Argument for Keeping the Drinking Age at 21

Rishi Barai

Introduction to Criminal Justice

Eighteen is a zenith in an individual’s life. Eighteen is when a person transitions to adulthood, opening up many new opportunities. In most cases people can purchase and consume alcohol legally at this age. Interestingly, this is not the case for people in the United States. The legal drinking age in the United States of America is at the age of 21, which seems to go against the rest of the world. One thing is clear: alcohol has multiple negative consequences associated. Although there has been much outcry about United State’s distinction, there are numerous benefits of having a higher drinking age. Furthermore there are plenty of reputable sources that prove the benefits of an older drinking age. Underage Drinking Leads to Risky Behavior and Alcohol Abuse written by Kelly Dedel, Early Alcohol Consumption Puts Youth at Risk written by The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health and lastly Long-Term Effects of Minimum Legal Drinking Age Laws on Adult Alcohol Use and Driving Fatalities written by Robert Kaestner and Benjamin Yarnoff all provide information in support of the current age limit of 21. The drinking age should not be lowered for it limits the number of individuals that have access thus it reduces the negative impact individually and for society in general.

Kelly Dedel revolves her article around the fact that alcohol causes actions that are not intended and she focuses on college students as her subject. “Young people often go out intending to get drunk, and may try to intensify their drunkenness by drinking a lot very quickly” (Dedel, 2012). Dedel points out that for variety of reasons there is a desire to binge drink and this especially holds true for college students (2012). There are undoubtly plenty of ramifications that are attached to drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and, “negative consequences occur across a wide range of consumption levels...