Lowering the Drinking Age

In the United States there are laws regulating the lives of its citizens. Many of these laws regulate citizens’ rights based on the governments ideas of responsibility. Among these is the legal drinking age of 21 throughout the United States. Although these laws are designed to ensure the safety and health of its citizens, it is possible that this rigid regulation can do more harm than good. Despite the reasoning behind the current drinking age, lowering it legally to 18 years old may be in the nation’s best interest.

Many Americans believe that the drinking age should remain at 21 for the reason that people under that age cannot make adequate decisions (ProCon.org). However this argument is contradicted by the many laws that state citizens of 18 years or older are capable and expected to make decisions on their own as well as being responsible for their actions. One law that contradicts this belief would be that at 18 years old you could be tried as an adult in the judicial system. The reason for this law is that the court believes at this age citizens have had enough time to become knowledgeable and rational enough to be held accountable for their actions. If this belief is true, then there is no reason to believe at 18 a citizen is cannot make a responsible and rational decision on alcohol consumption. In addition to being tried as an adult, citizens of 18 years old are also expected to participate in elections, consider listing and serving in the army, and given the opportunity to get married and start a family. If at 18 you are considered responsible to handle these complex and delicate issues, raising a child, defending your country, and choosing its leader, how can the government say you’re not responsible enough to make your own decisions about alcohol use?

Another argument for lowering the legal drinking age is a person becoming knowledgeable about alcohol consumption before going away to school (ProCon.org). At 18 years old you are generally a senior in high school so if the drinking age were lowered a parent or guardian could monitor their child’s drinking habits, and teach them about limits, safe drinking, and consequences for over imbibing in a safe environment. In support of the idea of education the youth of America, a former officer on the University of Colorado says, “I think we’ve got to understand what our reality is and spend more time talking about responsible drinking.” (“Police Chiefs Question Drinking Age of 21”). More youth could be educated on the responsibilities if the United States hadn’t enforced the 21 year old drinking age but threating to take away highway funds to states that didn’t comply (United States Constitution). Despite this enforcement, states such as California, Nevada, Florida, and New York have laws stating parental consent can override government regulations (Potsdamn.edu). In these states there was only 14-19% binge drinking in 2012 (Americas Health