Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21?

Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21?

Do you remember your first taste of alcohol? How old were you? Twenty-one? All 50 states currently demand that their citizens reach age 21 before they can legally drink. But there's a growing movement that says mandatory minimum laws may do more harm than good. When determining the right date when a young person can take one of their final steps towards personal responsibility and freedom, what's the right answer?

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  • “No”
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PIRE

Many Bars Over-Serve Alcohol

Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation

My opponents will argue that “Eighteen, nineteen- and twenty-year-olds are drinking anyway. If we legalize it, at least they’ll be drinking in a controlled setting.”

Keep in mind that a bar is not necessarily a “safe” or “controlled” environment to drink. A recent study showed that 76 percent of bars sold alcohol to obviously intoxicated patrons.  Research shows that about half of drivers arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI) or killed as drinking drivers in traffic crashes did their drinking at licensed establishments.

Instead of allowing 18-20 year olds to drink in bars, we should be doing more to prevent their access to alcohol via commercial establishments. According to a study by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in July 2005, teen access to alcohol through illegal purchases at alcohol retail establishments across the country is widespread. Previous research has shown that underage buyers were successful in purchasing beer without age identification in 50 percent of the bars visited.
   
The ease with which young people acquire alcohol—three-quarters of 8th graders say that it is “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get—indicates that more must be done. Current laws against furnishing and sales to minors need better enforcement and stiff penalties to deter violations. Better education and prevention-oriented laws are needed to reduce the commercial pressures on kids to drink.
   
Imagine how many lives we might save if the MLDA 21 law was enforced at levels similar to impaired-driving enforcement. We should continue to support this law and ensure that it is enforced.

Evidence

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Illegal Alcohol Sales to Obviously Intoxicated Patrons at...
Toomey T, Wagenaar AC, Erickson DJ, Fletcher LA, Patrek W, Lenk KM. Illegal alcohol sales to obviously intoxicated patrons at licensed establishments. Alcohol Clinical Experimental Research. 2004;28(5):769-774.
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The Convicted Drunk Driver in Michigan: a Profile of Offenders.
Eby DW. The convicted drunk driver in Michigan: a profile of offenders. UMTRI Research Review. 1995;25(52):April-June.
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A Study of Impaired Drivers Stopped by Police in Sudbury, Ontario.
Anglin L, Caverson R, Fennel R, Giesbrecht N, Mann RE. A study of impaired drivers stopped by police in Sudbury, Ontario. Toronto: Addiction Research Foundation; 1997.
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Research on Drinking Locations of Alcohol-Impaired Drivers:
O'Donnell MA. Research on drinking locations of alcohol-impaired drivers: Implications for prevention policies. J Public Health Policy. 1985:510-525.
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MADD: Teen Access to Alcohol Widespread.
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Commercial Availability of Alcohol to Young People:
Forster JL, Murray DM, Wolfson M, Wagenaar A. Commercial availability of alcohol to young people: Results of alcohol purchase attempts. Preventative Medicine. 1995;24:324-347.
IcolinkLink
Alcohol Policies Project: Advocacy for the Prevention of Alcohol...
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National Survey Results on Drug Use From the Monitoring the Future...
Johnston LD, O'Malley PM, Bachman JG. National survey results on drug use from the monitoring the future study, 1975-1995. Volume 1: Secondary School Students. National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH publication no. 96-4139. 1996.
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