“While the minimum legal drinking age is 21 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, in 47 of 50 states say that age 18 is the "age of majority," which generally entails having the rights and responsibilities of adulthood.” (ProCon) Many other countries have a miniscule amount of alcohol related problems compared to the United States when their drinking age is eighteen years old and our is twenty-one years old. There are many reasons why the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen years of age. These are just some of the many reasons: You become an legal adult at the age of eighteen years old, many other countries have the minimum drinking age set at eighteen years old (and they have fewer alcohol related problems), and it is much safer for people between the ages of eighteen and twenty years old for the legal drinking age to be changed to eighteen years old.
First, when you turn eighteen years old you are a legal adult in the eyes of the United States. You are allotted the privilege of being able to serve your country, being able to get married, being able to purchase tobacco products, being on a jury, sign a lease and live on your own, and so much more privileges. If you are able to be tried and imprisoned in a jail instead of going to a juvenile facility shouldn’t you be able to consume alcohol without adult supervision? All fifty United States have set their minimum drinking age to twenty-one, although exceptions do exist on a state-by-state basis for consumption at home, under adult supervision, for medical necessity, and other reasons. Many Americans have the same question that we become an adult at the age of eighteen years old, but in some states you are allowed to drink with adult supervision. When you turn eighteen years old the government gives you the privilege of doing so many things except being able to consume alcohol. The government does not treat you like a full adult until three more years. “Turning 18 entails receiving the rights and responsibilities of adulthood to vote, serve on juries, get married, sign contracts, join the military--which includes taking on the responsibilities of life and death--and be prosecuted as adults. Adults from the age of 18 should therefore also be trusted to make decisions about alcohol consumption” (ProCon). If eighteen year olds have all these rights they should be able to consume alcohol without adult supervision. 
Furthermore, the United States is one of the very few nations that have a drinking age of over the age of eighteen years old many other countries have the legal age of eighteen years old and they have fewer alcohol related problems than the United States does. “Although the United States increased the MLDA to 21, its rate of traffic fatalities in the 1980s decreased less than that of European countries whose legal drinking ages are lower than 21 proving that establishing an MLDA at 21 is not necessarily an effective way to reduce traffic fatalities” (ProCon). In countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, China, France, and Singapore have their drinking age at eighteen years old or lower with way less drinking problems then we have. They have a significantly less amount of driving related problems dealing with alcohol. They also have a much lower amount of drinking related tickets and they have less trouble with teen drinking. “Evidently, other nations have proven that it is possible to have a low drinking age and little influence on the well-being of their young adults.” (Ails) If our drinking age was changed to eighteen years old our country would be on the track to becoming a better country with less alcohol related problems.
In addition, it is much safe for people between the ages of eighteen and twenty years old for the legal drinking age to be dropped to eighteen years old. “Researchers at the University of Michigan who studied the effects of the increase in the drinking age found that states on average reduced drinking among high school seniors 13.3\%. The change also contributed to a 58% drop in alcohol-related auto deaths among 15- to 20-year-olds since 1982.”(Engs) The current law in terms of legal drinking age has caused more alcohol related deaths than there has ever been. “Generally those who are underage tend to want to rebel and do things that they aren’t allowed to.” (Ails) Another reason it is much safer to lower the minimum legal drinking age is so teenagers drink out in the open where they are under supervision of security guards, police officers, and health care workers. For example, when teens under the age of twenty-one go out and drink at their friend’s house or where ever they go they tend to drink and drive home instead of calling and getting a ride from someone who is sober. They are usually too scared to call for a ride because they will get in trouble for drinking but if they get caught drinking and driving home the consequence is much worse than just calling for a ride home and it puts many lives in danger. “The legal drinking age should be lowered to about 18 or 19 and young adults allowed to drink in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions. In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs. Mature and sensible drinking behavior would be expected. This opinion is based upon research that I have been involved in for over twenty years concerning college age youth and the history of drinking in the United States and other cultures.” (Engs) If drinking were to be lowered to eighteen years old, they would be able to drink in safer places where it can be supervised instead of unsafe places where there are more injuries. “Prohibiting teens from drinking in bars, restaurants, and public locations has the effect of forcing them to drink in unsupervised places such as fraternity houses or house parties. When teens get hurt from alcohol-related injuries or accidents, they are sometimes afraid of seeking medical help for fear of legal consequences. Lowering the drinking age will allow teens to drink alcohol in regulated environments with supervision” (ProCon). Also when teens are introduced to alcohol earlier they don’t become curious any more for example “Lowering the drinking age will make alcohol less of a taboo, take away the thrill that many young people get from breaking the law, and make alcohol consumption a more normalized activity done in moderation.” (ProCon)
Also, many people believe that if there was a license system to be able to drink at eighteen years old that that would lower the drinking related problems for teen drinkers. “John McCardell is a man on a mission. The former president of Middlebury College and founder of the nonprofit group Choose Responsibility is traveling the country this spring to drum up support among college presidents and policy experts for a counterintuitive proposal: Given the growing problem of binge drinking on campuses, it's time to drop the drinking age below 21. Decriminalizing drinking by kids 18 and older, McCardell says, will bring their alcohol consumption out from hiding to where parents and adults can monitor it and teach responsibility without conflict. Young adults between the ages of 18 and 20 could earn a license to buy and use alcohol by completing an alcohol education program” (Baldauf). Many people ask what’s stopping kids from under the age of eighteen from drinking or what’s stopping them from getting their license and going crazy he replies by saying “If you are in violation of your state's alcohol laws prior to turning 18, you forfeit your eligibility for the license. This may do more to reduce the problem of underage drinking than anything else that we've tried. And if you violate the laws of your state after receiving the license, by giving alcohol to a minor or driving drunk, say, it is instantaneously revoked” (Baldauf). Many people believe that this is one of the best solutions for lowering the drinking age and stopping underage drinking, though there is no perfect solution for drinking problems and there will never be. Obtaining the license system would decrease the alcohol related problems immensely. “Enforcing an MLDA of 21 is expensive and inefficient. Drinking is still a major problem among teens. It would be more effective to spend money on educating youth about alcohol than to spend it on enforcement of drinking laws for 18 to 20 year olds” (ProCon). Furthermore, people believe that if a person is taught the rights and wrongs of drinking that alcohol related problems would decrease immensely. “Based upon the fact that our current prohibition laws are not working, the need for alternative approaches from the experience of other, and more ancient cultures, which do not have these problems need to be tried. Groups such as Italians, Greeks, Chinese and Jews, who have few drinking related problems, tend to share some common characteristics. Alcohol is neither seen as a poison or a magic potent, there is little or no social pressure to drink, irresponsible behavior is never tolerated, young people learn at home from their parents and from other adults how to handle alcohol in a responsible manner, there is societal consensus on what constitutes responsible drinking” (Engs). If drinking was taught there would be less problems relating to alcohol. “When adolescents are not taught to drink in moderation, they end up binge drinking when they do consume alcohol. It is better to teach youth to learn how to drink responsibly and hold them accountable for their actions as we do with driving” (ProCon).
On the contrary, many people think that if the drinking age would be lowered to eighteen years old they would be a greater amount of problems. While it can cause a few miniscule problems here and there, there are a greater amount of problems if they drinking age would be kept at twenty-one years of age. For example, when eighteen years olds go out and drink they tend to over drink because they don’t know when they are going to get the chance to drink again. This is just one of the many problems dealing with the current law on the drinking age. In my interview with my mother, Theresa Wicks, who had to deal with a couple alcoholics she knows how alcohol can effect a person’s life she has also been to many Al-Anon class which is meetings for friends and families of problem drinkers,. She believes that the drinking age should be kept where it’s at because it will cause too many problems if it was lowered. She goes on to say “The only way I would think the drinking age could be lowered with less problems is if there was a program to get a license to drink just like their driver’s license they have to learn all the consequences of drinking and have to pass a test in order to get their drinking license.” Lowering the drinking age to eighteen years of age wouldn’t just be beneficial to the people ages of eighteen years to twenty years it would be beneficial to all of America.
On the other side, we all know that prohibition didn’t work and isn’t this law against people under the age of twenty-one not being able to drink just like prohibition it’s not allowing adults to drink. “National alcohol prohibition from 1920 to 1933 failed, which shows that strict regulation of drinking is counterproductive, unenforceable, and can lead to an increase in illegal and underground activities” (ProCon). Prohibition just leads to illegal activity just like this law leads to people under the age of twenty-one trying to hide in unsafe places and drink. “When the 21st Amendment to the US Constitution repealed Prohibition in 1933, most states set a minimum legal drinking age of 21 years, although the specific provisions of the law in each state varied. These laws began to change in the 1970s when many states lowered the minimum legal drinking age along with reducing the minimum age to vote during the Vietnam War. The lower minimum legal drinking age was followed by increases in the sale and consumption of alcohol” (Wechsler). When the minimum legal drinking age was lowered to eighteen years old lead to an increase sale of alcohol this would help the economy immensely because it would create more jobs for the unemployed and it would be just one more step to help the United States get out of this economic slump. “In 1986, Wisconsin Legislature raised the drinking age to 21, Wisconsin’s beer production industry experienced steady declines in sales from 1984 through 1987, with the increases in the drinking age to 19 in 1984 and to 21 in 1986” (Troia). Prohibition didn’t work in the past, it won’t work now, and it’s not going to work in the future. “Although the legal purchase age is 21 years of age, a majority of college students under this age consume alcohol but in an irresponsible manner. This is because drinking by these youth is seen as an enticing "forbidden fruit," a "badge of rebellion against authority" and a symbol of "adulthood." As a nation we have tried prohibition legislation twice in the past for controlling irresponsible drinking problems. This was during National Prohibition in the 1920s and state prohibition during the 1850s. These laws were finally repealed because they were unenforceable and because the backlash towards them caused other social problems.” (Engs)
In conclusion, the drinking age should be lowered because you become an legal adult at the age of eighteen years old, many other countries have the legal age of eighteen years old and they have fewer alcohol related problems than us, and it is much safe for people between the ages of eighteen and twenty years old for the legal drinking age to be dropped to eighteen years old. “Because the 21 year old drinking age law is not working, and is counterproductive, it behooves us as a nation to change our current prohibition law and to teach responsible drinking techniques for those who chose to consume alcoholic beverages“(ProCon). All in all, the lowering the drinking age is just one step closer to helping the United States become a better place.
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