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Tyler Harvey

The Minimum Drinking Age

From a young age, we look forward to adulthood. We rejoice on our 18th

 birthdays when

we have finally have the freedom to vote, play the lottery, sign contracts, get tattoos, smoke anddrink …oh wait. That’s right, unlike 93% of the rest of the world where drinking becomes legal at

the age of 18 or younger, the United States drinking age is 21. The dispute over whether or not

the drinking age should be lowered is framed largely by ethical arguments from both sides.

Prior to 1984, many states had minimum drinking ages of 18 years old. However, that

year the federal government passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act (NMDAA), which

allowed it to reduce highway appropriations from any state which refused to raise the age to

21.[2]

 Passing of the NMDAA was heavily influenced by the organization Mothers Against

Drunk Driving (MADD), with the intention of reducing the number of motor vehicle fatalities.

To this day, reducing the number of motor vehicle accidents in the 18-20 year old age rangeremains the primary argument for maintaining the current drinking age.

In defense of proponents of the status quo, the number of motor vehicle fatalities,

especially those involving alcohol declined in the early years after NMDAA was passed.

However, there is much less drunk driving over all age ranges now than when the law was

originally passed so it is clear that other factors must be involved as well. In fact, one argument

for lowering the drinking age is that there is virtually no difference in homicide or vehicle

accidents between 18-20 year olds and 21-24 year olds, the latter of whom can legally drink.

From this perspective, the legal drinking age seems to have almost no effect on reducing vehicle

accidents, and additionally, the occurrence of violent crime.

Setting the drinking age at 21 may also have resulted in unforeseen consequences.

According to John McCardell, former president of Middlebury College, “This is a law that is

routinely evaded… It is a law that the people at whom it is directed believe is unjust and unfair

and discriminatory.” McCardell is one of over 100 university presidents who have pointed to the

increase in binge drinking by college students. It has been well established that binge drinking in

high school and college students correlates to binge drinking later into adulthood. Weighing this

huge societal cost it seems clear that such a high drinking age actually does more harm that good.

McCardell also raises that point that “This has nothing to do with drunken driving. If it did, we'd

raise the driving age to 21. That would surely solve the problem.” 

While lowering the drinking age to 18, as in most of the rest of the developed world, may

not actually be the best course of action, above all else what universities, civil rights groups, and

young adults across America are asking for is a serious, public debate on the topic.

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Works Cited

Dryden, Jim. "Lower Drinking Ages Lead to More Binge Newsroom Washington University in

St. Louis, 06 Feb. 2013. Web. 08 Jan. 2014.

International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP), "Minimum Age Limits Worldwide," Jan. 2010.Web. 08 Jan. 2014.

McCardell, John. “What Your College President Didn’t Tell You.” The New York Times. 13 Sep.

2004. Web. 08 Jan. 2014.

“Proposal to Lower Minimum Drinking Age in U.S. Ignites Controversy.”  Ethics Newsline.

Institute for Global Ethics. 08 Sep. 2008. Web. 08 Jan. 2014

Slade, James. “Pros and Cons of the Legal Drinking Age.”  Duke University. 19 May 2010. Web.

08 Jan. 2014.

Title 23; Section 158 of the United States Code, Highways.

World Health Organization (WHO), "Global Status Report: Alcohol Policy," 2004. Web. 08 Jan.

2014.

http://epw.senate.gov/title23.pdfhttp://epw.senate.gov/title23.pdf