Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 Years - Research Paper Example

Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 Years Across the globe, most countries consider 18 year olds as adults and need to be given autonomy as stated by the law. This means that 18year olds have the rights entitled to adults and are considered responsible for their actions. In this sense, reaching18years in most countries marks the end of being a minor and individuals can make decisions on their own. However, in the United States, there are certain privileges that is not the preserve of 18year olds. This includes barring young adults aged below 21years from drinking. In psychology circles, 18 year old is a teenager and this period in life revolves around searching for identity. As such, this age group often experiment with many things including alcohol and drugs. While the law in the United States does not bar 21 year olds from drinking, their 18 year olds counterparts are not allowed by the law to drink. However, the 18 year olds still find other illegal means to access alcoholic drinks, thus, the law does not achieve its objective of barring 18 year olds from drinking; consequently, it is important for the government review the law and lower the drinking age to18 years. The legal drinking age in the United States should be reviewed and lowed to 18 years because this will play a role in helping young people to avoid problems with the law. It is clear that whether the government remain adamant concerning the legal drinking age, this will not stop the young adults from accessing alcohol through illegal means. As a result, chances are high that many young adults will end up in trouble with the law, which is costly to the government and parents of the young adults in terms of court processes. In addition, lowering the drinking age will help reduce the prevalence of young people abusing alcohol in the U.S. This is because the 18 year olds barred from drinking by the law, may influence other underage citizens to experiment with alcohol since they are all considered as minors in regard to alcohol consumption. It is also illogical to allow 18 year olds to vote while denying them the freedom to access alcoholic drinks. The fact that 18 years is a legal age to vote means that such an individual is an adult and responsible for his or her own decisions. In addition, 18 years is the acceptable age for American citizens to be enlisted in the military. In this regard, the idea of illegalizing drinking below the age of 21 years is contradictory because the government on one hand trusts these young adults to make right decision to vote and defend their country by taking a bullet (Ives, 2008).The idea that young adults below 21years lack tolerance does not suffice in this context. The level of tolerance between a person aged 18 and the other 21, might be the same, hence; level of tolerance should not be used as an excuse to illegalize drinking below the age of 21 years. Yet again, level of tolerance is not influenced by age, but being responsible in regard to the life style that a person aged 21 years and above chooses (Boes & Stillman, 2013). In addition, barring persons aged below 21years from drinking might arouse curiosity. As a result, most young people below age of 21years are tempted to experiment with alcohol. However, if the drinking age is reduced to 18 years, the curiosity is bound to fade away. At the college level, most students lie in the age bracket of 18-21 years. As such, those aged 21years and above can get alcohol drinks to the freshmen and sophomore students. In addition, the idea of not allowing young adults below 21 years to attend social events where alcohol is served tend to increase rebellion and drives the young adults to try alcohol as a way of discovering why they are dissuaded from alcohol drinking. The mere fact that these young adults are experimenting with alcohol through illegal means pose trouble for both the government and parents alike. Barring youth aged 18-20 years from drinking explains the reasons why these youths engage in binge drinking. This is because any opportunity they get, they tend to abuse alcohol because they see any opportunity to drink as the last before they get to the age of 21. The consequence in this sense, include fatal accidents, increased crime rate or unwanted pregnancy. To avoid such incidents, the legal age to drink needs to be reviewed and lowed to 18 years, as this would help avoid instances of binge drinking and getting overly drunk (Boes & Stillman, 2013). United States should observe other countries that consider 18 years as the legal drinking age. This is because, while the legal drinking age is 18, there are a few cases reported and associated with drinking at age 18. On the same note, US should learn from other countries that reducing the drinking age to 18 is not a catastrophe in waiting for the country. In essence, the review is warranted because the current law associated with legal drinking age has not helped to reduce deaths, accidents or crimes resulting from alcohol abuse. Legalizing alcohol for certain age and in this case for youths aged 18 - 21 means that they can drink in public. The police or other security personnel to ensure that the youth do not over indulge can control such an environment. Moreover, most intuitions of higher learning in the United States concur that setting the age for drinking alcohol at 21 only serve to make matters worse. As such, lowering the legal age for alcohol consumption can assist to reduce fatalities reported in colleges and associated with alcohol consumption by persons aged below 21(Ives, 2008). At present, the government funds education on alcohol and its effects among college students; however, if the legal age for consuming alcohol is lowered to 18, this means that high schools will also receive the fund. As such, students will be sensitized on the dangers of alcohol consumption early to avoid incidents of fatalities. In addition, problems associated with alcohol exist whether the drinking age is raised or lowered. Alcohol cause problems to those who take it whether one is old or young; thus, maintaining the legal drinking age at 21 may not solve problems associated with alcohol. Further, it seems hypocritical to prosecute an 18 year old in court, but deny him or her the right to drink alcohol. In addition, there is a little difference between an individual aged 18 – 21; furthermore, both are in the same age group and probably think the same (Ives, 2008). Additionally, lowering the legal age for drinking would assist institutions to implement rules that bar students below the age of 18 from drinking. However, if the legal age remains at 21 it would be difficult for institutions to implement any policy that control alcohol consumption among students. In terms of transition into adulthood, the young people may regard freedom to access alcohol as an acceptance by adult members of the society to their coming of age. As such, it will not be proper to call 18 year olds adults and yet they are denied other rights accorded to those regarded as adults. Irresponsible drinking cannot be stopped by maintaining the drinking age at 21, but by ensuring that any person considered an adult, should be given the freedom to make their own decision and take responsibility for the consequences of their action (Boes & Stillman, 2013). Conversely, while lowering the legal drinking age to 18 is sensible, there are other factors that the government and the society needs to consider in this regard. Young people often act out of impulse and may lack self-control or experience to deal with the aftermath of a mind altering alcoholic beverage. Further, young people are still experimenting with life and may be ignorant of the effects of alcohol consumption. Since they are still maturing and settling down to choose their career line, alcohol serve to create more problem for the youth. It is in the public domain that alcohol abuse leads to addiction and as such, destroying the lives of young people who would rather concentrate in studies and future ambitions (Yoruk & Yoruk, 2011). Alcohol is meant for people that are more responsible and the youth by nature, are easily influenced by peer pressure. This is a problem because many of the young people who get hooked to alcohol addiction, is as a result of peer influence. The victims in this case may end up destroying their future, engaging in crime and other antisocial behaviour because of irresponsible drinking behaviours. In addition, allowing 18 year olds to access alcohol might not keep them from trouble and this could cause problem in future life. This is because irresponsible drinking from a younger age may worsen when a person reaches the middle age. Among problems that may emerge and associated with many years of alcohol consumption, include divorce, unemployment, child, and spouse abuse (Miron & Tetelbaum, 2009). Furthermore, most young people aged 18 years still receive support and live with their parents. Lowering the drinking age to 18 years implies that there will be more family problems. This includes stealing to sustain the habit of drinking, school dropout or unwanted pregnancy. In this sense, the legal age remaining at 21 makes sense because at this time most young people live separately from their parents; furthermore, most are working and are aware that an irresponsible lifestyle does not protect their interests (Hingson et al 2005). In conclusion, the legal drinking age should be lowered from 21 years to 18 years, as it would reduce the sale of alcohol illegally to minors. In addition, young adults aged 18 will appreciate the need to take full responsibility for their actions in regard to alcohol consumptions. Further, institutions of learning will be better placed to implement rules and regulations that control alcohol consumption among those considered as minors. In terms of the freedoms accorded to adults, it is not sensible to allow 18 year olds to vote and enlist in the military, yet they are considered as minors when comes to alcohol consumption. References Boes, S. & Stillman, S. (2013). Does Changing the Legal Drinking Age Influence Youth Behaviour? IZA DP No. 7522. Retrieved from http://ftp.iza.org/dp7522.pdf Hingson, R. et al. (2005). Magnitude of alcohol-related mortality and morbidity among U.S. college students ages 18–24: changes from 1998 to 2001. Annu. Rev. Public Health. 26:259–79 . Ives, N. (2008). Minimum Drinking Age: Does Evidence Support Lowering it from Age 21? Issue Brief. Vol.8 No. 3 Miron, J. A & Tetelbaum, E. (2009). Does the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Save Lives? Economic Inquiry 47(2): 317-36. Yoruk, B.K. & Yoruk, C.E. (2011). The impact of minimum legal drinking age laws on alcohol. consumption, smoking, and marijuana use: Evidence from a regression discontinuity design using exact date of birth. Journal of Health Economics. 30(4):740-52 Read More