Underage Drinking and The Need to Rise The Drinking Age

The discussion of the drinking age should not be controversial. Having the drinking age set at 21 years old is a no brainer and absolutely crystal clear. Consuming alcohol is a serious matter and should not be taken lightly. “Alcohol causes blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times, impaired memory, and difficulty in walking”. While being impaired by alcohol, many people go on to drive. About 30% of all roads deaths are caused by drunk driving, which totals to around 35,000 deaths. There are numerous reasons to why the law states you must be 21 years old to purchase and drink alcohol. The first most common reason is for the drinking age to be 21 is for health benefits. The second most common reason is because of violent behavior. The third most common reason is when the drinking age used to be 18, there were more deaths on the road.

Alcohol has a short term and long term effect on one’s health. Short term, one might face blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times, impaired memory, and difficulty in walking. Those terrible side effects are not even the worst that can happen. Long term, one might face nerve and brain damage, inflammation of the liver, scarring of the liver, and damage of the heart muscle. The drinking age should not be lowered to 18 years old, because we are mentally not capable enough to make conscientious decisions. To society at 18 years old you are considered an adult, but to science you are still considered an underdeveloped teen. The rational part of our brain is not fully developed until the age of 25. “Adults think with the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s rational part. This is the part of the brain that responds to situations with good judgment and an awareness of long-term consequences. Teens process information with the amygdala. This is the emotional part”. The consumption of alcohol at an earlier age will only tire our livers out more. Our bodies need to be taken care of and preserved from garm as long as possible. “The liver breaks down and filters out harmful substances in the body. It also converts vitamins, nutrients and medicines into substances that our bodies can use. The liver is also responsible for cleaning our blood, producing bile for digestion and storing energy (Alcohol and the liver). The alcohol that is left unprocessed by our liver ends up circulating our bloodstream. This problem affects our heart and brain. Over time, this can lead to scarring of the liver and in even more serious cases, liver cancer. An 18 year old should be worrying about their education and school, rather than fearing liver cancer. Long term drinking can also lead to heart disease. Drinking raises your blood pressure and induces those chances of a heart attack. Drinking weakens your heart muscle, leading it to pump blood less efficiently. If the drinking age was lowered to 18 years old, that means taking four years off of your life of good health. For most, at 18 years old you are at a prime health stage. Lowering the drinking age means young adults are vulnerable to high health risks. Starting to drink at an earlier age than 21, allows there to be significant difficulties in cognitive and learning abilities. Everyone needs to understanding that we still need rules and guidelines at the age of 18 to develop into responsible adults. The drinking age should not be lowered to 18 because drinking at earlier ages can have serious health consequences

Not only can alcohol be violent to our health, but it can also be the cause of violent behavior. While under the influence, our brains are being disturbed of its natural function. The natural activity of the brain is thrown off and completely taken off track. Alcohol weakens the brain, leading one to be incompetent. If our brain is thrown off, our behaviors and emotions are bound to be thrown off as well. Alcohol can motivate one to act on their aggression which can be extremely violent to themselves and others. Teen brains, including those 24 years old and under, are still developing their emotional and rational sections of the brain. This aids to why those of age, act on their emotions rather than processing them and handling it accordingly. It is very normal to be feeling overwhelmed by your own thoughts and feelings, but adding alcohol to this mix will make it a disaster. If the law allowed the drinking age to be 18, that means alcohol would take control over mentally insatiable teens. Alcohol “may lead to an inaccurate assessment of the future risks of acting on an immediate violent impulse. Being under the influence reduces self control and the ability to manage emotions. It enables one to be put in unsafe and hazardous situations. “On average, roughly 40 percent of inmates who are incarcerated for violent offenses were under the influence of alcohol during the time of their crime”. Combining alcohol, violence, and instability makes for total meham. Science proves that that we are mentally not capable to withstand all of alcohol’s side effects. Short term decisions, like to have a couple of drinks, can lead to long term consequences like being involved in a violent crime. If the law was lowered to the age of 18 for legal drinking, we would not be looking out for our own, and allowing them to be involved in induced violent situations.

Already in this world there are so many predators, horrific crimes, and terrible accidents. Everyday in the United States, nearly 30 people die from drunk driving. Annually in the United States, nearly 11,00 people die from drunk driving. Both of those numbers are extremely high, but nothing compared to what it was like in the mid 1970s. The United States once had the legal drinking age at 18 years old, but raised it to the age of 21 in 1984. The age 21 was chosen because back in English common law, that's when one could vote or become a knight. The age 21 seemed perfect for lawmakers when you could drink as well. When the drinking age was 18, “...alcohol was a factor in 60% of traffic fatalities” (Alcohol-Related Traffic Deaths). The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 said that all states had to abide by this law, or suffer the repercussions of losing ten percent of their federal highway funding. There were so many car accidents, it was beginning to take a toll on society. Eventually, all of the states followed this act. Today alcohol is a factor in 30% of traffic fatalities. By increasing the drinking age four more years, the percent of fatal traffic accidents were cut down by half. This is a huge decrease and impacts our world for the better. The age group that has the most car accidents due to drunk driver are ages 21 to 24. This means that when you legal to drink, there is a high chance you will be involved in a car accident. If the drinking age was lowered to 18, that would mean that younger people will be in dangerous situations. Alcohol will be killing our youth. Today, alcohol is the number one cause of death among the young adults. At 18 years old, some are still in high school trying to figure out what they want to do in life. With all this stress

some might turn to alcohol as reliever. Then the next day they go to school with a hangover, drive to school, and fail an important test. All of these events from one drink can affect their entire future. The drinking age should not be lowered to 18 because it is hazardous to the person and those around them.

Underage drinking has absolutely no benefits. It is harmful to one’s well being. It is also harmful to society. Having the drinking age at 21 protects our mental health and physical health. At the age of 18, our brains are not developed enough to make smart and conscientious decisions involving alcohol. We will not be fully developed until the age of 24. Six years of knowledge and experience is required before making competent evaluations of certain situations. Nothing but time can buy that understanding. Drinking at a younger age comes with health hazards. Brain and nerve damage could be faced. Our liver can be mistreated from binge drinking and long term drinking. Resulting from this, liver cancer can be developed. Health and safety is the most important thing in life and should always be valued. If the law allowed 18 year olds to drink, our health would start to tarnish earlier than what is safe for our own good. Violence can also be a contributor when one’s health is unstable and not mentally fit to consume alcohol. When under the influence it is challenging to control how we act. One might say something they did not mean ti, or do something they will regret when they are sober. When actions are unpredictable it is extremely harmful. Violence can have serious consequences whether it be to one person or many. The drinking age should not be lowered to 18 because mental healthy, physical health, and safety should never be compromised. If the drinking age was 18, these three key factors would be put in jeopardy.

Works Cited

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