The Uniform Drinking Act, which forced states to set the legal drinking age at 21 by withholding ten percent of highway funding from states that left the legal drinking age at 18, is an example of the federal government`s encroachments on state affairs. Many states satisfied with their MLDA 18 have bowed to federal pressure instead of losing millions of dollars in annual funds for highways. [15] I think you have to drink at any age, so when you grow up, when you want to drink, you know what it`s like to be drunk. And since 1984, when states began raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 21 in exchange for federal funding for highways — in some cases, as little as a decade after the cut — they haven`t been able to buy a beer at a bar. in most of the United States, a restriction that has infuriated students ever since. Because then people can vote. The right to vote in the United States has long been linked to adulthood and the age of majority. Prior to the passage of the 26th Amendment in 1971, 21 was the minimum voting age in most states — and thus served as an adult in most areas of law. Congress lowered the voting age to 18 in response to riots and heated debates over the Vietnam War. Many thought that those who were old enough to be drafted into the armed forces should be able to vote.

Maintaining a higher age of majority didn`t make sense if lawmakers let young people vote at 18, so states began using 18 as a new measure of legal adulthood. Police tend to ignore or under-enforce LDL 21 due to resource constraints, legal barriers, the perception that sanctions are inadequate, and the time and effort required to process and paperwork. It is estimated that two out of every 1,000 cases of illegal alcohol consumption by youth under the age of 21 result in arrest. [18] Mothers Against Drunk Driving, founded in 1980, quickly gained national influence and lobbied legislators to raise the legal limit. On July 17, 1984, Congress passed a law that denied state funding for federal highways that allowed people under the age of 21 to continue purchasing alcohol, forcing them to increase their drinking age. In 1995, the 50 states and the District of Columbia had joined in the face of this strong financial incentive and pressure from MADD. If you sit in a bar or restaurant and order a glass of vodka, the waiter will only ask you your age. They won`t ask you if you have a personal history of alcoholism, although a single slip can seriously harm you and others. They won`t ask if you`re pregnant, although the CDC strongly recommends that pregnant women avoid alcohol altogether. You won`t even ask if you`ve been convicted of an alcohol-related crime like drunk driving, child abuse or sexual assault.

In fact, in some places, you can legally walk into a bar or restaurant with a loaded gun, sit down and order drink after drink until you`re visibly drunk — as long as you`re over 21. Totally agree, the drinking age should be lowered to 18 in every state and territory in the United States. Proponents of the repressive drinking age of 21 cite junk science and use age-related attitudes against young adults between the ages of 18 and 20. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act 1984 should never have come into force. Young adults between the ages of 18 and 20 should be allowed to drink alcoholic beverages “(i) educate youth ages 18 to 20 on how to drink alcohol responsibly, using a curriculum similar to state-to-state driver training programs; and (ii) issue a liquor license to individuals who pass a final examination at the end of the 40-hour educational program, the license allowing such individuals to legally drink alcohol in the state where the license is issued. (Toomey et al., 1962). The drinking age ensures that most of us secretly start drinking. Secrets of all kinds are psychologically unhealthy and cause anxiety, negative thought patterns, and depression.

When combined with an emotion-boosting drug like alcohol, it`s no wonder the psychological effects of illegal alcohol use can be catastrophic. In the United States, 31% of road deaths are alcohol-related. [48] This percentage is higher than in many countries where the alcohol age is below 21, such as France (29%), Great Britain (16%), Germany (9%), China (4%) and Israel (3%). [48] Although the United States increased the MLDA to 21 in 1984, the rate of motor vehicle accidents and fatalities in the 1980s declined less than that of European countries with legal drinking age below 21. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] Statistically, fewer accidents and deaths under the influence of alcohol occur in countries where the legal drinking age is 18. Maintaining the legal drinking age at 21 falsely implies compliance with the law. Lowering the MLDA to age 18 and promoting responsible drinking habits reduces the risk of binge drinking among underage teens. The introduction of alcohol at a younger age will also normalize responsible drinking habits. Choose Responsibility (CR) is a nonprofit group that works to lower the drinking age to 18 and encourages states to grant exemptions allowing minors to drink at home and in private clubs. It also promotes social change that shifts the focus from adolescent alcohol use to home, family and individual (Main 33-34). They argue that the following states: If a person is old enough to take on the responsibility of driving, they should be allowed to consume alcohol.

Although the legal drinking age is higher, people will have more dangerous drinking habits and experiences. “We don`t have a clear answer for them,” Alexander said. The scientific consensus that most brains don`t fully develop until age 25 has led to a host of reforms to the criminal justice system and renewed scrutiny of how society should punish young adults. Newly legal drinkers often buy alcohol for their underage peers, resulting in a “trickle-down” effect. [34] Surveys show that the most common source of alcohol among 18- to 20-year-olds is their peers aged 21 to 24. [35] But there is not much clarity in the laws of the states. In Alaska, teens can marry at age 14 with a court order. Only a handful of states allow alcohol consumption before the age of 21 under strict circumstances, such as: if a parent or guardian is present. But why 18 for the voting age – and not, say, 16 or 19? This is quite arbitrary: there is no scientific basis behind age itself.

Although it can be assumed that most 18-year-olds have reached maturity, researchers have shown that adolescence actually extends into the early 20s. Before the 20th century, the age of majority did not matter: young people were regularly elected to the British Parliament, 5-year-olds could sign binding legal contracts to work until the age of 24, and 8-year-olds could be executed for arson. So if 18 is the age of adulthood, why is 21 the legal drinking age? Adolescents may choose not to drink or drink less frequently because social acceptance is lower or the risks are increased by parental or judicial authorities. Older teens and adults are less likely to provide liquor to minors, and licensed liquor stores are less likely to sell to minors because they think it`s illegal, morally wrong, or because they might be caught.