Agrument against lowering the drinking age to 18 in the United States Essay

Agrument against lowering the drinking age to 18 in the United States - Essay Example A behavioral argument in favor of lowering the drinking age cited the Prohibition experience and Engs (1998), for instance, has this to say: As a nation we have tried prohibition legislation twice in the past for controlling irresponsible drinking problems†¦ These laws were finally repealed because they were unenforceable and because the backlash towards them caused other social problems. Today we are repeating history and making the same mistakes. Intentions behind the above arguments vary and some maybe legitimate as well but the issues raised by those in favor of restricting the age limit for alcohol access to 21 has so far succeeded in presenting a stronger case. The reason for this is simple: the empirical evidences and the statistics point to the fact that lowering the drinking age would have adverse effects on individuals and the society in general. In the United States, the current legal use for alcohol consumption is 21. The statutes covering this prohibition can be considered as those intended to influence individuals in regards to health-related behavior. A short review of its history will reveal that the minimum drinking age was implemented immediately after the Prohibition when all of the US states adopted a stringent policy against youth alcohol consumption. When the Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the Constitution was introduced, lowering the voting age to 18, a number of states have also lowered the drinking age. But by 1984, the federal government implemented a drive to standardize the minimum drinking age to 21 through a congressional initiative. This has been supported by numerous governmental agencies, organizations and individuals such as the National Transportation Safety Board, the National Council on Alcoholism, the Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving and the American Medical Association. Specifically, according to Wallander and Siegel