People have always engaged in substances that alter their state of mind since the beginning of man. As society was developed and modernized into the major global culture that we have today, limitations have been put on what substances you can use. Alcohol is one of those substances that have come under age restriction in almost every country. A lot of controversy has risen lately in America and Great Britain. Great Britain is debating about changing the drinking age to 21 and Americans drinking age was changed to 21 in 1984 and has come under ever increasing scrutiny.

It all started in the 1980’s when MADD (Mothers against Drunk Driving) lobbied that the drinking age needed to be changed to 21 to save lives. MADD presented arguments and statistics until the amendment was passed into law. Initially Ronal Regan claimed he was going to veto the bill because threatening money from the states would be against state’s right, but he ended up changing his mind. Know if the states do not raise the age to 21 they risk losing 10% of their highway funds.

There are many reasons for why the drinking age should be lowered to 18. When a person turns 18, they gain all the rights of being an adult, such as being able to vote, be sued, marry and much more. Do not forget the rights that you already have such as when people turn 12 they can get a hunting license and 16 people can drive. It would seem logical that 12 year olds should be trusted with guns yet legal adults are not allowed to drink a beer. The major problem with making alcohol illegal until your 21 is that it inevitably encourages binge drinking. When underage drinkers get access to alcohol they will notably drink more and they will drink harder liquor. The after effects of binge drinking are much more substantial than to have an occasional beer. Binge drinkers risk damage to the brain and loss of memory in adulthood. These major effects are usually found in binge drinkers though; the occasional drink does not seem to have the same effect. When the drinking age was increased, it just increased the time when underage drinkers will engage in binge drinking and be put at risk. By allowing people access to alcohol, it will reduce binge drinking and teach responsibility. If alcohol is used in moderation, not only does it teach responsibility but it can also be healthy for your heart.

MADD is one of the main proponents to keep the drinking age at 21. They view that if the drinking age is higher than it will lower the amount of drunken driving accidents. If people start drinking later, they will have more experience and at an older age, they would not be as interested to binge drink. Since the drinking age has been upped to 21, the amount of underage drinking has been reduced. Also youth drinking can be damaging to the brain, making it difficult to function in a social environment. Since the drinking age has been put into effect, the amount of deaths that result from drunk driving has decreased dramatically over the last 20 years.

There are many reasons why the drinking age should be lowered back to 18. To begin with, it would help reduce the amount of hypocrisy that is already present in our national government. If we look at the current struggle in the Middle East, one out of every six soldiers who die are deemed to irresponsible to be able to drink. Besides the blatant hypocrisy, there are also major health issues involved that suggest the drinking age should be lowered. When substances are illegal, they are usually used harder. Binge drinking usually peaks in the 18-21 year old age span before slowly decreasing as you reach adult hood. If the age is lowered to 18, people who wanted to drink, could go and drink what they want in the quantities that they choose, instead of drowning in Vodka or Everclear until they are in the EMS. This is especially hard since a lot of these are college students, and the negative effect of binge drinking is astounding.

There is no reason why the drinking age should be lowered back to 18. Every reason MADD gives is easily debunked by truly looking at what they are saying and looking at it in depth. The statistics are usually exaggerated, it is true that the amount of fatalities in car wrecks has lowered in the last 20 years, but also technology has also change. Cars are safer now and come standard with airbags. In the 1980, did people ever hear about a designated driver? MADD may be able to say that they have reduced the amount of car fatalities but they are forcing kids underground to drink in enormous amounts in secret. They may pass out in places and not be checked up on for hours at a time.

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