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Jorge Padilla
Jackie Hymes
English 113A
11-11-15
The Drinking Age in the US. So high?!
Has is it ever come to mind why the drinking age in the U.S. was so high as compared to
other countries such as England, Mexico, and Canada? The U.S. is one out of seven other
countries that currently have the alcohol drinking age set to 21. When it comes down to it the
American people have always been abstained from alcohol, told that alcohol was bad, and that
we should stay away from it. If only Americans could have learned to just become more mature
drinkers at earlier points in their lives, then there wouldnt be as many calamities involved with
drinking.
Well, the original reason as to why the drinking age was set to 21 was because, back in
1983 when President Regan was in office, he began to notice a pattern among highway accidents
occurring along with teens that died and were involved in the consumption. So what he proposed
was a bill, which put up a 10 percent tax on every states highway funds if they refused to
implement the states drinking age to be 21. Naturally the MADD (Mothers. Against. Drunk.
Driving.) also had some involvement with the issue which further aided in persuading Regan to
propose the bill. Eventually all 50 states had established the bill so the bill was then quickly
enacted and made into a law by 1984. This is not the first time the U.S. had put restrictions on
alcohol. Around the year 1919 the United States made it a law to ban alcohol since it was seen as
a harm to the society especially when it came into the hands of men. 14 years later the ban
ended, since a majority of the people were still consuming the product illegally, and gangs and

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mafias were hurting the economy through the eyes of the government, since they would sell the
alcohol illegally. Americans have always criminalized alcohol through out history, so no matter
how high you raise the drinking age Americans will still see feel the need to abuse it. The answer
to this issue is to enforce disciplined drinking vigorously at a younger age. The earlier Americans
can learn to drink responsibly the sooner they will grow up and become a part of society and as
they grow they could advocate responsible drinking to their peers. Also if by any chance the
individual happens to develop a family, then they would teach their own teenagers to become
responsible drinkers. This would become a cycle. Yes, from time to time accidents such as a car
accident, a job injury, or domestic violence incident will occur but it is assured that the chances
of those incidents will be greatly lowered. Unfortunately, there will always be one person who
chooses solely to drink for the purpose of getting him or herself very intoxicated and its because
of these irresponsible drinkers that cause accidents along with their friends, to themselves, or to
other innocent people.
Disciplined drinking at a younger age not only teaches the drinkers themselves to be
more responsible when it comes to drinking but as well as to their younger peers. As this starts to
take place it teaches the even younger class to become more conscientious drinkers. Responsible
drinking at a younger age will lead to an even further, younger, and more responsible type-of
drinkers for the future. For instance, (chooseresponsibility.org) states that the current drinking
age in the U.S. marginalizes parents since they dont really have any say in how they should be
controlling their liquor by the time that they actually have the right to drink alcohol. Responsible
drinking at a younger age is an actual thing, and prime ideal of this are the southern countries of
Europe. Around one tenth of all drinking occasions in Europe lead to intoxication. As compared
to the United States over half of all of drinking occasions end in intoxication according to

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(chooseresponsibility.org). So for those saying that responsible drinking amongst the people isnt
a reality that the American public can come to, it is. The majority of teens that do drink alcohol
illegally is mostly due to the fat that they succumb to peer pressure. So from the time when they
see their friends and family doing it they want to join them as well. If the drinking age were to be
18 though youd have the choice to drink with your friends freely if you wanted to or not; some
people naturally enjoy living healthy. (usnews.com) Claims that in 2010 more people die of drug
over doses from doing things like pre-gaming or combining drugs with alcohol than motor
vehicle accidents. Alcohol should also never be taken or mixed with any other kind of drug the
effects of the product can cause very harmful thing to the body. Since teens are so eager to get
their hands on alcohol in todays world then theyre willing to undergo being exposed to other
illegal substances and hardcore drugs. With a lower age drinking age teenagers would be able to
satisfy their curiosity of adult leisure. Rather then grow into drug addicts, suffer from some sort
of permanent accident or risk death.
It is a common notion that alcohol does cause damage to the brain cells of the human
mind. However, this isnt really true. Drinking a controlled amount of alcohol is harmless to any
human so long as A substance that could actually kill your brain cells would end up up killing the
person as well. The only way for alcohol to cause damage to the brain would be if the consumer
were either a long time drinker or if he or she binge drank heavy alcohol such as vodka or
whiskey. Nonetheless alcohol does have its negative affects on the body since its still considered
a drug. Long term drinkers of alcohol do tend to suffer from liver, pancreas, and heart problems.
If you are also someone who drinks alcohol consistently youre more prone to become addicted
to alcohol. These are factors that can be controlled however if you drink your alcohol
responsibly, and certain kinds of alcohol have been known to be good for your health. For

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instance, red wine is good for the heart nevertheless it should not be consumed on a regular
basis. Yes, its also true that some people do drink recklessly on purpose with the intent of getting
very intoxicated. You also run the risk of becoming more prone to getting liver cancer but in all
fairness all alcohol beverages do put labels that already warn you and like any other drug if it is
abused it will eventually harm you.
The drinking age in the united states should be lowered for multiple reasons. The greatest
reason being it benefits the society in numerous ways. If the drinking age were to be lowered it
would create more responsible drinkers hence a safer environment to live in. Not only this but
your friends and family members will become safer drinkers as well. There are other certain
kinds of risks to drinking but as long as they can be avoided through responsible drinking
everything will be fine. If the US has the right to join the army, watch adult videos, buy a gun,
and smoke at the age of 18 I believe that we should all have the right to drink alcohol once we
reach adulthood. Why should the faults of the few from the past have to repaid by the majority of
the future? Drunk driving was only a big issue in the past youd think that after all these years
people finally understand how to control their liquor.

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Works Cited
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Cary, Mary Kate. "Time to Lower the Drinking Age." Us News. 7 May 2014. Web.
"Choose Responsibility." Drinking and Culture: International Comparisons -. Web.

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