A 17 year old girl hangs out with a couple of her friends at a high school football field at around 5 in the afternoon. One of the younger boys pulls out a bottle of vodka and offers it to all of them. One of the girl’s best friends, an 18 year old guy, promptly takes the bottle and downs the whole thing. Seconds later, the boy drops the empty bottle on the grass and collapses. The group stares for a second, in shock, then a panic starts. The girl hurries to call for help, hands shaking as she dials 911. An ambulance arrives and the boy begins to stir as he is lifted onto the gurney. The girl stays at his side until they reach the ambulance. She reaches out to him as he is lifted into the vehicle. The boy, dazed, slurring curses in a rage, his muscles, spasming in violent jerks, kicks the girl in the chest, just below the chin and is shut into the ambulance. The girl sits down and cries and the two never speak again.
Alcohol is an infamous stimulant drug that is associated with many health problems, crime, etc. The legal minimum age to drink is 21 years old. Some people argue in favor of lowering the legal age of drinking alcohol, claiming that they have other rights at younger ages, like driving, voting, enlisting in the military, etc. But the fact is, people, especially young people, are already abusing their right to drink at the legal age, leading to crime, health problems, and even death. The legal age of drinking alcohol should NOT be lowered.


Drunk driving and young drinkers often are found together in alcohol-related fatalities. The hard truth is even drinkers above the legal age are not mature enough to stay away from the wheel after they drink, so why would people even younger be able to? According to FARS (Fatality Analysis Reporting System), an alcohol related crash occurs every 32 minutes. In 2010, 23.4 percent of people driving under the influence were 21 to 25 years of age. (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) This was the highest rate among any age group. And this is just legal drinkers. An additional 16.9 percent included people ages 16 to 20. If the legal age of drinking alcohol were lowered, more young people would have more access to alcohol and the rate of alcohol-related crashes and fatalities would grow significantly. And designated drivers are only so effective in young people because they sometimes can’t resist drinking, too. And if they have a designated driver, passengers tend to drink more than they normally would. (www.stritch.luc.edu) Lowering the legal drinking age would pose a significant threat to drivers and drinkers alike.


Alcohol poisoning, although very rare, is the most common among young drinkers. According to the NIAAA (National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse), alcohol poisoning results in only about a half a dozen deaths a year, “[but] it is a half a dozen too many.” Meaning, alcohol poisoning can easily be prevented. Victims usually rapid binge drink because of a bet or a dare. Young people just don’t have the maturity to refuse something like that. They think they have to, to fit in or be “cool”.
And if they aren’t dared or bet, victims haven’t drank alcohol before and just don’t know common drinking tips like pacing drinks, eating while drinking, etc. (www2.potsdam.edu)
Alcohol poisoning may be rare, but that doesn’t mean it should be ignored when it comes to young drinkers. Simple logic; more people with legal access to alcohol=increased number deaths from alcohol poisoning, which were unnecessary and preventable as it is.


Young people and alcohol can also influence crime and other misbehavior. Young drunkenness can lead to fights, vandalism, or in some cases, death. And the lowering of the legal drinking age will do absolutely nothing to help these things. People argue that kids are going to drink anyway, but the very simple truth is, if parents approach the drinking topic the right way, kids will know how to handle drinking responsibly. Lowering the legal age is just an extremely lazy way to solve underage drinking. Young people will get into more trouble because they have legal access to alcohol, and therefore, can get away with binge drinking at such a young age. Alcohol-influenced crime and misbehavior will rise.
According to victim accounts, in 2008, 19% of violent crime, 12.4% of robberies, 19.8% of assaults, and 21.1% of aggravated assaults, involved alcohol. (www.bjs.gov)If the lowering of the legal drinking age was approved, these numbers will only rise.


During teenage years and even into young adulthood, the brain is still developing. So even legal drinkers (21 and over) could suffer harmful effects to the brain. Alcohol affects motor skills, memory, coordination, communication, social skills, and even cell count. (pubs.niaaa.nih.gov, onlinelibrary.wiley.com) If the legal drinking age were lowered, more young people would suffer these harmful effects. And that is something we just don’t need and can easily be prevented. The effects of alcohol would sweep across young drinkers which could even lead to more serious health problems later on, cerebral or otherwise. Young people can argue for lowering the drinking age, but if even legal drinkers are drinking themselves stupid, then imagine what would happen to even younger people.



Lowering the legal age to drink is not a good idea. It will have serious effects on young people. They’ll get in more trouble, suffer harmful effects to their brains, be more prone to drink and drive, and more will suffer from alcohol poisoning. This is not the answer to the problems with young drinking. It only threatens drinkers and anybody within the alcohol’s radius of destruction.