The drinking age should be lowered to 18 - Speech or Presentation Example

The drinking age should be lowered to 18 The drinking age should be lowered to 18. 18 is the legal age where an individual is treated as an adult where he or she is already fully responsible for his or her action and its consequences. This should include drinking alcohol. It just do not make any sense that at 18 years old, I can already be tried legally in a court of law, drafted in the Army, issued a weapon that kills and go to war, can get married and start a family, and yet I cannot even drink a bottle of beer legally!

Elsewhere in the world, 18 years old is the legal drinking age and here in America which is supposed to be the bastion of freedom and resonsibility, I could be arrested for drinking at that age. I wonder what is in age 21 that differs from 18? Does postponing it three years later makes us a more responsible and mature drinker? And does the law that regulates it, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act  is effective in enforcing the age requirement? Everybody in the audience knows that is not being followed and in fact is even more dangerous because it promotes dangerous behaviors instead of regulating alcohol consumption.

I will cite you my case why it is more dangerous to prohibit the drinking alcohol at age 18. From my experience and supported by many school administrators in many universities (Amethyst Initiative, nd) prohibiting alcohol at age 18 does not stop us from drinking. Instead of drinking openly in bars and legally purchasing it, “where it is more carefully monitored, [students instead resorts to] to private parties, which are less safe. Some college presidents have expressed concern that these unsafe drinking environments have contributed to an increase in alcohol poisoning deaths among youths and young adults (Wechsler, 2010 pg. 987). And when it is not monitored and where oversight is omitted, it is there that excesses will happen.

The fear of the negative consequence of alcohol abuse such as “physical and sexual assault, unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infection, violence, vandalism, crime, overdose, other substance use, and high-risk behavior, resulting in a heavy burden of social and health costs” happens because it is being done underground (Wechsler, 2010 pg. 986). Thus, the spirit and intent of the law (Uniform Drinking Age 21 Act) that increases the drinking age to 21 is defeated. It instead promotes dangerous behavior rather than making young adults more responsible drinkers.

Also, the main argument of the law why it was signed that increasing drinking age to 21 minimizes “alcohol-related crashes involving youth aged 18 to 20 in states that lowered their drinking age” is inconclusive due to the fact that many studies attributed the decrease in road accidents not to regulated alcohol consumption to 21 years old but rather on improved safety features of vehicles (Fell, 2010). Many may agree with the 21 years old age minimum. In a survey of Carroll in July 21-15 of 2007, it showed that more than three in four Americans or 77% approves of the minimum drinking age (2007) such that despite of its criticism and perhaps impracticability, the policy has public support.

It can also avoid long-term alcohol abuse by discouraging early alcohol consumption through policy alcohol regulation of age 21. The policy is also new because there was even a stage in the history of America where it was banned particularly during the Temperament Movement. Experience showed however that banning alcohol consumption did not prohibit people from consuming it. On the contrary, people continued to drink and the alcohol associated violence escalated. When alcohol was legalized, violence associated with alcohol consumption virtually vanished (Carpenter and Dobkin, 2011).

Today, alcohol related violence may be minimal but there are still issues associated with drinking alcohol which are often committed by young adults. These issues include physical and sexual assault, unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infection, violence, vandalism, crime, overdose, other substance use. These issues are often wrought by consuming alcohol underground without oversight and regulation due to the fact that National Minimum Drinking Age Act  made it illegal to consume alcohol at 18.

In this line, we can argue that by lowering alcohol consumption to 18, young adults will be encouraged to drink in the open where authorities can monitor, regulate and even dispense advises to drink moderately. When we do not have to hide anymore to drink, dangerous behaviors associated with unsupervised drinking of alcohol can be avoided. School administrators realized this which is why they initiated a public debate to rethink the drinking age (Amethyst Initiative, nd). Thus, for practicability and to become apt with the reality of the times, the legal drinking age of alcohol should be lowered to 18.

References Amethyst Initiative. Rethink the drinking age. http://theamethystinitiative.org/ Carpenter, C., & Dobkin, C. (2011). The Minimum Legal Drinking Age and Public Health. Journal Of Economic Perspectives, 25(2), 133-156. Wechsler, H. F. (2010). Will Increasing Alcohol Availability By Lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Decrease Drinking and Related Consequences Among Youths?. American Journal Of Public Health, 100(6), 986. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2009.178004 Carroll, J. (2007). Most Americans Oppose Lowering Legal Drinking Age to 18 Nationwide: Six in 10 Americans support stricter penalties for underage drinking.

 Gallup Poll Briefing, 4-7. Fell, J. C. (2010). Reaffirming the National Minimum Drinking Age of 21. Criminal Justice Research Review, 11(6), 94-98.