American short-story writer and novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, "Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right." Alcohol has been consumed since before 2100 BC, when the Babylon worshipped a wine goddess.  Along the same lines, David J. Hanson, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the State University of New York, states that over 2/3 of the American population are consumers of alcohol.  If the consumption of alcohol is so common and has been around for this multitude of years, then why is it seen as such a risky activity in the United States?  One of the answers to this question is "binge drinking."  Currently, because of binge drinking, consuming alcohol can be an extremely dangerous activity.  The young adults of society today are taking part in binge drinking because they feel that they might not receive alcohol again for an extended period of time.  Moreover, law enforcement agencies do not currently treat the enforcing of the drinking age of twenty-one as a priority.  Because of this, teens continue to drink in unsupervised areas, leading to the problem of binge drinking, alcohol poisoning, and death from these things.  Even though the United States considers a person an adult at the age of 18, it is one of only eleven countries in the world that has a drinking age of 21.  If the minimum legal drinking age in the United States were lowered, eighteen-year-olds would finally be able to make the "adult" decision of consuming alcohol.  Furthermore, the consumption of alcohol could be more easily monitored on college campuses. This and the abolishment of the "forbidden fruit" association with alcohol consumption for underage drinkers would cause fewer drunk driving accidents to occur. In short, lowering the drinking age would save the lives of many young adults.

The consumption of alcohol isn't seen as a completely forbidden event by underage people.  In fact, in a study of 452 children between the ages of eight and eighteen, 38% had tried alcohol by the age of eight and 66% had tried alcohol by the age of twelve; 16% of sixteen-year-olds had participated in binge drinking at some point in their lives and 96% of people had tried alcohol by the age of eighteen ("Study Finds an Alarming Number of Underage Drinking"). Kelly E. Courtney, Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University, and her colleagues point out that binge drinking is the practice of consuming large quantities of alcohol in a single session, usually defined as five or more drinks at one time for a man, or four or more drinks at one time for a woman.  Additionally, they state that binge drinking is the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States.  Binge drinking has ties to suicide, alcohol poisoning, hypertension, and many other disorders.  Because this is such a prevalent problem today, many underage people are becoming severely ill or dying because of these preventable causes.  Dr. Alexander C. Wagenaar, Professor of Public Health at the University of Florida, and his colleague note that 92% of high school seniors report consuming alcohol in their lifetimes and 64% report being current consumers of alcohol.  Moreover, they state that 35% of these seniors report being regular binge drinkers.  It is clear to see that underage people are drinking alcohol whether it is legal or not.  People of this age will always be able to get their hands on alcoholic beverages.  Whether it be their legally-aged friends buying it for them or their use of fake ID's, alcohol is easily accessible even if it is illegal to someone of their age.  Barry, an Associate Professor of Health Education at Texas A&M University, and his colleagues note that while conducting a study, they found underage drinkers to report a drastically lower level of confidence to drink alcohol responsibly as compared to legal drinkers.  This study accounted for sex and race, and there was no statistically significant difference in those factors.  Why do these young people feel that they cannot consume alcohol responsibly?  The answer most likely lies in the fact that they do not know when they will be able to drink again, thus the desire to binge drink is increased.  In Return the Drinking Age to 18, and Enforce It, Gabrielle Glaser, author and award winning journalist, claims that the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen because the current drinking age of twenty-one has not stopped underage people from drinking, but rather it has "driven it underground." She proves this by stating that the number of cases of alcohol poisoning among eighteen to twenty-four year olds rose from 779 to 2,290 after the minimum legal drinking age was increased to twenty-one.  Because eighteen year olds are considered adults but not allowed to drink alcohol, the activity of drinking seems like the "forbidden fruit."  If the drinking age were lowered to twenty-one the number of cases of alcohol poisoning would likely decrease, as eighteen-year-olds would no longer find alcohol consumption as appealing as before.

Camille Paglia, academic and social critic and Professor at the University of the Arts, points out that eighteen-year-olds, who have full rights as adults, should be able to consume alcoholic beverages.  As an eighteen-year-old in the United States, you are permitted to get married, be considered free of parental consent, sign the lease to a house/apartment under your own name, and make many other important decisions.  Furthermore, if someone can make the decision to take a 50 caliber bullet for his/her country, then he/she should be able to drink a 12-ounce beer on that country's soil.  The National Youth Rights Association is quoted as saying:

Rather than a gradual introduction to drinking over the period of several years, the current attitude towards youth drinking says that a person shouldn't have a drop of alcohol until their 21st birthday, and at that time it is perfectly fine to consume 21 shots of hard liquor. This is like preventing someone from learning to drive and then handing them the keys on their 16th birthday with instructions to have fun (National Youth Rights Association "Solutions").

If we are trusting our young adults to make mature choices with the rights they currently have, then why are we not allowing them to make the same mature choices when drinking a beverage that has been enjoyed for thousands of years?  By thrusting someone into the drinking world immediately after they turn twenty-one, they have already been free of parental consent for three years and will likely turn to friends rather than older, responsible individuals to ask for drinking advice.  Most high school seniors are eighteen-years-old and still living with their parents.  These parents often fail to educate their sons/daughters about alcohol consumption because they feel that alcohol should not be consumed by underage people.  If the minimum legal drinking age were lowered to eighteen, parents of these young adults would feel more inclined to teach their children the correct and safe way to consume alcohol before they enter college.  Furthermore, high schools could even begin to educate about safe alcohol consumption rather than the current "stay away from alcohol" lesson that most high school students receive.  

Carla T. Main, a journalist who practiced law in New York City for ten years, points out that the minimum legal drinking age of twenty-one was originally established when one's right to vote and many other rights as adults were also granted at the age of twenty-one.  If every other right as an adult was lowered to the age of eighteen at some point -- and has remained that way -- then the minimum legal drinking age for alcohol consumption should also be lowered to 18.  Paglia states that 70% of U.S. teenagers have had at least one drink by the time they are eighteen, thus making the current minimum legal drinking age of 21 irrelevant.  Additionally, she brings light to the fact that in most countries with a minimum legal drinking age of 18, they see the consumption of alcohol as a cultural aspect, rather than a social activity to often become as intoxicated as possible.  Because people in these other countries are raised around alcohol consumption from a young age, they are less likely to see the consumption of alcohol as extremely appealing when they become older.  If the United States of America strives to be one of the most advanced countries in the world, then why do we, as a nation, still not recognize the advancement we could make through the benefits of lowering the drinking age?

Additionally, the consumption of alcohol is extremely prevalent on (removed "these") college campuses.  Because most college students do not turn twenty-one until their junior year, they undergo two years of underage drinking in college, if they choose to drink during these years.  Many college students use fake ID's that allow them to drink alcohol in bars.  On the other hand, if underage students are seeking to drink alcohol, they will often "pre-game" in secluded places before going out as an attempt to not get caught with alcohol in public.  Pre-gaming often involves drinking an excessive amount of alcohol before leaving the current location in order to stay intoxicated or "buzzed" before a party or event.   Years ago, this wasn't necessary.  In the article Time to Lower the Drinking Age, former White House speechwriter for George W. Bush and contributing editor for U.S. News and World Report, Mary Kate Cary, writes:

"I was telling my college-age daughter recently that back in the olden days when I went to college, you could fill a red Solo cup with beer at a fraternity party and sip it all night long. No one knew if it was your first beer or your 10th. There was no need for "pre-gaming"  --  binge drinking in private apartments or dorms before heading out in public. And unlike today, college kids didn't tend to use fake IDs as much."  

This comment shows just how differently alcohol was consumed in a society where the minimum legal drinking age was 18 as opposed to now.  Through her comment, Cary also establishes the underlying point that alcohol consumption could be more easily monitored on college campuses if the drinking age were lowered to 18.  Consider the number of underage students today who drink alcohol but would be too afraid to call for help if a friend was seriously ill or dying of alcohol poisoning.  Many fear being arrested or having to face Minor in Possession (MIP) charges if they call for assistance in precarious situations where alcohol is involved.  Additionally, if a terrible incident with alcohol occurs at a fraternity or apartment party, it is often encouraged by other members at the event to avoid calling for help because of fear that everyone there will face consequences.  This prevents the saving of young lives in potentially dangerous situations.  Moreover, the number of sexual assaults due to excessive alcohol consumption in secluded places would likely be reduced significantly if the drinking were monitored by responsible individuals.  Mary Kate Cary notes that " ... we can all agree that sexual assault as a result of alcohol and drug abuse is a very serious problem on America's college campuses. But forming a task force in Washington probably won't help. Allowing states to lower the legal drinking age would" (Cary, Mary Kate).  This statement brings to the forefront the fact that lowering the drinking age would allow for the monitoring of alcohol consumption in public on college campuses, thus reducing the number sexual assaults.  In addition to this, the number of people with sexually-transmitted diseases on college campuses would be reduced significantly with the lowering of the drinking age.  Dr. Harrell Chesson, a health economist in the Division of STD Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and his colleagues point out that the rate of STDs in young people increases as taxes on alcohol and the minimum legal drinking age go up.  Furthermore, Dr. Christopher S. Carpenter, Professor of Economics, Professor of Medicine, Health, and Society, and Professor of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University, notes that neighborhoods that contain colleges with high binge drinking rates tend to experience extreme secondhand effects of crime (vandalism, noise disturbances, vomiting).  Because alcohol is easily accessible to underage people, it is easier for them to break the law, creating a thrill and a disrespect for law enforcers and higher authority.  This could, perhaps, lead to the trend of law breaking as a person's life progresses, potentially leading to even more dangerous crimes such as drinking while driving or doing drugs.  By lowering the drinking age, the act of making risky decisions would no longer happen in enclosed areas on college campuses.  Thus, instances of alcohol poisoning, potential sexual assaults, sexually transmitted diseases, and crimes due to alcohol consumption could be monitored and dealt with before they occur.  

At this point one might wonder why the minimum legal drinking age was even raised to twenty-one in the first place.  The initial purpose of raising the drinking age to twenty-one was to decrease drunk driving accidents.  In 1984, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) started a movement to combat the large number of drunk driving accidents occurring at the time.  In July of 1984, President Ronald Reagan passed the law that made the minimum legal drinking age twenty-one.   This law required all states to raised their drinking age to twenty-one in order to receive 10% of federal highway funding for their states.  The number of drunk driving accidents did, in fact, decrease after the change in the minimum legal drinking age.  For this reason, many people are against lowering the drinking age, as they feel that it will only promote drinking and driving.  Cary states, however, that stricter laws and better education against drinking and driving helped to decrease drunk driving accidents during the time that the minimum legal drinking age was increased to twenty-one.  The previous statement explains that, while raising the drinking age could have contributed to fewer drunk driving accidents, other aspects were more significant contributors.  Dr. Ruth C. Engs notes in the article, Why the drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based upon research, that the decrease in alcohol-related car accidents in 1980 was not solely due to an increase of the drinking age because that law was not established until 1987. She continues to state that previous laws such as the National Prohibition of the 1820s and State Prohibition of the 1850s did not work to combat the drinking problem.  This likely occurred because of law officials' failure to enforce them.  The change in the minimum legal drinking age from 18 to 21 did more harm than good.  It did not decrease drunk driving accidents all on its own  --  it only brought sexual assault, drug overdoses, binge drinking, and many other dangers to light.  

After reviewing all of the positive contributing factors that come with lowering the minimum legal drinking age to 18, it is obvious that it would be a beneficial action in our society.  It would decrease binge drinking, give eighteen year olds an extra right as adults, allow for the better monitoring of alcohol consumption on college campuses, and decrease drunk driving accidents.  The consumption of alcohol has been around for thousands of years, and it is simply ridiculous that we do not consider our young adults mature enough to partake in this activity as responsible individuals.  Previous laws, such as the National Prohibition of the 1820s and State Prohibition of the 1850's required changing or removing with time, and it is time that the minimum legal drinking age of 21 be changed as well.

