Legal Drinking Age Essays (Examples)

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Legal Drinking Age
The drinking age at 21 in the United States is draconian, placing our country on par with the most socially repressed in the world. "Most drinking ages worldwide are at maximum 18, if not less, which makes sense for legal drinking ages. And provided you act like a grown up, you can probably be served a cerveza with that fish taco anywhere, regardless of age," (Crislip). I have traveled to Europe, where young people drink responsibly because they have been enjoying wine and beer at family gatherings since they were 12 years old. The United States has ineffective and even hypocritical laws related to the minimum drinking age (MLDA). At age 18, a young person is eligible to serve in the army but not order a beer. At age 18, a young person is eligible to vote but not to choose what glass of wine to order with….

MLDA
Legal Drinking Age in the U.S.

Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) legislation aims to reduce alcohol use among those under 21, to prevent traffic deaths, and to avoid other negative outcomes. The minimum drinking age is a controversial issue in the United States today, and many recent efforts have aimed to reduce or qualify the minimum legal age at which drinking may occur. If these attempts are successful, the minimum drinking age would be lowered and the effects would be disastrous. Alcohol consumption poses many dangers to young people, including increases in accidents, fatalities and alcohol abuse problems. Therefore, this paper presents an argument in favor of keeping the MLDA at 21.

Proponents of lowering the drinking age argue that young people under the age of 21 tend to drink in a more abuse manner than do those of legal age, as alcohol is seen as a "forbidden fruit." One such proponent….

Legal Drinking Age Be Lowered to 18
RESOLVED: At present the minimum legal drinking age of 21 years of age is controlled by the federal government by means of federal highway funds. This strips states of their right to self-govern and the higher MLDA is inconsistent with other rights allowed 18-year-olds.

PRO: In favor of lowering the minimum legal drinking age to 18 years of age

Premise 1: studies showing a decline in alcoholic incidents are misleading

Premise 2: the current law is not deterring under age drinking

Premise 3: the minimum legal drinking age of 21 years is socially unjust

Premise 4: it is now a political rather than a social issue

The minimum legal drinking age should be lowered to 18 years of age to reinstate individual and states' rights.

The debate over the minimum legal drinking age can be heard on campuses and in state legislative halls throughout the country. Although there might have….

Minimum Legal Drinking Age
PAGES 9 WORDS 2420

America, when a person reaches the age of 18 he can die for his country, obtain credit, get married, get divorced and be charged in criminal court. By all appearances the age of 18 sets the stage for adulthood and all that it entails. In a curious contradiction to that, however, America insists on maintaining a drinking age of 21 years old. While 18-year-olds can do all of the above except drink, individual states, under the threat of reduced federal interstate funding, keep the legal age of drinking at 21 years of age.
The minimum legal drinking age should be lowered to 18 because it (age) is not a contributing factor in the number of accidents/deaths that involve young people between 18 and 21 in the United States.

Around the nation states wrestle with the topic of legal drinking age. When the federal government began refusing to fund highways in any….

Lowering Drinking Age in the United States
The drinking age in the United States has been 21 years old since 1984 because it was enacted in law. However, in the past few years, there have been numerous calls to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18 years. These calls have generated significant controversy and concern throughout the country since the issue can be approached from two general paradigms that shape people's perspectives. First, there are concerns why 18-year-olds are considered mature enough to make decisions like joining the armed forces and driving but are regarded as inadequately mature to consume alcohol. Secondly, the other paradigm postulates that allowing individuals to start drinking at 18 years will not ensure they drink responsibly, which enhances the risk of injury or death not only to the individuals themselves but others also.

Evaluation of the Paradigms

The first paradigm seems to provide better arguments regarding lowering….

The issue was a charged issue that many people felt very strongly about, i.e. race and was an allowable and supported social stigma, and yet when faced with the real life decision to break the taboo and serve Chinese people they did so with little hesitation and then effectively lied about it in self report. (Pager & Lincoln, 2005, p. 355)
Drinking and driving is a seriously socially charged issue that could have the same self-report results if given the correct avenue to do so. The self-report dogmatic dialogue regarding drinking and driving is an absolute rejection of the behavior (even after 1-2 drinks as is asked in the New Zealand Study) and yet this is an attitude and a self-report dogma, what we would say when offered the social choice, not a real reflection of how individuals would behave if given the opportunity to drink and drive. Another fault….

The Drinking AgeIs it fair that the legal drinking age in the U.S. is 21 when it is lower in other counties? There is much debate surrounding the legal drinking age in the United States. Some argue that it is unfair that the drinking age is 21 when it is lower in other countries. Others maintain that the drinking age should remain at 21 in order to protect the safety of young adults. There are a number of valid arguments on both sides of the issue. Proponents of a lower drinking age often point to European countries where young adults are legally allowed to drink at a younger age (Toomey). They argue that this allows young adults to learn how to drink responsibly in a controlled environment. However, opponents of a lower drinking age argue that alcohol consumption can interfere with brain development in young adults. They also point to….

This means that alcohol is made accessible to underage persons and in this way, they start consuming alcohol at a young age. It is for this reason that the legal drinking age should not be lowered, but actually increased to reduce the chances of it being made available to those who are underage. Increasing the minimum legal drinking age to at least 25 years, like India, will go a long way in ensuring that underage drinking does not take place. Teenagers can be able to access alcohol with the help of their older friends and siblings who may be in college. This will ensure that only responsible adults will have access to alcohol. There have also been cases of increased rates of binge drinking among college age youths and the increase in the minimum legal age for drinking will go a long way in helping preventing this (Kypri et….

Drinking and Alcoholism
PAGES 6 WORDS 1990

Etiology of Campus Binge Drinking
Drinking and Alcoholism

A Failed Experiment in Social Control

The consumption of alcohol has always been a focus of government efforts to limits its use, due to the potential for abuse, the financial burden imposed upon social programs, and its association with criminal activity. Between 1920 and 1934 the consumption of alcohol was outlawed in the United States, with the intention of addressing these social problems. During the first year following the enactment of Prohibition, alcohol-related deaths, psychosis, and arrests all declined by 20-40%, but between 1921 and 1927 these measures reveal a sharp increase to near pre-Prohibition levels (Miron and Zwiebel, 1991). By the end of Prohibition, which correlates with the start of the Great Depression, alcohol consumption leveled out at around 60-70% of pre-Prohibition levels despite costing three times as much for a drink. Given the infamous criminal activity that emerged around the illegal manufacture and….

This act enlarged the labels on the cigarettes, and required that the labels on cigarettes and cigarette ads say things like,."..Cause lung cancer...may complicate pregnancy...quitting smoking now greatly reduces hazards to your health... may result in low birth weight and fetal injury." Yet despite all these attempts to educate, all the package warnings and all the public service ads, we still see that despite the millions of dollars spent on smoking prevention each year, every year sees more and more people taking up the habit, until today death from cardiovascular disease remains the number one killer in the United States, contributed in a great part by smoking. And yet we keep legislating, when then proof shows that what we are doing is not working.
Our discussion of vice-based legislation now brings us to the subject of fattening foods. In 2002, a lawyer in New York filed suit against the four….

Paenting Style Influence on Excess Alcohol Intake Among Jewish Youth
Clinical Psychology

The health hazads that ae associated with adolescent alcohol use ae well documented, and thee is gowing ecognition among policymakes and clinicians alike that moe needs to be done to addess this public health theat. The pupose of this study was to examine the effects of diffeent paenting styles on alcohol consumption levels among Jewish college students in the United States. The study daws on attachment theoy, social leaning theoy, and a paenting style model as the main theoetical famewoks to evaluate the effects of diffeent paenting styles on alcohol consumption levels among Jewish adolescents to develop infomed answes to the study's thee guiding eseach questions concening the elationship between peceived paenting style and excess alcohol use of male, Jewish, college students aged 18-26 yeas, the elationship between academic achievement and the alcohol use fequency of male Jewish college students….

Paenting Style Influence on Excess Alcohol Intake Among Jewish Youth
Clinical Psychology

The health hazads that ae associated with adolescent alcohol use ae well documented, and thee is gowing ecognition among policymakes and clinicians alike that moe needs to be done to addess this public health theat. The pupose of this study was to examine the effects of diffeent paenting styles on alcohol consumption levels among Jewish college students in the United States. The study daws on attachment theoy, social leaning theoy, and a paenting style model as the main theoetical famewoks to evaluate the effects of diffeent paenting styles on alcohol consumption levels among Jewish adolescents to develop infomed answes to the study's thee guiding eseach questions concening the elationship between peceived paenting style and excess alcohol use of male, Jewish, college students aged 18-26 yeas, the elationship between academic achievement and the alcohol use fequency of male Jewish college students….

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….

Young Drivers
Perhaps it is unfair to label all younger drivers as reckless and dangerous. At the very least, they are most certainly less experienced and adept at driving, on average. Since a firm and enforced age is the best way to regulate who can drive for the first time, that is the method that should remain. On average, teen drivers are restricted or banned from driving for several reasons. Those reasons include insufficient brain development, lack of responsibility and a propensity to not pay proper attention. While typecasting people based on age is not always fair, there are reasons behind the age restriction.

Analysis

The first main point to consider when it comes to why children under sixteen should not be driving, at least in an unrestricted way, is insufficient brain development. The ideas and theories about the broader subject development do vary. However, there are some things that tend to be….

Alcohol
How effective has the legal prohibition of alcohol been in controlling crime? A recent Department of Justice Report (U.S. Department of Justice) said that alcohol was a factor in 40% of all violent crimes and accounted for 40.9% of all traffic fatalities in the U.S.A. In the last decade. ut these figures were 34% and 29%, respectively, lower than those of the previous decade. The Report further stated that arrests conducted for driving under the influence of alcohol correspondingly declined and attributed this to the establishment of the legal and uniform drinking age in the early 1980s.

Elucidating, the Report said that, approximately 3 million violent crimes occurred each year in that decade where the offenders were drinking at the time. And although arrests were made in every age group, those made on offenders below 21 notably decreased. The rate of intoxication in fatal accidents, it said, likewise went down in….

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2 Pages
Research Paper

Sports - Drugs

Legal Drinking Age the Drinking Age at

Words: 828
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Research Paper

Legal Drinking Age The drinking age at 21 in the United States is draconian, placing our country on par with the most socially repressed in the world. "Most drinking ages…

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4 Pages
Term Paper

Sports - Drugs

Legal Drinking Age in the U S

Words: 1251
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Term Paper

MLDA Legal Drinking Age in the U.S. Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) legislation aims to reduce alcohol use among those under 21, to prevent traffic deaths, and to avoid other negative…

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3 Pages
Term Paper

Business - Law

Should the Legal Drinking Age

Words: 877
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Legal Drinking Age Be Lowered to 18 RESOLVED: At present the minimum legal drinking age of 21 years of age is controlled by the federal government by means of…

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9 Pages
Term Paper

Sports - Drugs

Minimum Legal Drinking Age

Words: 2420
Length: 9 Pages
Type: Term Paper

America, when a person reaches the age of 18 he can die for his country, obtain credit, get married, get divorced and be charged in criminal court. By…

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2 Pages
Essay

Evolution

Reducing the Legal Drinking Age in America

Words: 633
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Essay

Lowering Drinking Age in the United States The drinking age in the United States has been 21 years old since 1984 because it was enacted in law. However, in the…

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6 Pages
Term Paper

Transportation

Lowering the Drinking Age the

Words: 2161
Length: 6 Pages
Type: Term Paper

The issue was a charged issue that many people felt very strongly about, i.e. race and was an allowable and supported social stigma, and yet when faced with…

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3 Pages
Essay

Law

Remove the Drinking Age Limit Entirely

Words: 1010
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Essay

The Drinking AgeIs it fair that the legal drinking age in the U.S. is 21 when it is lower in other counties? There is much debate surrounding the legal…

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5 Pages
Term Paper

Sports - Drugs

Drinking in Favor of Increasing

Words: 1957
Length: 5 Pages
Type: Term Paper

This means that alcohol is made accessible to underage persons and in this way, they start consuming alcohol at a young age. It is for this reason that…

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6 Pages
Research Paper

Sports - Drugs

Drinking and Alcoholism

Words: 1990
Length: 6 Pages
Type: Research Paper

Etiology of Campus Binge Drinking Drinking and Alcoholism A Failed Experiment in Social Control The consumption of alcohol has always been a focus of government efforts to limits its use, due to…

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15 Pages
Term Paper

Sports - Drugs

Official Legal Definition of Contradiction

Words: 4563
Length: 15 Pages
Type: Term Paper

This act enlarged the labels on the cigarettes, and required that the labels on cigarettes and cigarette ads say things like,."..Cause lung cancer...may complicate pregnancy...quitting smoking now greatly…

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3 Pages
Dissertation

Evolution

Alcohol Drinking Among Young Jews

Words: 23454
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Dissertation

Paenting Style Influence on Excess Alcohol Intake Among Jewish Youth Clinical Psychology The health hazads that ae associated with adolescent alcohol use ae well documented, and thee is gowing ecognition among…

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4 Pages
Dissertation

Evolution

Alcohol Drinking Among Young Jews

Words: 23424
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Dissertation

Paenting Style Influence on Excess Alcohol Intake Among Jewish Youth Clinical Psychology The health hazads that ae associated with adolescent alcohol use ae well documented, and thee is gowing ecognition among…

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4 Pages
Term Paper

Sports - Drugs

Alcohol Should Not Be Legalized at Age 18

Words: 1220
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Term Paper

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.…

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4 Pages
Essay

Safety

Keeping Driving Age at or Above 16 Years Old

Words: 1515
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Essay

Young Drivers Perhaps it is unfair to label all younger drivers as reckless and dangerous. At the very least, they are most certainly less experienced and adept at driving, on…

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10 Pages
Term Paper

Sports - Drugs

Alcohol How Effective Has the Legal Prohibition

Words: 3114
Length: 10 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Alcohol How effective has the legal prohibition of alcohol been in controlling crime? A recent Department of Justice Report (U.S. Department of Justice) said that alcohol was a factor in…

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