Drinking Age

To be point blank, it’s too high. Rather than 21, it should be 18. When a person turns 18 years old, they become recognized as an adult; old enough to vote, smoke cigarettes, serve on juries, get married, sign contracts, be prosecuted as adults, and join the military - which includes risking one's life. If an 18 year old can decide to risk their life by joining the military or starting to smoke, they should be able to risk their lives by consuming alcohol. If the drinking age was lowered, what are now underage drinkers (18-20 year olds) could drink alcohol in a safe environment, instead of sneaking it around like they do now. Many people will argue that a higher drinking age limits the amount of accidents that come with driving while intoxicated, but many countries with a drinking age of 18 have similar or better drunk driving statistics than the United States. Although the United States increased the drinking age to 21 in 1984, its rate of traffic accidents and fatalities in the 1980s decreased less than that of European countries whose legal drinking ages are lower than 21. Although I don’t necessarily think that it will happen, it is possible that if the drinking age was lowered, it would become less of a taboo to participate in its consumption. Half of the fun of drinking is said to be in the rush you get from breaking the law. The drinking age is extremely ineffective, 72.2% of 12^th graders were reported to have, at one time or another, tried alcohol. Enforcing a drinking age of 21 is given low priority or ignored by many law enforcement agencies due to resource limitations, statutory obstacles, perceptions that punishments are inadequate, and the time and effort required for processing and paperwork. An estimated 2 of every 1,000 occasions of illegal drinking by youth under 21 result in an arrest. Having a drinking age of 21 is nothing more than a waste of time and money.