Quicker Liquor
Should We Lower the Drinking Age? | 18 vs. 21 |
“Quicker Liquor” A Short Research Paper
Should the legal drinking age be lowered? Those who supported the change for the 2009 re-authorization of the law (dubbed Pro 18), and those who wanted the law to remain at the current age of 21 (dubbed Pro 21), had three major categories to explore for this debate: safety, binge drinking and maturity.
There is opposition and support on both sides of the issue including a coalition founded in 2008 by a group of academic leaders called the Amethyst Initiative who support lowering the drinking age to 18. In 1984, after Candy Lightner suffered the loss of her daughter at the hands of a drunk driver in 1980, she created Mothers Against Drunk Driving (M.A.D.D.) She lobbied for a new law to set a minimum drinking age of 21 in the hopes that it would help stop underage drinking. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed and most states adopted it immediately to avoid a 10 percent reduction in federal funding for their state highways. According to a 2010 national survey by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “among young adults aged 18 to 25 in 2010, the rate of binge drinking was 40.6 percent” (Office of Applied Science). According to the findings, this was similar to the numbers for 2009. On a whole, drinking rates have slowly dropped for underage drinkers since the introduction of the Age Law. Despite the drop, independent studies showed that underage drinkers still “make up 10 percent, or $10 billion annually,” of the $115 billion alcohol industry in the United States alone (Witmer). One of the main issues, safety, centers on driving accidents while under the influence of alcohol. This has been studied in other countries as well. According to Sanghavi, when “New Zealand lowered the drinking age from 20 to 18…[alcohol related crashes] declined far less than in the overall population” (Sanghavi). In addition, the National Youth Rights
“Quicker Liquor” A Short Research Paper
Should the legal drinking age be lowered? Those who supported the change for the 2009 re-authorization of the law (dubbed Pro 18), and those who wanted the law to remain at the current age of 21 (dubbed Pro 21), had three major categories to explore for this debate: safety, binge drinking and maturity.
There is opposition and support on both sides of the issue including a coalition founded in 2008 by a group of academic leaders called the Amethyst Initiative who support lowering the drinking age to 18. In 1984, after Candy Lightner suffered the loss of her daughter at the hands of a drunk driver in 1980, she created Mothers Against Drunk Driving (M.A.D.D.) She lobbied for a new law to set a minimum drinking age of 21 in the hopes that it would help stop underage drinking. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed and most states adopted it immediately to avoid a 10 percent reduction in federal funding for their state highways. According to a 2010 national survey by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “among young adults aged 18 to 25 in 2010, the rate of binge drinking was 40.6 percent” (Office of Applied Science). According to the findings, this was similar to the numbers for 2009. On a whole, drinking rates have slowly dropped for underage drinkers since the introduction of the Age Law. Despite the drop, independent studies showed that underage drinkers still “make up 10 percent, or $10 billion annually,” of the $115 billion alcohol industry in the United States alone (Witmer). One of the main issues, safety, centers on driving accidents while under the influence of alcohol. This has been studied in other countries as well. According to Sanghavi, when “New Zealand lowered the drinking age from 20 to 18…[alcohol related crashes] declined far less than in the overall population” (Sanghavi). In addition, the National Youth Rights
Cited: Alexander, Chris M. "Legal Drinking Age Debate “ Law: DWI Lawyers and DWI Attorneys. 27 Sept. 2010. Web. 23 Sept. 2011. Amethyst Initiative. Web. 26 Sept. 2011 http://www.amethystinitiative.org/ "Binge Drinking Needs to Be Reform Focus” GoErie.com/Erie Times-News.Times Publishing Company, 08 Sept. 2008. Web. 23 Sept. 2011. Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. Web. 25 Sep. 2011. www.youthrights.org. National Youth Rights Association. Web. 23 Sept. 2011. "Results from the 2010 NSDUH: Summary of National Findings, SAMHSA, CBHSQ." OAS Home: Alcohol, Tobacco & Drug Abuse and Mental Health Data from SAMHSA, Office of Applied Studies. Web. 23 Sept. 2011. Sanghavi, Darshak. "Quicker Liquor: Should We Lower the Legal Drinking Age?" Homepage - Slate Magazine. 26 Aug. 2008. Web. 06 Oct. 2011. Witmer, Denise. "College Binge Drinking Epidemic: The Effects of Binge Drinking on College Campuses." About.com/New York Times Company. Web. 23 Sept. 2011.