Alcohol Should Not Be Legalized at Age 18

Legal Age for Alcohol Consumption

Laws are established for the legal age of alcohol consumption in order to attend to the best interests of both youth and society at large. With exposure to such influences as music, television, movies, and peers, youth are under pressure to behave in certain ways and partake in certain activities to be perceived as being "cool." Alcohol consumption among young people may be seen as a way to loosen up, fit in, or even possibly as a sign of rebellion against parents, teachers, and figures of authority in general.

It is often difficult for youth to know their limits and exactly how much alcohol they can consume and yet still be somewhat "in control." This results in increased risks of alcohol poisonings, drunk driving, and in some cases death among the adolescent population. Therefore, with the well being of youth and society in mind, it would not be advantageous for lawmakers to lower the legal age for alcohol consumption to eighteen years of age. Several issues contribute to the reasoning behind this position, including adolescents' lack of maturity, increased risk of criminal activity associated with alcohol consumption, the link between alcohol consumption at a young age and illicit drug use, as well as the high rate of alcohol related deaths among young people. In combination, these factors overwhelmingly point to the need for a high legal age for alcohol consumption.

It may be argued that adolescents in their late teens do not have appropriate reasoning skills and maturity to partake in alcohol consumption. Adults have a better understanding of the reasons for which they consume alcohol, and how their bodies react to certain types and amounts of alcohol. Youths, on the other hand, are still in the "experimenting stage," at which they are testing the boundaries of their bodies' reactions to alcohol. In this case, alcohol could be viewed as a dangerous weapon, which may have devastating effects in combination with driving or sexual activity. Adolescents may not be able to effectively make decisions under the influence of alcohol due to the diminished inhibitions that result from drinking. Experimentation and peer pressure also leads to binge drinking, which could have serious effects on health, including alcohol poisoning and even death. The sense of invincibility that adolescents have in their late teens leads youth to not think that anything bad could happen to them.

Due to the immaturity and lack of reasoning skills demonstrated by adolescents in their late teens, it is crucial for the legal age of consumption to be 21 rather than eighteen. Although the difference in age is only three years, a lot of maturation and responsibility is gained in this short time span. Often young adults have completed or nearly completed college in these three years, or have taken on the responsibility of a full time job. Many young adults move out of their parents' homes and establish their own lives that they must support independently through earning an income and behaving in a responsible manner. This increase in responsibility and maturity translates into a better understanding of the consequences yielded by one's actions and better decision-making. A twenty-one-year-old is better equipped through life experience to make responsible decisions regarding alcohol consumption than an eighteen-year-old is.

There is a significant association between alcohol consumption and criminal behavior, which is evident especially among young adults (Richardson & Budd, 2003). Binge drinking among youth has been cited as a major problem among youth, and young adults have most often been associated with alcohol-related crime in cities with popular entertainment districts (Richardson & Budd, 2003). Binge drinking, especially among males aged 18- to 24, is statistically related to criminal behavior. Excessive alcohol consumption is especially related to violent criminal behavior, and the relationship between binge drinking and criminality is more robust among young males than young females. By deferring the legal age to twenty-one, binge drinking among youth may be prevented and thus occurrences of violent criminal behavior may be reduced. Allowing adolescents that are eighteen years of age to consume alcohol directly increases their risk for violent criminal behavior.

Consumption of alcohol among adolescents also greatly increases their chances of using illicit drugs. Adolescents who consume alcohol are 22 times more likely to use marijuana, and 50 times more likely to use cocaine ("Hot topic: Underage teen drinking"). Although this relationship is not necessarily causal, it does point to a correlation that cannot be ignored. The risk of adolescents using illicit drugs also ties in with the reasoning and maturity issues discussed earlier. The lack of foresight and understanding of consequences leads youth to partake in dangerous activities, such as drunk driving, unsafe sex, and illicit drug use. Furthermore, the chances of these poor decisions being made could be effectively prevented by ensuring that the legal age for alcohol consumption remains at twenty-one, and that it not be lowered to eighteen.

The immense number of alcohol related deaths among adolescents is a huge cause for concern, and yet another indicator for the need of a high legal age for alcohol consumption. Binge drinking appears to be increasing among youths, which means that deaths due to alcohol consumption must also be increasing. In 1999, one in four deaths of males in Europe between the ages of 15 to 29 was related to alcohol consumption, and this rate increased to one in three deaths in some countries in Eastern Europe ("Survey says: Teen alcohol use on the rise"). The World Health Organization found that 55,000 young people in the European region died due to alcohol-related causes in 1999 ("Survey says: Teen alcohol us on the rise"). In addition, in 2000 there were 2,339 alcohol-related deaths for youth between the ages of 15-20 in the United States (SADD Online). Ensuring that the legal age for alcohol consumption not be lowered to eighteen would help in preventing possibly thousands of alcohol-related deaths among youth each year. It is estimated that over 20,000 lives have been saved since 1975 due to the enforcement of legal minimum ages for the consumption of alcohol (SADD Online).