Jorge Acosta Lauren Keuhster Argumentative essay Lowering The Drinking Age Alcoholic beverages date back to early

part of mans history. It is believed that wines made from grapes have existed for more than 10,000 years and drinks such as beer have existed way longer. Alcohol such been used for many social purposes, such as sealing pacts, parties and even giving courage in battle. Alcohol legal drinking age in the United States is twentyone, but illegal drinking age is as low as zero. Alcohol use should be allowed in all the country when you reach eighteen years of age. For this we should address Legislators who are the people in charge of changing laws, in order for them to understand that the law on alcohol is not working. Lowering the age will allow education on healthier drinking decisions, less criminal acts and a happier society. The most important factor why legislators should consider lowering the drinking age is education. I understand how worried older people get once we tell them about lowering the drinking age or even mentioning alcohol in front of them. It is such a fear that most parents and authorities have, that they prohibit the substance to people under 21, acting as if the substance did not exist. What adults do not know is that by hiding the alcohol they are forgetting to educate their kids on the proper way of using alcohol. This causes kids to lose their minds and drink in an irresponsible way once they start doing it. Drinking usually begins at high school and sometimes college and as a freshman in college I can tell you from experience how crazy students are when drinking. You can notice the clarity of the lack in education on the subject. Drinking responsibly has to be taught at a younger age, such as regular values.

Education has to start at home, where parents and kids drink together in a responsible way. This will teach teen-agers that alcohol is not very important, and will make them notice that its not such a big deal once they get to college. The second factor that would allow you to change your opinion on alcohol drinking age is the decrease in crime rates. Yes some factors of crime are caused due to this substance, but yet again we can go back to the fact of education, people have not been educated correctly in order to know their limits and what they can do or cannot do when using the substance. This is why there are many offences while driving under the Influence (DUI), nevertheless these offences would decrease if lowering the age because there would be a longer education period for teens. Also crime related to fake IDS is very high, even though the law has prohibited minors under 21 to buy alcohol, many have found illegal paths to do this. Paths such as fake IDS that can be bought easily online or even in the institutions they live or study on. Once again education plays a big role on this crime, if teens have had a larger education on drinking, and have started at earlier ages they would not feel the need of purchasing illegal IDS, according to pros and cons a web page that shows the good and bad of lowering the drinking age according to many specialists PHDs on Health and Alcohol Education, young adults or teens drink because of the feeling of doing something illegally. Therefore lowering the age would make a legal subject. Many teens in America ask themselves why its legal to go to war when they are 18 but its illegal for them to drink a glass of beer at this age? This is a question to keep in mind because these two things are equally dangerous, yes your brain is maturing until the age of 21 and alcohol could affect it. But couldnt a traumatic event in war affect this too? By the matter of fact a traumatic effect could cause much more trouble than a glass of wine, or a cup of beer, in many studies such as that of PHD.J. Hanson he states how healthy it is to drink a glass of wine once a week, he also tells us that alcohol is not bad if you do not drink it in an excess or

like many would say if you do not binge drink. Therefore I believe lowering the drinking age should also occur, or if not the legal age to joining the American war should be raised to 21. Some legislators have already thought about the question and have made it legal for those that join the army in Alaska at age 18 to drink, but I believe Alaska should be an example for all the States in America. I asked 20 people that Currently study in Colorado State University what they thought about lowering the drinking age and then asked them at what age they started drinking? Most of the 21 year olds where against lowering the drinking age, but some of them started as early as age 16. 10% of the people I interviewed waited until age 21, and many stated that they wanted to feel the Vegas experience while the other 90 % started drinking at earlier ages. Then I asked them what solution they would find in order for them to accept lowering the age of 21. The small population of 10% stated they would just not lower the age because it was a privilege the gained the other 90 % wanted to make clubs and bars where people from ages 18- 20 could drink and have fun, where they would be controlled. And make others where 21 year olds where allowed. Then one of the guys named Greg Pertsev, current engineer student stated he would make an specific time schedule where everyone would be permitted to drink and have a good time then at a certain time everyone under the age of 21 had to leave. Personally I believe this was one of the best solutions, and I state once more that drinking is a thing you should be taught both at home and at school, so that when people start doing it they do not do it in excess. Drinking Depends mainly on the education, by lowering the drinking age we will not only create a safer and less criminal full environment but we will create a healthier society. So Colorado Legislators I hope these are enough reasons for you to lower the drinking age, I mean the current law is not preventing any one from drinking, and well I believe once you lower the age people will most likely start educating their children.

Work Cited: "Debate: Lowering of drinking age." Debatepedia. N.p., 12 A. Web. 18 Apr 2012. Hanson, PH.D.. "Alcohol Problems and Solutions." Drinking Alcohol at an Early Age and Later Alcohol Problems. State University of New York, 2011. Web. 18 Apr 2012.

"HPER: School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation." Indiana University Bloomington. The Trustees of Indiana University, 2006. Web. 7 Mar 2012. . J Hanson, David. "About Your Host." . N.p., 1996. Web. 5 Mar 2012.

National Institute of Health, . "National Institutes of Health:Mission." US Department of Human Health and Services. National Institutes of Health (NIH), 2011. Web. 9 Mar 2012.

"Should the Drinking Age be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age?." Procon.org. Procon.org, 2012. Web. 9 Mar 2012.