Lowering the Age!

I believe that the United States ought to lower the drinking age to eighteen and implement a responsible drinking program, not alcohol abstinence, in high school. Much like lowering the voting age to eighteen, it seems unreasonable that a citizen can join the military and die for his or her country, yet still not be able to go to the grocery store to legally pick up a six pack.

Evidence suggests that the drinking age being twenty-one is no more beneficial than a drinking age of eighteen. In fact, the District of Columbia produced a report that showed a positive correlation between higher drinking ages and higher single–vehicle fatalities. And let’s face it, kids are going to get a hold of alcohol before they are legally of age, and lowering the drinking age would diminish the lure of doing something forbidden.

A progressive classroom education on the realities of drinking would be a necessary component, so that young adults would be better equipped to drink responsibly. “Just say no to alcohol” programs are not helpful for students. What students need are the facts so that they can make their own responsible decisions.

Only eight countries in the world have a drinking age as high as 21 (The United States, Indonesia, Oman, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Fiji, and Kiribati) while most other developed countries have a drinking age of eighteen. The United States should emulate these countries and change the drinking age to eighteen as well.