Support of the Minimum Drinking Age Clayton Bouchard

History of Minimum Drinking Age The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 forced all states to create a minimum drinking age of 21 for their citizens (Hanson). This law passed rather quickly because people in government were scared of the increase of drunk driving deaths and public pressure for a uniform minimum age (Minimum Drinking Age). The main group that pressured the government is Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and they are considered a main force in the change to a 21 years old drinking age.

Important Facts There are many factors that swayed me towards this side of the argument, but the major one is the facts behind it. For example, since 1975, the year when most states raised their drinking ages, the amount of fatal accident in teens decreased about 13%. That saved almost 22,000 lives (ProCon.org). On tests performed on young alcohol users vs. non alcohol users, the alcohol users performed scored much worse. (AMA…). This test reinforces how early alcohol use can hurt the development in the brain, therefore affecting scores in schools. (AMA…).

More Facts It only takes half the alcohol for adolescents to have their brain impaired than people with a fully developed brain (AMA…). From , the number of alcohol related car crashes in teen decreased by 61% (Minimum Drinking Age). Since 1990, teenage pregnancy has also decreased significantly because it is harder to obtain alcohol, which is a factor that can lead to teen pregnancy (Minimum Drinking Age).

Even More Facts The binge drinking rates in Great Britain, Denmark, and Ireland are twice the level of where the United States is. All of those countries have lower minimum drinking ages (Minimum Drinking Age). Drinking that leads to brain impairment as a child cannot be overcome for for the effects are irreversible (AMA…). States that tried to lower their drinking age in the past (Michigan, Maine, Massachusetts) had an increase of teen alcohol related car crashes (ProCon.org). Through many tests, it has been proven that offering a drinking education course would not change the number of drunk driving crashes in teens (Lund).

However… A couple of factors could play in if I were to change my mind about this topic. First, if more specific scientific evidence dealing with brain maturity was released, and it showed that the brain is fully matured before 21, I could think about switching sides. Also, if the amount of teen alcohol related crashes somehow increases in the coming years, I would truly think about changing my mind. In addition, if Congress actually lowered the drinking age, I would have to change my mind because I believe in most of what Congress says.

Graphs Showing Each Point of View Increased binge drinking (Statistical Snapshot…)

Cont… People don’t want to change (Procon.org)