one must look at a place in which alcohol is consumed in mas quantities on a
regular basis, college.
College is known as one of the most fun times in a person's life. It is the time in
which individuals can find themselves, meet their spouse, and engage in an endless
amount of partying with friends. College is also known for binge drinking in both as of
age individuas and uderage individuals. These specific locations provide us with plenty
of learning opportunities in order to gain more information and research on the effects of

alcohol. College can be a very stressful time with the amount of school work, student
loans, part time or even full time jobs. Looking to release some stress consumption of
alcohol is one of the most common ways in which college students try to relax. This
includes binge drinking with friends at parties and bars. However this mass amount of
drinking can affect those not even consuming alcohol. The college and party setting
encourages consumption of mass amounts of alcohol. This in turn encourages those
who are not drinking to join in on the festivities and those who are to drink more. This
encourgaes under age consumption as well as binge drinking underage consumption.
Recent surveys has shown that over 80% of college individuals take part in drinking and
parties regularly on the weekends (Straus, Bacon, 12). This includes all college
students, those both of age and underage.Consumption of alcohol also has also shown
to an increase in likelihood of drug use. Marijuana is one of the most common illegally
abused substance on college campuses and the easy accessibility to it has shown an
increase as well (Straus, Bacon, 17). Alcohol consumption in college has shown no
decline over the past years. Access to alcohol is becoming easier to those underage as
well as the access to more serious offences such as fake identification. This type of
environment provides a substantial increase in the risks of consuming alcohol due to the
setting in which binge drinking is heavily encourages. Underage drinking is also heavily
encouraged which can lead to brain damage and more.
The United States has shown plenty of revisions and repeals on its stance
concerning the legal drinking age throughout the country's history. Legislatures began to
look at statistics and recorder information in order to determine the best age in which an
individual should be exposed to alcohol. Many states has different opinions on what the

age should be and it took several years for the United States to pass the National
Minimum Legal Drinking Age Act setting the minimum age to twenty one. Health
research shows that exposure to alcohol before a brain is fully developed can
dramatically increase health risks. Those of age are still at risk for some of the health
risks that are concerned long term exposure to alcohol on the body. Looking at traffic
records has shown a substantial decrease in alcohol related motor vehicle accidents in
those under twenty one since the act was passed. An increase in punishment for
violating alcohol related driving laws has also helped deter individuals of all ages not to
get behind the wheel after drinking. Increase in training and law enforcement officers
targeting drivers over the legal blood alcohol content has also acted as a deterrent in
order to lower the fatality rate on the roads. Looking at the effects of alcohol and on
individuals in college has shows the effects of alcohol as well as the types of setting it
can create in order to increase health risks. The debate of the national minimum
drinking age of the United States has been a large topic of debate over the last several
years. Some may agree with twenty one being the minimum age and some may
disagree and think that it should be lower or even higher. Looking at the facts and
statistics of alcohol and its effects it is easy to understand why the United States wanted
to set the age of twenty one as the minimum legal drinking age. However, there are still
plenty individuals and theorists that believe it should be lowered.

Works Cited

"Prohibition and Alcohol Intoxication." - Thakur. Web. 13 May 2016.

"ALCOHOL'S DAMAGING EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN." ALCOHOL'S DAMAGING
EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN. Web. 13 May 2016.
Miron, Jeffrey A. "The Effect of Alcohol Prohibition on Alcohol Consumption." NBER.
Web. 13 May 2016.
Straus, Robert, and Selden D. Bacon. Drinking in College. PsychINFO. Web.