By: Taylor Marie DiCristofalo
English 1302-007
Professor Fennell
Since 1984 there has been a lot of discussion about certain states lowering their drinking age
back to eighteen, due to a variety of different factors such as the forbidden fruit theory that
seems to plague college campuses all over the country. But even though some individuals claim
that lowering the national drinking age will reduce ‘binge drinking’ among young adults, others
argue that this will bring dangerous and fatal outcomes for developmental health of adolescents
and could dramatically increase the amount of alcohol related incidents.
The United States is one out of four nations worldwide that has a legal drinking age as high as
twenty-one years old. In 1984 the National Drinking Age Act was passed by Congress and all
50 states adopted a minimum drinking age of twenty-one shortly after. Since 1984 there has
been a lot of discussion about certain states lowering their drinking age back to eighteen,
due to a variety of different factors such as the forbidden fruit theory that seems to plague
college campuses all over the country. But even though some individuals claim that lowering
the national drinking age will reduce ‘binge drinking’ among young adults, others argue that
this will bring dangerous and fatal outcomes for developmental health of adolescents and
could dramatically increase the amount of alcohol related incidents. The national drinking
age has been debated among political leaders, University presidents, and concerned parents
all over the United States, but in good judgment the drinking age has remained twenty-one
and should remain that age if lawmakers intend to keep the public safe and the young adults
safe from themselves.
• Traffic Incidents due to drinking
• Binge Drinking Among Young Adults
• Amethyst Initiative
• Forbidden Fruit Theory
• Advances in motor technology
Twenty-one years is a long time to wait for a legal sip of alcohol, but it is
definitely worth the wait. Other countries have a lower minimum drinking
age than the United States has, but those countries are not as dependent on
automobiles and have large public transportations systems in place to avoid
alcohol-related crashes. The national legal drinking age should stay twentyone because of the health issues and accidental fatalities that would arise.
Many young adults do not understand the consequences and responsibility
that come with being a twenty-one year old, drinking adult. The forbidden
fruit theory may have some kind of influence on the amount of drinking that
young adults consume but the legal drinking age does not need to be
decreased for the forbidden fruit to disappear. The drinking age is twentyone because it keeps Americans safe. Even though many young adults break
the law and consume or buy alcohol before the legal age they are putting
themselves and everyone around them in danger. Lawmakers should not
decrease the minimum drinking age in any U.S. state because of the terrible
effects that undoubtedly would come from this kind of change. Those who
are under the age of twenty-one must wait until it is legal for them to drink
responsibly and safely.
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