Should the Legal Age for Drinking Alcohol be 18? PDF

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Should the Legal Age for Drinking Alcohol be 18 Essay...

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Nikiya Wilder Prof Buonomo English 1102 16 April 2017 Should the Legal Age for Drinking Alcohol be 18? Research Proposal The minimum legal age for alcohol consumption is both an international and national topic of heated dispute. Across the world each country has debated and concluded what it feels is the most appropriate age, and while the United States has come to its own conclusions about the matter it remains in a constant state of conflict. In comparison to majority of the western world, the United States’ minimum age for consumption scores rather high, at 21 years of age. This minimum legal age appears to many as being too high. They believe that it serves no true purpose, given the idea that it is widely ignored. While there may be some truth to that statement, evidence against the benefits of lowering the age appear to outweigh the evidence in favor. For example, alcohol consumption at early ages is associated with many negative realities. It is harmful to developing brains, disrupting normal growth and development patterns. It has a clear pattern of correlating with violence and sexual abuse. It also has strong ties to injury and death, primarily ones dealing with automobiles.The list goes on and on, and while there are a wide array of reason against lowering it, they all have one thing in common: consumption of alcohol at early ages. To lower minimum age for consumption could mean high chances and higher numbers of the tragedies listed above. One specific setting of concentrated illegal consumption of alcohol is college campuses. ”Drinking” is no stranger to college campuses, and many people are well aware of this fact. Today it is not particularly shocking for a student or teacher to find that the majority of their scholarly peers consume it on a frequent basis. This is an unfortunate truth, as alcohol is a heavily harmful substance medically speaking. It has found its way to latch itself onto modern society, and sown itself into the basic fabric of what majority of people perceive as the classic college experience. The existence of this expectation is evidence in itself of the integration of alcohol in our society. Current laws work to fight this they still fail, and to think about the degree of intervention alcohol could have on campuses if the age were to be lowered is startling. While these laws can not prevent consumption all together, they can at least condemn the consumption till such individuals have reached a more intellectually developed stage in their lives. It's important to remember that the root of this particular debate is not whether or not alcohol is “okay” to drink, but rather is it okay for younger individuals to do so. I'm researching this ongoing topic of debate because of it's clear relevant and impactful effect on the world. The idea that something as simple as a beverage creating such a “stir” is quite fascinating. This topic clearly has an international aspect to it, alcohol being a classic, diverse, cherished artifact and treasure of countries all around the world. Lastly it has a clear way of influencing modern society, and laws such as the one of discussion often time shape, or possible reshape society and culture.

Annotated Bibliography Barnhill, John H., PhD. "Drinking Age Debate." Salem Press Encyclopedia, January. EBSCOhost Barnhill begins his argument by using the high number of college presidents across the country that supported a 2008 petition to lower the minimum age for legal alcohol consumption. Their reasoning being that the preventative law of raising the age to 21 has done little to nothing to prevent the consumption on college campuses. Therefore they suggest that the age be lowered to its original number of 18. The author shares the historical context behind the reasoning for raising the minimum age; stating that it was done to decrease highway fatalities. However, despite this law, many citizens below the minimum age consume alcohol anyways. This fact is a possibly convincing reason for the legal age to be changed, and could be used as a source for an argument against the current standing law. In addition to the historical context and opinions of the writer, Barnhill appears to be well versed, unbiased, and open-minded; as he addresses and discusses the pros and cons of both sides of the argument. "College Presidents Call for a Debate on Lowering the Drinking Age to 18. (Cover Story)." Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly, vol. 20, no. 34, 08 Sept. 2008, pp. 1-3. EBSCOhost, In 2008, 129 Presidents of colleges across the country came together in debate on dropping the legal drinking age back to its original setting of 18. Many of the president's argued that it would lower the dangers of binge drinking off campus. They also stated that it would allow the colleges to encourage students to drink responsibly. The purpose of this annotated bibliography is that I will be able to argue in my research paper that if the legal drinking age was lowered to 18, many young adults would not see this as an act of a responsibility but moreso as freedom to drink as much as they would like. In addition, that could lead to further alcohol abuse and addiction. Marcotte, Thomas D., et al. "High-Risk Driving Behaviors among Adolescent Binge Drinkers." American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Abuse, vol. 38, no. 4, July 2012, pp. 322-327. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3109/00952990.2011.643981. Throughout the reading, Marcotte mainly speaks on the behavioral changes of adolescents after binge drinking. In the beginning, she starts off by listing many of the complications of binge drinking as a young adult. To name a few; the dangers of damaging brain development, increased suicide attempts, sexual behavior, smoking, and drunk driving. Marcotte also talks about how adolescents are new drivers, meaning they are four times more likely to crash than more experienced drivers. In addition to that, the use of alcohol while driving is extremely dangerous. This annotated bibliography is resourceful for the reason that it argues that teens should not have alcohol because of the negative effects of it in specific to teens and young adults. McCartt, Anne T., et al. "The Effects of Minimum Legal Drinking Age 21 Laws on AlcoholRelated Driving in the United States." Journal of Safety Research, vol. 41, 01 Jan. 2010, pp. 173181. EBSCOhost, In this academic journal, laws regarding the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) decided to track the alcoholic consumption of high school students. This recording began after the minimal legal consumption age was raised to 21 in 1988. The studies found that the percentage of those who have died due to car accidents, between the 16-20 years of age, due to alcohol, had

decreased significantly. It was also found that the percentage of individuals who were found to be above the legal blood alcohol concentration decreased from 61% to 31%, between the years 1982 and 1995. This source will be beneficial to my research paper as it offers reliable statistics that quantify the study’s findings surrounding underage drinking and driving. In addition, it establishes a clear correlation between underage drinking and detrimental consequences. "Minimum Drinking Age." Congressional Digest, vol. 94, no. 3, Mar. 2015, pp. 12-13. EBSCOhost, This article discusses the National Minimum Drinking Age Act (NMDAA). This act holds states accountable for allowing individuals under the age of 21 to be in public possession of alcohol. While it does it's job, it also works to include the opinions of those who oppose any form of age changing. A few of these reasons include the possibility that alcohol consumption could interfere with the brain development of young adults, the risk of addiction, and the chance of criminal involvement. This is a useful resource since it offers numerous varying reasons as to why lowering the legal drinking age is not the best decision. "Prohibition." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2016, p. 1p. 1. EBSCOhost The main purpose of this text is to inform the audience of the term, prohibition. According to the Funk, prohibition was the legal ban of production and sales of alcoholic beverages. This often occurred in earlier times in the past. In the text, the author discussed the effects of prohibition. They suggest that because of this movement, “speakeasies” were created. “Speakeasies” were illegal saloons that sold alcohol secretly, and unlawfully. Alcohol at one point in time was accessible to the entire nation, and that decision was based in the realization that it was harmful. People should not fall victim to the modern perspective where individuals are blind/numb to its real impacts. If alcohol is harmful enough to be illegal at some point in time, it only makes sense that this is a substance that people should keep out of the hands of young developing people. The main benefit of this annotated bibliography is that it shows the negative side of alcohol, using historical evidence and facts to support it. Sherwood, Martha A., PhD. "Teens and Alcohol Abuse." Salem Press Encyclopedia of Health, January. EBSCOhost, Sherwood initially starts the article by defining the term “alcohol abuse”. She then goes on to discuss the leading problems of alcohol abuse. However, the most fundamental part of this article is when Sherwood talks about the “Effects of Early Alcohol Use and Abuse”. In this section, she analyzes the negative affects early age alcohol use can have on people. Showing the high numbers of fatalities, injuries, and sexual assaults in relation to college, this article can be utilized to show how lowering the legal drinking age to 18 can make this matter worse. Sherwood also talks about how 1 in 4 college students say that there is often an academic consequence due to drinking. Wechsler, H and TF Nelson. "Will Increasing Alcohol Availability by Lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Decrease Drinking and Related Consequences among Youths?." American Journal of Public Health, vol. 100, no. 6, June 2010, pp. 986-992. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2105/AJPH.2009. 178004. In this piece it is clear that the writer is fully against lowering the drinking age to 18. He talks about how things have changed since the age was changed in the 1980s. How the use of alcohol has decreased significantly for the ages 18 to 21. He speaks about the controversy between the adolescent teens who attend college and those who do not, and what

effects could arise for that age group in those varying settings. According to Wechsler, college students tend to engage in consumption of alcohol at a higher rate than, the young adults who do not attend college. This piece is a great source since it shows the vary gaps between the types of adolescents who consume alcohol, and who consumes more than others. It also informs that there is a clear decline in the usage of alcohol for the age group of interest, since the adjustment of legal drinking age. Carpenter, Christopher. "Heavy Alcohol Use and Youth Suicide: Evidence from Tougher Drunk Driving Laws." Journal of Policy Analysis & Management, vol. 23, no. 4, Fall 2004, pp. 831842. "YOUNG PEOPLE VERSUS ADULTS. WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?" Foundation for a Drug-Free World. Foundation for a Drug-Free World, 2017. Web. 05 May 2017....