Old Enough

Over the past couple of years, the views of many people have changed considering the drinking age. We are now living in a time when teenagers are forced to handle more responsibilities than in the past. Which is why the state drinking age should be lowered to the age of 18.

Of course there are many reasons why a parent or guardian would not want their child to consume alcohol. There are certainly many risks involved with the consumption of alcohol. However, there are certain reasons why an eighteen year old should be able to consume alcohol. For example, when a male turns the age of eighteen he is required to register for the draft. If he refuses to register he could face charges in court or fines. To most eighteen year olds that seems a little unfair, that the government would send them off to war to kill others or maybe even be killed also, but still say they are not mature enough to consume alcohol. The state of Louisiana has already decided to lower its drinking age to eighteen. Stating that the federal law violates the states constitutional ban against age discrimination (Current).

There are several other reasons why the drinking age should be lowered to the age of eighteen. Voting, the national voting

age in the United States is eighteen. Then if the government thinks that we are mature enough vote on the officials that run our country then, we should we able to consume alcohol. Also, if when a child turns the age of eighteen they are no longer eligible to receive child support or social security then, they should be allow to consume alcohol.

Though there might be multiple reasons for lowering the drinking age there are also multiple reasons for not lowering the drinking age. For example, studies have shown that as much as 70% of students at some college campuses binge drink (Kowalski 1). Binge drinking is one of the leading causes of alcoholism. Other studies show that the number of alcohol related automobile crashes and fatalities has decreased dramatically. Research shows that having a higher drinking age saves the lives of well over 1,000 minor each year (Alcohol Health 2). With all of the

dangers involved with drinking and driving, alcohol also has a substantial amount of health risks, such as liver disease, heart disease, and cancer. Alcohol may also cause one to make decisions that one would not make under normal circumstances. For example, driving, riding with someone who has been drinking, or possibly unwanted sexual intercourse which could cause pregnancy or even an sexually transmitted disease.

With all of the reasons to lower the drinking age and all the ones to keep it the way it is now, I still believe that it is

unfair to those who do drink and act responsibly. Just because the number of alcohol related car crashes were high in the 1970 s and 80 s does not mean the same results will occur in the future. We are living in a time when children are taught to be more responsible and mature at a younger age than ever before. I believe that the people of my generation would be able to handle the responsibility of a lower drinking age.