The answer is yes, always yes. I just shotgunned four beers; and technically this is an illegal activity but I’m going to tell you why it shouldn’t be. Shotgunning is a term used by today's youth to describe the vast intake of alcohol, typically beer, over a very short period of time. The way this vast intake occurs is when a person puts a hole in the side of a can of beer and chugs it all at once until the can is empty or they cannot drink anymore. This usually occurs during the college years, at parties, when underage drinking is not considered legal in America. The drinking of alcohol is prohibited to anyone under the age of 21. Although when in college, most students are under the age of 21 and can get ahold of alcohol through their seniors. This leads to students wanting to rebel and trying out what it is they are being kept away from: alcohol. The fact that they don’t know when they will be able to drink again is the reason most college students tend to get overly drunk when they do get the chance. As a result, serious problems such as overdosing, alcohol poisoning, and death may occur. These problems are less frequent in other countries such as Italy, Germany, China, and Greece where the legal drinking age is lower, and have found that there is a reduction to these problems. Current law in terms of legal drinking age has caused more alcohol related deaths than there has ever been. Due to this, the legal drinking age should be lowered to 18 in the US resembling the European standards regarding the consumption of alcohol by its citizens.

Throughout the United States, the culture and meaning behind why people drink have changed. Over the years it has changed from being a relaxing social activity to being a highly competitive contest. In the past, people would go out to social events such as formal dinners and weddings where they would drink a respectable amount. They did this to make it easier for them to relax and forget about their tensions, guilt, anxiety, and frustration. “...alcohol can make possible association and interpersonal activity which may ordinarily be barred.... it can allow an escape valve for socially frustrated individuals, an escape which can be relatively safe” (Bacon 78). These days however the culture has changed into a challenge regarding who can get the drunkest in the shortest about of time, known as binge drinking. This type of culture and drinking style has mostly arisen in young people across the country, specifically in colleges and universities.

Among young adults, approximately 63% of males and 58% of females reported being current drinkers in 2012 (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, SAMHSA, 2013). Binge drinking is considered the consumption of five or more drinks consecutively for men and four or more for women (Wechsler, Dowdall, Davenport, & DeJong, 1994). The 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (SAMHSA, 2013) revealed that binge drinking was reported by 40% of young adults aged 18-25 and the rate of heavy drinking was 13%. Within this same age group, 46% of males and 33% of females reported binge drinking (SAMHSA, 2013). (Noelle Whitney).

However, this is not the case in many countries throughout Europe. While many people in Europe may drink more than in America, it is in the amount of time that Europeans consume it that really makes the difference. A European college student will have 3 beers every day, one at lunch and two at dinner, making for a total of 21 throughout the week. But an American college student will have 1 beer a day a week until Saturday or Friday, where he/she has binge drink 10 beers all in one short amount of time, making for 16 throughout the week. The main difference between the European and the American students is that the European will drink his/ her beers during social times and spread out, whereas the American will wait till the weekend to binge drink as much as he/she can.

A greater percentage of young people from nearly all European countries report drinking in the past 30 days. (Bettina Friese and Joel W. Grube).

Binge drink and heavy drinking in general throughout college years as arisen throughout colleges and universities because of the way in which the youth of this nation is raised. The lack of parenting or the lack of education all together has left adolescents viewing alcohol as a “Forbidden Fruit” (Bettina Friese and Joel W. Grube). The “Forbidden Fruit” concept is best defined as “an indulgence or a pleasure that is illegal or is believed to be immoral” (Dictionary). This ideology has led to an increase in drinkers under the age of 21 than over the age of 21, and in fact, led to a higher number of illegal heavy drinkers in colleges and universities.

This study provided further evidence that the permissive parenting style puts college students at-risk for drinking more frequently and more drinking problems. Also, this study indicated that young women drink less beer and this puts them at a lower risk for alcohol-related problems. (Noelle Whitney).

22% of all students under twenty-one compared to 18% over twenty-one years of age are heavy drinkers. Among drinkers only, 32% of under age compared to 24% of legal age are heavy drinkers. (Indiana University, Bloomberg).

However, if we look at Europe, this ideology about the “Forbidden Fruit” doesn't really exist. If one were to look at Germany exclusively, they would see the drinking age starts at 16. Now that may seem young, but there are limitations. At the age of 16 children are only allowed to drink beer and wine, no hard liquors. This not only helps to disturb the “Forbidden Fruit” ideology, but it also helps children build up a tolerance to a certain amount of alcohol and learn how to drink responsibly. (Bettina Friese and Joel W. Grube).

In addition to how the way in which the youth of this nation is raised, the ability to procure alcohol easily and the mass advertising of it to college students has made the want for binge drinking and high alcohol consumption that must greater. That is exemplified through the civilization’s enormous increase in the number and variety of goods and services, which has improved quality beyond measurement and can be produced with unparalleled speed. This is especially true of alcoholic goods and services as of others. (Bacon 92).

There is accumulated empirical evidence indicating that young people’s exposure to alcohol advertising is an independent risk factor for initiating early drinking and binge drinking, and for increasing the frequency of drinking as well as teenage alcohol-related problems. (SSA)

This unparalleled speed of production has made the purchasing alcohol cheaper when bought in mass quantities. These mass quantities are often being purchased by bars and fraternities on and around campus. Thereby creating another problem, the problem about a person’s health, which bars and fraternities are not adequately equipped for. Bars and fraternities are in the business of making money, and while yes a few do look out for their customers, the vast majority of injuries go unnoticed and unreported before it is too late. This is most prevalent in the incident concerning a Penn State college student who died at one of the college’s fraternity parties.

Beta Theta Pi at Penn State University is suspended after the death of a student. Police say 19-year-old Timothy Piazza was found unconscious inside their fraternity house Friday morning… Timothy Piazza just recently joined the ranks of the “Men of Principle at Beta Theta Pi fraternity. Frat members told police and paramedics on Friday morning the teen plunged down the basement stairs the previous night, and that their call for help came about 12 hours after his fall. (CBS NEWS).

Situations like this show that people’s safety and health are always at risk. One of biggest health risks at college is binge drinking as briefly discussed above. Binge drinking can lead to a high blood alcohol concentration which can lead to the reduction of motor functions, speech impairment, and memory loss. Loss of motor functions may result not only in minor harm to the impaired person, such as falling and breaking a leg, but severe damage and loss of life, such as crashing while driving while being impaired. Speech impairment and memory loss are not joking matters either, they can both make it hard to communicate to the victim and to the contact the authorities about the situations at hand. In addition, binge or heavy, drinking can lead to long-term health problems such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic lung disease and even diabetes in moderate drinkers.

Besides health problems, there are also substantial financial complications that can come about from consuming vast amounts of alcohol. These financial complications can include paying for car accidents, DUIs, and even possibly, medical bills. Paying for a car accident that was caused by their child being drunk, is simply something that majority of college students and their families cannot afford on top of tuition. This is especially true because the average car accident costs $3,000 and the average cost of a medical bill after a car accident is $7,600 for a non-disability and $61,600 for a disability injury. (   ) Being in a car accident while drunk may also result in the driver receiving a DUI at the scene of the accident. DUI stands for Driving Under the Influence and if caught can have severe ramifications, such as temporary driver’s license suspension, fees and fines that can add up to on average $6,500.

DUIs not only cause short-term financial problems but long term ones too. For college students, the punishment of a DUI can affect their whole future. Many colleges and universities do not accept students who have a DUI on their record. Some colleges and universities may revoke/deny future or current scholarships to students. (BACtrack).

These possible liability costs for families and students would be lessened if more colleges and universities offered campus transportation at late/party hours. An example of this has just started at Temple University where they offer a program called Flight. Flight is a new, on-demand evening shuttle service for Temple students, faculty and staff. It operates every day of the week between the hours of 5:30pm and 5:45. The basic premise of it is that Temple students, faculty and staff can get picked up anywhere on/around campus within a 5-block radius directly at the door and be delivered directly to any other door within a 5-block radius around campus. (Campus Operations).

Some may argue that because alcohol causes so many problems, that we should just ban it all together. However, one of the many problems facing that argument is that the idea has already been tried before back in the 1920s and with no success. The Prohibition, as it is known, was a time in America from 1920 to 1933 where the United States Government put a ban on all alcohol. The main trouble that faced the United States was that it was a hard law to enforce. People would make their own liquor and then sell it to underground bars. These problems would be just as hard, if not harder, for the government to enforce now because the government makes far too much money off the sale of and taxes on alcohol as well as permits to sell alcoholic beverages in bars and restaurants. Plus, if people want something bad enough they’ll do whatever it takes to get it. Prohibition was difficult enough to enforce on its own, despite the passage of a companion legislation known as the Volstead Act. The increase of the illegal production and sale of liquor known as “bootlegging”, the proliferation of speakeasies (illegal drinking spots) and the accompanying rise in gang violence and other crimes led to waning support for Prohibition by the end of the 1920s. (History Channel).

Another flaw with why alcohol shouldn’t be banned entirely is because that once a person turns the age of 18 they should have the legal choice to drink and that studies have shown, having a higher minimum legal drinking age does not result in the amount of negative effects. One reason for this is because once a child turns 18 years of age they become a full adult citizen of the United States. As adults, they receive many rights such as voting, signing up for the Army, marrying without parental consent, renting property, being on a jury, and making their own legal decisions. Why should drinking alcohol be any different? Is drinking alcohol really less of responsibility than voting for the next President of the United States or being part of a jury the decided the possible fate of another person? The answer is, of course not. Picking who is the next representative, the fate of another person, or picking the next person to lead this country is no more of a responsibility, that’s why it takes over a year of campaigning to decide it.

Therefore, this secondary analysis would suggest that the higher legal minimum age for purchase and consumption of alcohol in the United States compared to most other countries is not protective for negative outcomes. (Routledge).

However, even though 18-year-olds, full adults, should be allowed to drink, it should be regulated. Once someone become a full adult they should be allowed to drink any beer and wine they wish, the exception being liquor. Once they hit the age of 21 then they should be permitted to drink any and all alcohol, while consuming a reasonable amount. This is very much like the German drinking law from earlier, only that the years are moved from 16 and 18 to 18 and 21. The reason for this is that because of the difference in driving laws. In Germany, citizens cannot get their driving license until the age of 18, thereby making sure that when they’re 16 years old and are drinking they aren’t going to be behind the wheel of a vehicle. In the United States, many people receive their driving license at the age of 16, in order to prevent inexperienced drivers and inexperienced drinkers from causing severe problems the age in the United States to drink would have to be set later. This would in turn, guarantee that people get experience sober behind the wheel before they are allowed to drink at 21. It could also work, but would be more complicated, if the drinking laws were the same as in Germany and that the driving age was moved from 16 to 18 years of age.

The legal drinking age in the United States should be lowered from 21 to 18, with some restrictions set in place until the person reaches the age of 21. Changes to the law would also help shift the culture change back from a party scene more to the social direction. It would also eliminate the “Forbidden Fruit” mentality among college and universities students. In addition, starting at a younger age would help build up a knowledge on the affects alcohol has on their body. Finally, by lowering the age from 21 to 18, it would prove to all American citizens that they are truly full adults once they hit the age of 18. All of these effects would greatly help prevent possible health problems and financial problems among the consumers of alcohol and the people that they affect. 
