The drinking age in the United States is currently set at 21, but I feel it is more suitable for it to be lowered to 18. The reason I feel that this is valid is that at the age of 18, you are considered an adult in the US. Some questions that may arise with my argument are, What goes along with being considered an adult?, Would there be negative effects of lowering the age? How would the legal system be effected?, and pertaining to a lower drinking age in other countries, Are there laws effective?, Is there a large problem with binge drinking among teens? In order to answer these questions I will need the help of many scholarly articles and other sources pertaining to this subject.
The first article, from NewsBank, that helps answer these questions is “Drinking at 18 draws fans, foes – Studies boost both sides of age debate.” The article examines both sides of the argument, whether or not lowering the drinking age would be effective. Many colleges are petitioning to lower the drinking age because they find that once teens enter college, they harm themselves through binge drinking. They feel that if the age was lowered this would be less of a problem. On the other side of the argument, they state that back in the 1970’s, when the drinking age was lowered, there was an increase in traffic fatalities. However the counterargument to this is that the reduction in traffic fatalities could have to do with better safety measures and stricter traffic laws.
The article also touches upon a study done to that shows, countries with a lower drinking age, “15 and 16-year-olds are less likely to become intoxicated compared with teens in the U.S.” (2). This allows us to see that with a lower drinking age, teens are less likely to break the law, and in turn are safer.
A second source, from the American Journal of Law and Medicine, helps answer some problems with drunk driving and offers a helpful idea. The article, “Drunk Driving and the Alcoholic Offender: A New Approach to an Old Problem,” suggests that two-thirds of DWI offenders are people that have a problem with alcohol abuse. As a result, the articles recommends that the state treat alcoholism as a disease that these offenders should have their license revoked until they can provide proof that they have complete a detoxification process. Also, they should have to check in periodically to insure that they are still under treatment, and under control.
A third article, from JSTOR, “Effect of Tort Liability and Insurance on Heavy Drinking and Driving,” can help answer questions on the effects binge drinking can have on laws. The article examines, the frequency of binge drinking and also, driving under the influence of alcohol. The article goes into detail about laws implemented for violators of the law. Also, it looks at the effect laws have on citizens, the more harsh the less likely to violate. Also noted is that higher alcohol prices led to a decrease in binge drinking. The article finds that the best way to avoid DUI’s is to focus on the things that deter it.
All of the above articles, will help in securing my arguments with information and facts on underage drinking, and the benefits with lowering it. It will also help by addressing issues against my side of the argument and allow me to support information with solutions to those problems.
On the website, Wikipedia, there is a page for the drinking age in the United States. We had edit the page in some way, by adding a fact or fiction. So to edit the page, which correlates with my topic, I added a sentence that stated how excessive drinking can lead to serious harm or death.
The first article, from NewsBank, that helps answer these questions is “Drinking at 18 draws fans, foes – Studies boost both sides of age debate.” The article examines both sides of the argument, whether or not lowering the drinking age would be effective. Many colleges are petitioning to lower the drinking age because they find that once teens enter college, they harm themselves through binge drinking. They feel that if the age was lowered this would be less of a problem. On the other side of the argument, they state that back in the 1970’s, when the drinking age was lowered, there was an increase in traffic fatalities. However the counterargument to this is that the reduction in traffic fatalities could have to do with better safety measures and stricter traffic laws.
The article also touches upon a study done to that shows, countries with a lower drinking age, “15 and 16-year-olds are less likely to become intoxicated compared with teens in the U.S.” (2). This allows us to see that with a lower drinking age, teens are less likely to break the law, and in turn are safer.
A second source, from the American Journal of Law and Medicine, helps answer some problems with drunk driving and offers a helpful idea. The article, “Drunk Driving and the Alcoholic Offender: A New Approach to an Old Problem,” suggests that two-thirds of DWI offenders are people that have a problem with alcohol abuse. As a result, the articles recommends that the state treat alcoholism as a disease that these offenders should have their license revoked until they can provide proof that they have complete a detoxification process. Also, they should have to check in periodically to insure that they are still under treatment, and under control.
A third article, from JSTOR, “Effect of Tort Liability and Insurance on Heavy Drinking and Driving,” can help answer questions on the effects binge drinking can have on laws. The article examines, the frequency of binge drinking and also, driving under the influence of alcohol. The article goes into detail about laws implemented for violators of the law. Also, it looks at the effect laws have on citizens, the more harsh the less likely to violate. Also noted is that higher alcohol prices led to a decrease in binge drinking. The article finds that the best way to avoid DUI’s is to focus on the things that deter it.
All of the above articles, will help in securing my arguments with information and facts on underage drinking, and the benefits with lowering it. It will also help by addressing issues against my side of the argument and allow me to support information with solutions to those problems.
On the website, Wikipedia, there is a page for the drinking age in the United States. We had edit the page in some way, by adding a fact or fiction. So to edit the page, which correlates with my topic, I added a sentence that stated how excessive drinking can lead to serious harm or death.
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