Underage Drinking 18 Vs. 21

MLA

zilismm — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:06:20 +0000

Ails, Michaela. “Lowering the drinking age to 18 would benefit young adults – The Collegian Daily Online”. The Collegian Daily Online. February 2009.

<http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2009/02/02/lowering_drinking_age_to_18wo.aspx>

Johnson, Alex. “Debate on lower drinking age bubbling up – Addictions – msnbc.com”. msnbc. August 2007.

<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20249460/>

MLA

Katharine — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:48:21 +0000

Volger, Roger. Teenagers & Alcohol. Philadelphia: The Charles Press, 1992. 147. Print.

Addeo, Edmond. Why Our Children Drink. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall International, 1975. 191. Print.

Why do people drink?

zilismm — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:19:57 +0000

While some people drink to be more outgoing or relaxed, it all comes down to one thing, peer pressure. Peer pressure is everywhere, television, billboards, magazines, and even in your hometown, it is these things that cause kids to drink. Kids and teens want to fit in with their friends and look like the “cool” people in ads. Also, it doesn’t help that when 18 year olds enter college they are swamped with information and warnings about drinking on campus. It gives students the impression that in order to fit in at college you have to drink because you won’t be able to anybody who doesn’t, at least that’s how I felt. When I first came to school I thought that I wasn’t going to fit in because I’m not a “drinker”, but I was wrong I found a group of friends right off the bat who is just like me. This goes to show you that if the drinking age was lowered there are some responsible people that would not take advantage of it.

Research (continued)

zilismm — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:06:08 +0000

“The United States is the one of the only developed nations whose drinking age is greater than the age of 18. Countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, China, France, and Singapore hold their drinking age at or lower than 18. Even our neighbors to the north, Canada, have a drinking age of 18 proving that this is not a regional phenomenon. Seventy-eight percent of Americans oppose lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18. However, I am not in this majority for a number of reasons.”

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2009/02/02/lowering_drinking_age_to_18_wo.aspx

Research

zilismm — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:03:32 +0000

“Over the strong objection of federal safety officials, a quiet movement to lower the legal drinking age to 18 is taking root as advocates argue that teenagers who are allowed to vote and fight for their country should also be able to enjoy a beer or two.

The proposal, which is the subject of a national petition drive by the National Youth Rights Association, has been studied in a handful of states in recent years, including Florida, Wisconsin, Vermont and Missouri, where supporters are pushing a ballot initiative.

Opponents of the idea point to a reported rise in binge drinking as teenagers increasingly turn to hard liquor as proof that minors should not be allowed to drink, but proponents look at the same data and draw the opposite conclusion.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20249460/

Why should the drinking age be lowered? (opinions)

zilismm — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:59:02 +0000

I look at this way, drinking isn’t a bad thing as long as you do it in moderation. But like most things, the temptation for “living life on the edge” will drive most people to go too far. When you sit down and truly think about it the reason why most kids “binge” drink is because it’s risky and illegal, which for some makes the mere thought of participating in it appealing. By lowering the drinking age kids/teens will be less tempted to drink because they won’t be doing anything that could get them in trouble. David J. Hanson, an alcohol policy expert at State University says, “Raising the drinking age to 21 was passed with the very best of intentions, but it’s had the very worst of outcomes.” Many people argue that if 18 year olds are old enough to vote and fight for our country they should be able to make the conscious decision on whether or not to drink. A lot of people argue that when teens binge drink they turn to hard liquor which is proof that they are not responsible enough to drink. I disagree however, like previously stated by lowering the drinking age the temptation won’t be as strong to drink because they aren’t doing anything illegal.

Availability Problem?

rrrrr16 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:39:03 +0000

One thing that people don’t take into consideration with a 21 year old drinking age limit is: it doesn’t stop 18, 19, and 20 year olds from getting alcohol. There are so many fake ids around and you can easily get them made too. If you don’t have a fake id, someone such as a friend, or a friend of a friend will most likely have them. The only way to stop this illegal problem, is to lower the drinking age limit to 18. At 18 you are considered an adult and should be able to do adult-like things, such as drinking. After turning 18 you have the word “responsibility” thrown at you left and right… can an 18 year old not be responsible with drinking? Since when?

Feeling good makes you feel bad?

Katharine — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:22:08 +0000

One of the main reasons people drink is to become more social. It also makes them feel good giving them what some people might call, pleasure. Pleasure alone is a sufficient motivation to pursue an activity and that’s easily understandable. Drinking alcohol makes you feel warm, pleasant, mellow, relaxed, less alert, “buzzed”, talkative, and obnoxious. All of these are feelings that are hard to feel when sober, and especially when you talk to an 18 year old, per-say, living in a college environment, this is something they are definitely drawn to. It can help relieve stress and also encourage them to meet new people after being placed in a new environment, gaining confidence along the way. Why would you not let an 18 year old drink legally especially if it’s going to help them be more social and relax? Why do 18 year olds get looked down on if they do drink because it’s something “illegal”? Are people just basing their judgements off laws and not the feelings 18, 19, and 20 year olds can have? Why does drinking underage give you guilt trips? Drinking is something that makes you feel good and you shouldn’t feel bad about doing it.

Adult Activity

Katharine — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:13:42 +0000

When a person reaches the age of 18, they are considered an adult. Allowed to buy chewing tobacco, purchase pornography, head off to strip clubs, gamble, get married. You are no longer a juvenile delinquent and can be sent to prison for a much longer time period, you can vote, join the army, and curfews of ‘midnight’ are no longer in effect. Why is drinking suddenly so much more superior and become a bigger issue since they decided to raise the legal drinking age to 21? I will tell you. The adrenaline that pumps through the bodies of the underage culprits. Having the responsibility of being an adult can be very stressful and one way they can still feel young again, by not being completely immature and relieve stress, is by drinking. On the contrary, alcohol is basically seen as an adult activity, which is one of the principal reasons why young people want to drink, to feel older and more advanced. The drinking law gives them something to so easily abuse and experiment with, so why is it seen as somewhat more important than voting for the next president that will run/support/protect our country?

Poll

rrrrr16 — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:56:25 +0000

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