Oldest known version of this page was edited on 2005-12-12 16:51:50 by Sprint5P []
People are worried about kids consuming alcohol underage so they have laws that punish people if the get caught drinking underage. Alcohol is not illegal once you are over 21. Marijuana on the other hand is illegal to consume or possess. "Right now kids have an easier time buying pot than beer."(Males) Studies show that it is easier for high school kids to get marijuana then it is for them to get alcohol. Although marijuana is illegal for people of all ages young people have an easy time finding it. Alcohol on the other hand is hard for them to find because they need someone that is of legal age or someone that has a fake id that will work. That makes it a lot hard to get alcohol. In a high school all kids have to do is ask around school for a day and most likely they will be able to find someone that could sell them weed. If the legal drinking age was lowered then kids might be more inclined to drink instead of smoke. This would help bring America to its’ drug free goal with the exception of alcohol.

Many studies show that marijuana is the gateway drug to more intense drugs such as cocaine and heron. People who use other drugs other then marijuana still smoke it if they are not doing cocaine, heron, or any other of those drugs. When people smoke often to get high they tend to get bored with the same high all the time so they will experiment with other highs that will lead them to new addiction. This isn’t so with people who consume alcohol. Of course there still are people that will use those drugs that drink. When you think of a gateway drug alcohol is not likely to lead people to use illegal drugs.

During Spring Break and during the summer most college students go to Mexico or somewhere that they are of legal age to drink. After high school ends many students move out on there own and have to take responsibility for what they do, but they still can not drink. College is the last time kids have a chance to have fun before they are pushed into the real world where they have to get jobs and take care of families with a lot more responsibilities that cuts back on the fun they can have. If college students wait to drink till they were of legal age they wouldn’t be able to drink till their junior or senior year of college. Those are the years that you change from a partier and prepare yourself for the real world. If the drinking age was 18 people would be able to have a better first two years and wouldn’t have to party as much once they reach their last two years.

One effect of a lower drinking age could lead to students not do as well their first year because they would be partying too much. If colleges are worried about students not doing as well then they could be stricter on the required GPA so that it would force students to manage their time better so they do not fail out of school. It would also teach them how to drink responsible and be responsible in life.

One benefit to lowering the drinking age is that people would be taught how to drink responsible. People learn to drink when they leave and go off to college at frat houses and apartment parties. At those places they are not taught to drink responsible but instead drink to get really intoxicated. If the drinking age was lowered parents would be able to teach their children how to drink responsible before they leave and go off to college. Parents would be able to monitor parties and regulate how much the kids drink without being liable for underage drinking. Parents try and let their kids drink while monitoring them but if the police find out they get all sorts of trouble along with fines that will ruined their lives. And all they were trying to do was make sure their kids were being responsible while they drink.

Many studies show that parents that give their child a drink at dinner are less likely to have drinking problems then those who do not start drinking till they become the legal age. With the lower drinking age parents would be able to teach their children many different aspects about drinking. Some of them would include how much to consume. They could also teach them the don’ts of drinking suck as “don’t drink and drive, don’t participate in drinking games or drinking contests.” (Children, Alcohol and Parenting) Along with the don’t of drinking they could also teach them different ways to say no to more drinks and also how to get rid of a drink they do not want in a discrete manner. Parents would also be able to teach their kids how to make a proper mix drink using hard alcohol.

Other countries do not have drinking problems because their drinking age is a lot lower. This allows there parents to teach them how to drink. They do not have to wait till they are out of the house at college to drink. Once they leave they already know how to drink responsible so they have less drinking related problems. Some people in those countries do drinking problems but in comparison to the United States it is much lower. The lower drinking age also leads to many US students into studying abroad over in Europe. Research uncovered that students are less interested in the historic and cultural attractions a country has to offer, but instead the alcohol.

The law of lowering the drinking age would have to be a nation wide event. The Federal government would have to make some kind of punishment for states that did not change the law like they did with the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 to prevent certain problem from occurring. One problem that would arise if all the states did not change there law would be that people under the age of twenty one would drive places they could drink and this would lead to an increase in drunk driving. One of the reasons the drinking age was raised was to cut down on the number of accident caused by people driving under the influence so to keep that goal they would have to make it nation wide to prevent people from having to drive to places that they could drink.

If the drinking age is lowered people say that the number of alcohol related accident will rise. According to the NIAAA the highest number of alcohol related accidents is in the age bracket of 21 to 24 at 33 percent. Not to far behind would be the age group of 25 to 29 at 28 percent. The accidents involving the age bracket from 30 to 44 are still over 20 percent. The number of accidents involving people from the age of 18 to 21 will increase if the age is lowered but that is the facts of life. People are still going to drive under the influence no matter what people tell them unless something life changing happens to them. You can inform people as much as you want but people still drive under the influence. People older the 40 still drive under the influence so you can not blame one age group for deaths caused by people driving under the influence if every age group is committing that crime.

One issue that came up during 1970’s was whether or not our troops should be able to drink. Many people thought it was unfair that these troops, only 18, were allowed to put their lives on the line to serve their country but were not allowed to have a beer. During the time from 1970 to 1975 many states lowered their drinking age to 18 which allowed the troops to drink.

This issue on lowering the drinking age is not an old topic. It came up recently when President Bush’s 19 years old daughters were caught twice drinking under age. One of the incidents was when they were trying to use a fake id to purchase an alcoholic beverage. Many underage people manage to buy their alcohol with a fake id. They will have a fake id made; giving wrong information about the person but it provides they are over 21. Once the Bush daughters were caught drinking under age, the issue on lowering the drinking age came up again.

One group call MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) is trying to get stricter laws passed dealing with drinking. This group was formed by Cindy Lighter after her 13 year old daughter was killed by a drunk driver. This group worked to get the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 passed through Congress which rose the drinking age to what it is today. This group works each year to try and eliminate underage drinking and driving. The number of underage drinking and driving would be cut down if the age was lowered because then the parties could be monitored and it would keep people off the road. They would also be responsible drinkers because they would have learned good habits from their parents.