Lowering the United States Drinking Age Essay Example

Lowering the United States Drinking Age Essay Example Lowering the United States Drinking Age Essay Lowering the United States Drinking Age Essay Three quarters of the world has a drinking age below 21, that’s about 5 billion people that can legally drink under the age of 21. Although some people think that keeping the legal drinking age at 21, The United States Government should lower it to 18 because the majority of teens still consume alcohol anyways, teens would be more likely to drink in a safe environment, and it would benefit for the economy. The majority of American teenagers under 21 still consume alcohol on a regular basis, despite the legal drinking age of 21. As kids get older, they drink more.   By age 15, half of teens have had at least one drink. By age 18, more than 70% of teens have had at least one drink [3].By making it illegal to drink under the age of 21, the United States is wasting more time and money on a problem that will never be solved.According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, in 2009, about 10.4 million young people between ages 12 and 20 drank more than â€Å"ju st a few sips† of alcohol [3].With this ongoing problem, the United States should comply with the people and lower the drinking age to 18. Allowing people under the age of 21 to consume alcohol would result in a more regulated drinking environment. In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which changed the national legal alcohol purchase and consumption age to 21[7].This was a federal law, and states could chose to comply or not to, but if they didn’t comply, the federal government would cut the funding of national highways. Young teenagers are more hesitant to call the police or emergency services if they have been drinking.With this being said, if someone under the age of 21 has consumed an excessive amount of alcohol, and has symptoms of alcohol poisoning, they would be more encouraged to call for medical services if the legal drinking age was somewhere closer to their age. When 18 to 20 years old are restricted from drinking