Old Enough to Serve, Old Enough to Drink
CURTIS LEE Staff Writer
Ever since the reversal of the Prohibition in 1933, the legal drinking age has been left to the discretion of each individual state. As of right now, most states and U.S. territories have maintained a legal drinking age of 21. This decision is a number that many claim to be scientifically accurate since the brain is not fully developed at the age of 18, according to several studies. In addition, many claim that teens are more likely to drive drunk leading to accidents and even death.
The outdated decision and continued enforcement of the legal drinking age of 21 should be changed to 18. At the age of 18, individuals are legally recognized as adults. This allows them to gain the right to marry, own a gun, vote and fight for the U.S. military. All of the listed items require good judgment and maturity. This should be enough proof to allow those from ages 18 to 20 to be able to drink without parental oversight.
Alcohol in excessive amounts is harmful to any individual regardless of brain developmental phases. In Moor multiple European countries, there is no legal drinking age because moderate consumption can prove to be more beneficial. Some of those benefits include a reduction in heart disease development and protection against type 2 diabetes. Brain development is also not fully completed until the age of 25 therefore the age of 21 is not even considered to be the fully developed stage.
The concerns over drunk teenage drivers is not due to the age of the driver but rather when the alcohol is introduced. Highest rates of drunk drivers’ ages are consistent with the legal drinking age. This shows that the issue of high rates of young drunk drivers is not caused by the age of the driver. Regardless of when the legal drinking age is, there will always be a high rate of drunk drivers at that age.
Perhaps the stigma against younger adults drinking is rooted in the misuse of alcohol in American History. The Prohibition was put into action for a reason and it was simply because of the harm that it was causing to families. Known as a “noble experiment,” Prohibition was taken to reduce crime and corruption and solve social problems. However, the ban on alcohol ended up doing more harm than good. Crime increased, drinkers switched to more dangerous drugs and there were no measurable gains.
It is now known that the Prohibition was a failure because the desire to consume alcohol was greater than the government’s ability to enforce its law. Countries around the world have no drinking age requirements because of how it is properly consumed. By upholding such a high age requirement, this only forces curious teens to participate in illegal activities in often illegal places.
Adults, 18 and older, have the legal responsibility to take care of themselves therefore, all adults should have the right to drink. If they are legal to serve in the military, they should be legal to drink.