Grade 11
“Should the drinking age be lowered from 21 to a younger age?”
All 50 U.S. states have set their minimum legal drinking age to 21 although exceptions do exist on a state-by-state basis
for consumption at home, under adult supervision, for medical necessity and other reasons.
Proponents of lowering the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA from 21 argue that having a minimum drinking age of 21
has not stopped teen drinking. Instead it has pushed underage binge drinking into private and less controlled
environments, leading to more health and life-endangering behavior by teens. Lowering the minimum drinking age
would reduce the number of underage people who are hurt from alcohol-related injuries or accidents due to fear of
legal consequences if they sought medical attention.
Opponents of lowering the minimum legal drinking age below 21 argue that teens have not yet reached an age where
they can handle alcohol responsibly, and thus are more likely to harm or even kill themselves and others by drinking
prior to the age of 21. They contend that traffic fatalities decreased when the MLDA increased. A 2007 Gallup poll
found that 77% of Americans would oppose a federal law that lowers the drinking age in all states to age 18.
The repeal of alcohol prohibition by the 21st Amendment of Dec. 5, 1933 allowed each state to set its own alcohol
consumption laws. At that time, most states established the minimum drinking age for alcohol at 21 years of age. Two
states set an MLDA of 21 for men and 18 for women: Illinois (1933-1061) and Oklahoma (1933-1976). The 1976 U.S.
Supreme Court case Craig V. Boren ruled 7-2 that this age difference violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th
Amendment. Following the July 1, 1971,passage of the 26th Amendment, which lowered the legal voting age from 21 to
18 years of age, 30 U.S. stated lowered their minimum drinking age to 18, 19, or 20; by 1982, only 14 states still had an
MLDA of 21.
Reports in the 1970’s showing that teenage car accidents increased in states where the MLDA had been lowered from
21 prompted Congress to pass the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. Although the Act did not require a
national MLDA of 21, it effectively mandated it by stipulating that some federal transportation funds would be withheld
from states that failed to make 21 their minimum age for purchasing and publicly possessing alcohol. Since 1984, all
states that had previously lowered their minimum drinking age from 21 have all raised their MLDA back to 21. South
Dakota and Wyoming were the last states to do so in 1988.
Lowering the minimum legal drinking age would give middle and high school students easier access to alcohol. Newlylegal drinkers often purchase alcohol from their underage peers, creating a “trickle-down” effect. Surveys show that the
most common source of alcohol among 18-to 20- year olds is their 21- to 24-year-old peers.
Keeping the minimum legal drinking laws at 21 is working because the percentage of underage drinkers has decreased
since 1984 when most MLDA 21 laws came into effect. Studies indicate that when the drinking age is 21, those younger
than 21 drink less and continue to drink less through their early 20’s and that youth who do not drink until they are 21
tend to drink less as adults.
Lowering the minimum legal drinking age would be good for the economy because more people would legally be able to
drink in bars, restaurants, and other licensed establishments. Revenue would increase for private business owners, and
greater amounts of tax revenue would be collected by the government. This also means 18- to 20- year-olds are
drinking alcohol safely in regulated environments with supervision. Prohibiting this age group from drinking in bars,
restaurants, and other licensed locations caused them to drink in unsupervised places such as fraternity houses or house
parties where they may be more prone to binge drinking and other unsafe behavior.
Keeping the minimum drinking age at 21 means 18-21 year old may be encouraged to acquire and use false
identification documents to buy alcohol. In an era of terrorism, illegal immigration, and other national security
concerns, it is better to have fewer fake IDs in circulation and more respect for the law.
While the minimum drinking age is 21 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, in 47 of 50 states age 18 is the “age of
majority,” which generally entails having the rights and responsibilities of adulthood. Every state sets its own “age of
majority which often corresponds with the age at which one can vote, join the military, serve in jury duty, sign contracts,
marry, apply for credit and loans, make decisions regarding medical treatments, and be prosecuted as an adult.
The discrepancy between the MLDA and the age of majority—and its many responsibilities and authorities