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Edward Roberts
English 1010
Annotated Bibliography
Cloud, John. “Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered?” www.time.com. 6 Jun 2008. Web. 14 Oct 2012.
This article is showing both sides of the debate to lowering of the drinking age to 18. This says
that it is hurting us more than helping us as the legal issues last for months or even years. A head of a
college thinks that it should be legalized but have to take a 42 hour class on the effects of alcohol to be
able to legally drink at the age of 18. Excessive or binge drinking has gotten worse since states have
actually raised their legal drinking age to 21. Drinking for people of 18 or over would lower the amount
of people killed by excessive drinking on campus but could lead to more traffic accidents.
To me this article is really well laid out and presents both sides of the story. But is kind of bias
towards keeping the legal drinking age the same. They present good points for lowering the drinking
age but at the same time come back with more of a reason to not lower it. For instance they say that by
lowering the drinking age there will be fewer deaths by alcohol poisoning but probably more from drunk
driving accidents.
This article will be valuable in writing my paper as it gives many good points on both sides. This
will also help me in figuring out a good way to present my paper as we are not suppose to show bias,
but this article does. This article also gives some really good statistics on drinking and might be able to
use them in my paper.
“The Debate on Lowering The Drinking Age.” http://www.cbsnews.com. 1 Mar 2010. web. 14 Oct 2012.
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This article is advocating for the lowering of the legal drinking age. People will always
find a way around the law. This leads to excessive drinking because they drink faster so if the alcohol
gets taken away they are already drunk. Even police find it hard to enforce this law because it is almost
always done in secret. For every 2 arrest there are thousands that violate the law. This also leads to
teen deaths as they are scared to call the police because they don’t want to get in trouble when one of
their friends is obviously dying of alcohol poisoning.
This article basically says that if you lower the drinking age everything will be fine and dandy.
There are other factors to take into account. They do however say that if you lower the drinking age it
will lower the amount of teen deaths because of alcohol poisoning. They do give some really good
reasons as to why to lower it.
This article will be good for the opinions as to why to lower the legal age of drinking alcohol.
They do have some good points and can’t wait to put them into my paper. The paper is mostly talking
about kids that are in universities that are drinking way too much because they want to get drunk before
the campus police get there. This paper also has a police chief’s opinion in the article to which to me
adds a little more validation towards this article.
"Drinking Age." procon.org. ProCon.org, 11 2012. Web. 24 Oct 2012.
I decided to first focus on the arguments for the lowering of the drinking age first. The
people for the lowering of the drinking age are saying; adult at 18, would help bar owners, would
drink in bars and less likely to binge drink, the years after being able to drink legally is when
most drunk driving accidents happen so by lowering the drinking age the accidents of the other
age groups will go down, other countries legal drinking age is 18. Some of the agreements
against this was; could cause brain issues, most of the more adult laws happen at 21(buy gun,
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gambling, rent a car), easier access to alcohol for kids well under 18. These arguments all bring
up good points. I can see where they are coming from on both sides.
I believe that this is also a creditable document that lays out the different views of people
on this issue. It doesn’t really give hard core facts but the fact that is given is public record and
could be easily accessed. To me both sides make really good arguments. Both sides use the data
to their benefit I feel like I am in a presidential debate reading this as they only tell the part that
benefits their agenda.
I believe this will help my paper because it really gives me more insight and will also
give the reader of my paper more insight to both sides of the story. This gives me more of a
focused view on what statics to look into as far as the effects on people drinking at age 18 or 21.
I can look into the accident records related to drinking and driving, and also the laws that give
rights as you reach certain ages. The article gives me more of the view point of the people for
the lowering of the legal age to consume alcohol. I don’t at this point think it is a good idea, but
my views could change.
"The Manner in Which Alcohol Affects a Teen's Brain." Minimum Legal Drinking Age Should
Be Lowered (2009). opposing viewpoints. Web. 23 Oct 2012.
This article talks about the how alcohol has different effects on people of different ages.
People under the age of twenty alcohol will affect them differently then someone over 25.
Alcohol affects the growth of the brain and a person’s brain is develops up to 20 years of age.
The author is bringing up studies that drinking at a young age will have a greater affect on brain
damage then someone in their late 20’s. The dose also makes a difference too. If a young
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person (18) has a beer once a month this will have less affect than if they had 3-4 beers a day or
even a week.
I think this was a very creditable article since they stated they got a lot of their
information for the article from a doctor. This was a very good reasoning as to why the legal
drinking age of alcohol is 21 and why it should not go below 21. The evidence or facts that are
brought up are facts that you can find anywhere as the age of the brain is fully developed and
how the brain reacts to alcohol. To me this was a good article and helped me get a few more
reasons as to why the drinking age is what it. I am sure though I will find many articles that will
go against this article.
This information from this article will aid me in writing my paper as it gives me
more of a road to go down as far as looking into the more medical reasons why people under
21 should not drink. This article really presented facts that I kind of already knew and have
experience with from the past. I have friends that started drinking at a young age and they
have a wide range of mental disorders. These all in one way or another can be contributed to
the early excessive drinking of alcohol.
“The Minimum Legal Drinking Age Should be Lowered”. Teens at Risk (2009).Opposing Viewpoints.
Web. 14 Oct 2012.
This article is advocating for the lowering of the legal age to drink alcohol to 18. The article says
that at age 18 you become an adult and should be able to drink. Their arguments are you are old
enough to go to war so you are old enough to drink legally. Underage people drink no matter what and
good candidates to go on binge or excessive drinking. Europe has already lowered its legal drinking age
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and we should follow suit. Alcohol courses should be given to teach people to drink responsible. They
believe these to be good reasons to lower the age of drinking to 18.
This is a good article but is totally bias for lowering the drinking age. There is no give take in the
article as it is totally one sided. The layout and overall flow of the paper makes it easy to understand.
The paper doesn’t however give any reasons as to why lowering the legal age could be bad. They only
state what the good could be and nothing really backs that up other than things that have happened in
the past or in Europe. This to me has no real bearing as the people today are different from the past
and people in Europe have a different way of thinking then people of the US do.
I believe this will help my paper by giving me a good insight as to what people are really thinking
as far as lowering the legal age of drinking alcohol. It also isn’t a good give take so I will have to research
more as to what some of the rebuttals to these comments would be by the people that don’t want to
lower the drinking age. This will make my paper more argumentative which I think is good because it is
not based on my opinion but will help my readers better get a grasp of what both sides have to say.
“The Minimum Legal Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered”. Teens at Risk (2009).Opposing Viewpoints.
Web. 14 Oct 2012.
This is the rebuttal argument to a previous article that I read. They say that the current legal age
has reduced the number of alcohol related crashes among young people under the age of 21. This
article goes over the health risk, intervention approaches, and stopping the problems before they
develop. They say that underage drinking is bad for the brain as it is not fully developed and the binge
drinking common with young adults under 21 can lead to permanent brain damage. Binge drinking can
also lead to liver and kidney damage and hormonal imbalances. They also tell of different was to
prevent to handle underage age drinking.
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This article is totally opposite of the ones calling for lowering the legal age of drinking. They talk
about all of the health risks involved with drinking alcohol and the fact that underage people don’t know
how to control their alcohol intake so the health risks are even worse. This article actually goes more
on the health side and how it is going to affect your health as opposed to some of the articles for
lowering the drinking age just talk about the rights as being adult and lowering teen deaths. This article
also calls on parents to take a more active role to keep their children from drinking.
This article is very beneficial as it covers everything that I would like to write about in my paper.
This article gives both the health risks and ways to prevent underage drinking. The fact that it mentions
that even if we lower the legal drinking age the problems will not go away and it will still be a problem
as far as alcohol related crashes. This will help me to better present the other side of the fence as far as
what people are saying that don’t want the legal drinking age to be lowered.
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Lowering the Legal Drinking Age
I am going to discuss the lowering of the legal drinking age. There are many good reasons why
the legal drinking age should be lowered, as well as some good reasons for it not to be lowered. This is a
double edged sword so to speak. The lowering of the drinking age will affect the economy, the people
between the ages 18 and 21 and the people who are over 21. The economy would be affected by larger
pool of potential customers. The young adults between the ages of 18 and 21 would be allowed to
drink. Not everyone is on board with the lower of the legal drinking age there are some that are against
it, others that are for it and some that just don’t think it would affect them. There is an overabundance
of arguments that all sides have good reasons for their stance about this controversial issue. My hope
is that I inform you with the arguments that the opposing sides use so you can make an informed
decision for yourself.
At the age 18 an individual is a legal adult and should have all the privileges that come with
being an adult as with all the consequences and rules. If someone of the age of 18 is able to fight for
this country then that individual should be able to let off a little steam and have a beer. They also
declare that a person of the age of 18 is able to vote, pay taxes, and have to be charged in the legal
system as an adult you should be able to drink at age 18. The dispute for this however is that at age 18
yes all they say is true but you can’t in fact drink legally, rent a car, and a couple of other things so why
is this such a big deal. Those opposed to lowering the age of alcohol believe that becoming an adult is in
stages as the other laws go by. This is to say that at the age of 18 a person is technically an adult but
you can’t rent a car until you are 25, legally drink or gamble until the age of 21. They are stating that in
fact when a human being reaches the age of 18 they are an adult but they are not ready for all the
challenges that life has in store for them in other words you have some growing up to do.
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The excessive drinking done by persons between the ages of 18 and 21 also is a big topic in this
debate. The community for lowering the legal drinking age declares that by lowering the legal drinking
age it will lower the amount of deaths caused by excessive drinking by people between the ages of 18
and 21. The reason for this excessive drinking is they want to get drunk as quick as possible and before
the cops or parents come home. So they drink way too much way too fast. This leads to alcohol
poisoning which can be treated but also can be deadly if left untreated. Since the individuals are
drinking illegally they are scared to call the 911 or much less their parents. Reasons for binge drinking
are the fact that many people think that is cool and this is what you need to do to be cool.
“Peer pressure/acceptance issues: This is mostly evident in the case of high school and college
crowds. ‘Fitting in’ has always been a bugbear since time immemorial, and if binge drinking can
make you popular, then so be it- at least that’s what some kids think. Unfortunately, many
students feel ‘socially obligated’ to binge drink if they are part of a clique or an environment
where this habit is encouraged.”(M.D. Morrow)
Since this is encouraged and considered cool this leads to peer pressure and alcohol poisoning also. So
the person with alcohol poisoning pretty much just lays there and dies. This is why lower of the age of
drinking alcohol needs to happen. People on the other side say that they agree with this argument but
are concerned with the younger people drinking and driving which would probably counter act the fact
that young adults are dying from alcohol poisoning now they are dying in car crashes because of drunk
driving. One question to ask is if we lower the legal age at which an individual can drink will that also
make the number of high school kids that are drinking rise as the access to alcohol is now greater?
There are more dangers to drinking other than drinking and driving there are also apparent
health factors that are also involved with drinking alcohol also. The drinking of alcohol can lead to brain
damage, heart disease, and damage to liver and kidneys. The possiblitly for brain damage after
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excessive drinking is very possible. “Excessive, chronic drinking can lead to brain damage on multiple
levels, including the development of emotional abnormalities that can interfere with healthy
interpersonal relationships” (Science Daily). Lowering of the legal age will make people under the age
of 18 able to drink alcohol, drink less and cause less brain damage. Says this is higher in younger adults
as they tend to drink more and more excessively. “In 2000, almost one in five underage persons aged 12
to 20 was a binge drinker, drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion on at least one day in the
past 30 days” (NHSDA). The comment that the human brain is not fully developed until age 21 and
excessive drinking before this age can cause your brain never to fully develop and cause severe brain
damage. There is also a study that shows that the brain is not fully formed until the age of 25. “ A
National Institutes of Health study proposes that the part of the brain that restrains risky behavior,
including reckless driving, and thinking skills is not fully developed until the age of 25” (Rollins). If this is
the case should we in fact raise the legal drinking age? They also say that because people that are under
the age of 21 are likely not to know how to control their intake of alcohol that this can also lead to other
health problems such as liver and kidney damage due to excessive drinking in a short amount of time. In
some cases the liver and or kidneys can totally shut down because of excessive drinking. By lowering
the legal age of drinking alcohol this will help to stop the excessive drinking as the people between the
ages of 18 and 21 will be able to legally drink in bars and other public situations. By them being in public
they will have people around them that will cut them off if they are drinking too much (bartenders or
adult friends) this will allow them to learn their limit on their intake of alcohol and lower the risks that
stem from excessive drinking. This being able to drink legally would make the persons drinking more
comfortable with calling for help if there happens to be a person that has gotten alcohol poisoning.
They also say that this is not only limited to people that are between the ages of 18-21 that this effects
people of all ages who drink too much, such as alcoholics and or individuals over the age of 21.
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Also individuals that drink alcohol can become alcohol dependent. Studies show that people
that start drinking at a younger age are at a higher risk of becoming alcohol dependent. The drinking of
alcohol at a younger age can also lead to the using of illegal drugs later on. The survey done by
“National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions” show that a person that starts
drinking before the age of 21 is 4 times more likely to become alcohol dependent in their life time then
someone who started drinking at the age of 21 or later. Another study shows that drinking under the
age of 21 can lead to depression, risky sexual behavior, violence and suicide. This study conducted by
“National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism” estimates that 5000 people under the age of 21
die each year in alcohol related accidents. These include suicide, homicide, and fatal car crashes.
“Twenty-one isn't just an arbitrary number set by Congress—more than 20 states already had
laws setting the drinking age there in 1984. And since the 21 law was widely enacted, the
number of young people killed annually in crashes involving drunk drivers under 21 has been cut
in half, from more than 5,000 individuals in the early 1980s to around 2,000 in 2005. By the end
of 2005, the 21 drinking age had saved nearly 25,000 American lives—approximately 1,000 lives
a year.”( Dean-Mooney)
Another reason for lowering the age of alcohol is the economy. This is one argument that
citizens of Minnesota are using to get the legal age of drinking alcohol lowered to 18. Tom Hackbarth, a
Republican from District 48A said, “I think that bars and restaurants are having a difficult time right now
with the smoking ban that went into place. I think with economic times the way they are, I’ve never
opposed the drinking age being 18” (Merritt). If people between the ages of 18 and 21 are also allowed
to drink in bars the money brought in by the bars would go up. This would also cause the bar to need
more staff as there would be more customers to serve. Also the sale of alcohol at local liquor stores and
other suppliers of alcohol would greatly increase causing their profits and need for more employees to
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go up. The amount of people paying taxes on alcoholic beverages would also increase causing the city
and state government to benefit from this a great deal. This would mean a big boost for local and
national economy.
There is a great deal of reasons to lower and not to lower the legal age of alcohol. There are
some many factors that can be used to promote or discourage this decision. There is the economy,
health risks, binge drinking, drinking and driving, and so many other factors to take into account on this
issue. To me I think this should be left up to the state as it will have more impact on the states then a
nation as a whole based on economy reasons. The health risks that are involved lead me to more think
it should be decided on a national level. I hope that I have presented you with the information you need
to help you make a more informed decision on your stand to lower or not to lower the legal drinking age
of individuals in the United States.
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Work cited
Dean-Mooney, Laura. “A Lower Age Would Be Unsafe.” USNEWS.com. U.S.News & World Report LP, 8
Sept 2008. Web. 3 Dec 2012.
Merritt, Michael. “Minnesota Considers Lowering Drinking Age.” Theatlanticright.com. Right Across
The Atlantic. 22 Feb 2012. Web. 3 Dec 2012.
Rollins, Kristen. “Brain not Fully Developed Until Age 25”. Academic.marist.edu. Web. 12 Dec 2012.
Morrow, Deborah. “Reasons For Binge Drinking”. www.the-alcoholism-guide.org. Web. 6 Dec 2012
“Excessive Drinking Can Damage Brain Regions Used For Processing Facial Emotions”.
www.sciencedaily.com. 12 Aug 2009. Web. 6 Dec 2012.
“Binge Drinking Among Underage Persons”. The NHSDA Report. Www.Samhsa.gov. 11 April 2002.
Web. 6 Dec 2012.