In the bulk of the countries there are no special exceptions. The united states federal government will lower the minimum legal drinking age from 21 to 4 18. List of books and articles about legal drinking age. Top 10 reasons the drinking age should be lowered to 18 federal law in the usa requires that all states mandate a minimum legal drinking age of 21. Plus, me being not us citizen, i cant really be a judge so i will point out only one thing. In paraguay, the legal drinking age and purchase age is 20 years in guyana, minors aged 16 or 17 may consume a glass of beer, wine or cider in a restaurant.
The current system, which forbids alcohol to americans under 21, is widely flouted, with disastrous consequences. Top 10 reasons the drinking age should be lowered to 18. What about the history of the drinking age laws in arizona. Unlike many other western countries the usa has always taken a hard line on alcohol consumption with prohibition being repealed only in 1933. It was then lowered to 19 in 1972, with the passage of the 26th amendment. Alcohol and drinking history in the united states of. The legal drinking age is outdated and should be lowered john j. Drinking age history drunk driving choose responsibility. Alcohol use by underage youth is detrimental national household survey of drug abuse 3. However, in the late 1960s, a movement began to lower the national voting age from 21 to 18. During the period known as prohibition, from 1919 to 1933, the sale of alcohol to people of all ages. Furthermore, alcoholrelated driving fatalities are the leading cause of death among teenagers. The author brought a lot of points to life regarding introducing alcohol at a younger age in order to familiarize young adults with it, making it a less tempting substance.
That fiveyear difference to the us, where the drinking age is 21, appears to be significant. The dangerous effect of getting drunk in teens is not just those traffic crashes. While it was set at 18 in some states, michigan joined the majority of states in setting their minimum age at 21. The highs and lows of germanys drinking culture dw 18. The united states is one of only four countries the others are indonesia, mongolia and palau with an age as high as 21.
All others either have no minimum age or have a lower age, generally 18. Drinking agebefore the twentieth century, few laws controlled the consumption of alcoholic beverages by youth. Adolescents spend considerably less time viewing movies and movie videos than they do television. In fact, 18yearolds in america are old enough to do pretty much everything except drink.
However, there are three states that are considering changing the age back to 18. When my mom turned 18 years old, the drinking age was 18. Between 1970 and 1976, 30 states lowered their minimum legal drinking age mlda from 21 to 18, 19, or 20. As a result, all 50 states had legislated legal age 21. Yes, i believe that the us should lower the drinking age to 18. Drinking age 89 words 6 pages why do people only want to change the drinking age from 21 to 18, when there are other activities that have limit of age such as. So this wouldnt happen as an allatonce national change dictated from above. Perspectives on the history of psychoactive substance use.
It was further raised to 21 in 1984, and it was done to be in line with the law passed at the federal level. Drinking at 18 legal or not changing the drinking age from 21 to 18 has been a controversial argument for many years now, even though every states legal drinking age is 21 there is some states that make certain exceptions in some situations. Consitution in no way specifies an actual drinking age. This made sense because, at the time, 21 was the age of majority in michigan. By studying a specific issue, for example the ethics of embryonic stem cell research, rather than the entire stem cell research debate, students gain a more solid and focused understanding of a topic as a whole. Two years later, on july 17, 1984, after extensive lobbying from groups such as madd, president reagan signed the national minimum drinking age act, effectively creating a national minimum drinking age of 21. All alcoholic beverages currently legally available to 21 year olds, including but not limited to 6 beer, wine, and hard alcohol, will be. Currently, the drinking age in all states is 21, but this is a relatively recent development. Washington state specified age of majority which would have been 18 since 1877. Why women drink raising the drinking age to 21 hasnt reduced drinking its merely driven it underground, to. Most of the rest of the world has come out in a different place on the drinking age. Drinking isnt the only right that comes at 21 in the us. If the drinking age is lower, more alcohol will be available to younger high school students and perhaps even middle school students. In south america in particular, the legal purchase age is 18 years, with two exceptions.
The legal drinking age in germany is 16, though kids must wait until theyre 18 to drink spirits. It was a very reasonable age to have drinking at age 19. The drinking reality now for young people between 18 and 20 is very different. Before highway funds were tied to a mandated national drinking age in 1984, some 30 states had already lowered the legal drinking age to 18 or 19.
Brief history of the mlda after prohibition, nearly all states restricting youth access to alcohol designated 21 as the minimum legal drinking age mlda. From a physiological standpoint, age twentyone does not denote brain development. A note on the effect of minimum drinking age laws on. The legal drinking age is 19 for beer and wine, and 21 for liquor. In the us, an adult is considered anyone who is 18 or older. The theory behind this move was that raising the drinking age would prevent drinking and thereby lower drunk driving accidents among 18, 19, and 20yearolds. At age 18, we are fully accountable for our decisions. Wisconsin established the age of 18 for wine and liquor, but had no restrictions on beer beginning in 1839. Super congress docket a bill to lower the drinking age to 18 1 2 be it enacted by this student congress here assembled that. Chile, egypt, honduras, russia, samoa and the united states. Two have a minimum drinking age of 16 italy and malta. Drinking age should be lowered says international expert. The legal drinking age changed from 18 to 21 in 1984.
Back in the mid1980s, the minimum legal drinking age was raised on a state and national level from 18 to 21. For example, in 1984, the year in which the federal uniform drinking age act was passed, alcohol use was involved in approximately 58% of driving fatalities among males between the ages of 18 and 20. By 1987, all 50 states had legislated legal age 21. When the drinking age was 18 and 19, 17 and even 16year olds were often able to get alcohol from their friends. Among them, 18 countries have set the minimum drinking age at 18. Laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol to minors were first put in place early in the twentieth century, as part of a broader trend of increasing legal controls on adolescent behavior. In central america, the caribbean, and south america the legal drinking age and legal purchase age varies from 0 to 20 years see table below. The legal age of drinking, 21, seems as if it was arbitrarily picked rather than thought out as a good age to drink.
And in many states the drinking age used to be 18 or 16, or none at all, depending on where and whe. It was a magical time weve heard about from our parents college stories, like fairytales. The drinking age in texas was lowered to 18 in 1971, and it was then raised to 19 in 1979. The drinking age should be lowered from 21 years old to 18 years old because at that age one legally becomes an adult, it would reduce the amount of unsafe drinking activity, and there are fewer drunk driving car accidents in many other countries with a drinking age of 18.
This was accomplished with the passage of the twentysixth amendment in 1971. Along with joining the military, 18yearolds can vote. Accordingly, many states lowered their age of majority and their drinking age to 18 as well. The legal drinking age is 18 for beer and wine, and 21 for liquor. Doing so makes eighteen to twentyyearolds safer by removing a legal barrier to emergency help for those adults who happen to fall under the mlda. Early american drinking age washington, biggest, state. The natural history of alcoholism revisited is a revised and updated version of what was, and still is, regarded as a classic and certainly broke new ground during the 1980s the new text provides an update based on developments over the past 15 years. Prior to 1919, when prohibition was passed, there was no known drinking age. In terms of alcohol content in films, recent content analyses indicate that. But that was changed with a universal law for the age of 21, and many people remember what this was like.
This document presents justification for a legal drinking age of 21 in all states. There are a number of things that someone at the age of 18 cant do, but someone at the age of 21 can do. Teaching people to drink responsibly before they turn 21 would enormously enhance public health. Between 1970 and 1975, however, 29 states lowered the mlda to 18, 19, or 20. Prior to prohibition, the drinking age varied from statetostate with most states not enforcing a drinking age at all. Drinking affects the frontal lobe of the brain and lowering the drinking age could put the 1820 age demographic at risk for chronic mental health problems. Return the drinking age to 18 and then enforce the law. This book should be read by all parents with children around the ages 1820. As a father myself with a 16 year old this book swayed my views on the legal drinking age. There is an argument going about lowering the drinking age to 18 years old. We are old enough to vote, to serve jury duty, to make a will, to get married, to buy cigarettes, to live on our own, to own property, to go to war and to have a job. After prohibition, in 1933, the drinking age was changed to 21.
Each book in the series provides a clear, insightful discussion of. We can vote, serve on a jury, marry and even join the military. Now, it wasnt too many years ago that the laws tended to be a bit more reasonable, with the drinking age starting at 18. The enactment of the national minimum drinking age act of 1984 prompted states to raise their legal age for purchase or public possession of alcohol to 21 or risk losing millions in federal highway funds. Extrapolating from recent national survey data, 11 to yearolds spend an average of 6. In shortened, concise chapters, the history of alcohol production, drinking habits, and drink types are laid out wonderfully to help explain why alcohol is a major part of. Meanwhile, the 1820 year olds who want to drink do, in spite of the legal drinking age and the potential punishments that accompany it.
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